Acts 11 — Clausal Layout (Greek)

independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended

Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)

The charge in Jerusalem — you went in and you ate 11:1–3

Ἤκουσαν δὲ οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ οἱ ὄντες κατὰ τὴν Ἰουδαίανindependent — the scene shifts from Caesarea — the news outruns Peter to Jerusalem

ὅτι καὶ τὰ ἔθνη ἐδέξαντο τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ.content — ascensive καί — 'even the Gentiles': the theological surprise stated as report

Ὅτε δὲ ἀνέβη Πέτρος εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα,conditional — temporal ὅτε (typed cnd; no temporal key) — leans on διεκρίνοντο; the Western text expands, greeting Peter en route

διεκρίνοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆςindependent — progressive imperfect — a sustained dispute; οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς, the boundary-keepers (cf. Gal 2:12)

λέγοντες ὅτιparticipial — speech-participle with recitative ὅτι — the charge follows verbatim

Εἰσῆλθες πρὸς ἄνδρας ἀκροβυστίαν ἔχονταςcontent — the first charge — entering the Gentile house, the purity offense of 10:28

καὶ συνέφαγες αὐτοῖς.content — the second and sharper charge — table fellowship, the most intimate boundary-crossing (cf. Gal 2:11–14)

Peter's defense — the events set out in order 11:4–17

v. 4 — the frame: one ordered recital

Ἀρξάμενος δὲ Πέτρος ἐξετίθετο αὐτοῖς καθεξῆς λέγων·independent — Lukan ἄρχομαι + imperfect ἐξετίθετο with καθεξῆς (cf. Lk 1:3) — everything to v. 17 hangs on this λέγων

vv. 5–10 — the vision retold: the sheet, the command, the reversal

Ἐγὼ ἤμην ἐν πόλει Ἰόππῃ προσευχόμενοςcontent — emphatic ἐγώ — the recital opens with place and piety (10:9)

καὶ εἶδον ἐν ἐκστάσει ὅραμα,content — ἐν ἐκστάσει ὅραμα — the divine-communication formula (10:10)

καταβαῖνον σκεῦός τι ὡς ὀθόνην μεγάλην τέσσαρσιν ἀρχαῖς καθιεμένην ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ,participial — the vision's content — the sheet of 10:11 retold in Peter's own order

καὶ ἦλθεν ἄχρι ἐμοῦ·content — ἄχρι ἐμοῦ — the detail personal to this retelling: it came to me

εἰς ἣν ἀτενίσας κατενόουνcontent — connective relative εἰς ἥν — ἀτενίσας, the Lukan gaze; iterative imperfect κατενόουν

καὶ εἶδον τὰ τετράποδα τῆς γῆς καὶ τὰ θηρία καὶ τὰ ἑρπετὰ καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ.content — the creation taxonomy — clean and unclean together in one sheet (Lev 11)

ἤκουσα δὲ καὶ φωνῆς λεγούσης μοι·content — the auditory stage — a speech-frame nested within the recital

Ἀναστάς, Πέτρε, θῦσον καὶ φάγε.content — quotation within the recital — the command that cuts across the food laws

εἶπον δέ·content — Peter retells his own refusal — candor before his accusers

Μηδαμῶς, κύριε,content — μηδαμῶς — the emphatic refusal (cf. Ezek 4:14); verbless

ὅτι κοινὸν ἢ ἀκάθαρτον οὐδέποτε εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ στόμα μου.cause — lifelong observance pleaded — κοινὸν ἢ ἀκάθαρτον, the Levitical pair (10:14)

ἀπεκρίθη δὲ φωνὴ ἐκ δευτέρου ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ·content — ἐκ δευτέρου — the divine rejoinder to the refusal

Ἃ ὁ θεὸς ἐκαθάρισεν, σὺ μὴ κοίνου.content — the reversal — God's ἐκαθάρισεν against Peter's categories; emphatic σύ (fronted relative kept in line)

τοῦτο δὲ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ τρίς,content — the threefold repetition — biblical certainty (cf. 10:16)

καὶ ἀνεσπάσθη πάλιν ἅπαντα εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν.content — divine passive — the vision closes heavenward as it opened

vv. 11–14 — the three men, the Spirit's command, Cornelius' angel

καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐξαυτῆς τρεῖς ἄνδρες ἐπέστησαν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίανcontent — ἰδοὺ ἐξαυτῆς — the providential timing: vision and knock coincide

ἐν ᾗ ἤμην,relative — the locating relative — Peter still at Simon the tanner's

ἀπεσταλμένοι ἀπὸ Καισαρείας πρός με.participial — perfect participle — the standing commission behind their arrival

εἶπεν δὲ τὸ πνεῦμά μοιcontent — the second divine agency of the recital — the Spirit's own instruction (10:19–20)

συνελθεῖν αὐτοῖς μηδὲν διακρίναντα.content — complement infinitive — μηδὲν διακρίναντα answers the διεκρίνοντο of v. 2

ἦλθον δὲ σὺν ἐμοὶ καὶ οἱ ἓξ ἀδελφοὶ οὗτοιcontent — οὗτοι — the witnesses stand present in the room; six with Peter, seven in all

καὶ εἰσήλθομεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ ἀνδρός·content — the charged verb owned — εἰσήλθομεν, the very act of the accusation, but under orders

ἀπήγγειλεν δὲ ἡμῖνcontent — Cornelius' own account folded into Peter's

πῶς εἶδεν τὸν ἄγγελον ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ σταθέντα καὶ εἰπόντα·content — indirect question — the third divine agency: the angel

Ἀπόστειλον εἰς Ἰόππηνcontent — the angel's command — quotation at the third remove

καὶ μετάπεμψαι Σίμωνα τὸν ἐπικαλούμενον Πέτρον,content — the fetch command — Peter named inside his own defense

ὃς λαλήσει ῥήματα πρὸς σέ,relative — the angel's promise about Peter — his errand defined in advance

ἐν οἷς σωθήσῃ σὺ καὶ πᾶς ὁ οἶκός σου.relative — σωθήσῃ — salvation, not hospitality, was the errand; the recital's deepest nesting

vv. 15–17 — the Spirit falls as at the beginning: who was I to hinder God?

ἐν δὲ τῷ ἄρξασθαί με λαλεῖνphrase modifier — fronted articular infinitive — leans on ἐπέπεσεν; God interrupts the sermon

ἐπέπεσεν τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺςcontent — the decisive event — God acts before Peter finishes

ὥσπερ καὶ ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐν ἀρχῇ.comparative — elliptical — the Pentecost parallel: ἐν ἀρχῇ, the church's own beginning

ἐμνήσθην δὲ τοῦ ῥήματος τοῦ κυρίουcontent — the event interpreted by the dominical word

ὡς ἔλεγεν·comparative — iterative imperfect — the remembered refrain (Acts 1:5)

Ἰωάννης μὲν ἐβάπτισεν ὕδατι,content — the μέν half — the forerunner's water; the word-of-the-Lord quoted within the recital

ὑμεῖς δὲ βαπτισθήσεσθε ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ.content — the δέ half — now fulfilled on Gentiles too

εἰ οὖν τὴν ἴσην δωρεὰν ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ὁ θεὸς ὡς καὶ ἡμῖν πιστεύσασιν ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν,conditional — protasis leaning forward on the apodosis — τὴν ἴσην δωρεάν, the clinching equality

ἐγὼ τίς ἤμην δυνατὸς κωλῦσαι τὸν θεόν;content — the unanswerable question — κωλῦσαι, the hinder-verb of 10:47; the recital ends with God as the actor

The acceptance — life for the Gentiles too 11:18

ἀκούσαντες δὲ ταῦταparticipial — preposed aorist participle — leans on ἡσύχασαν

ἡσύχασανindependent — the dispute of v. 2 ends in one verb — ἡσύχασαν, silenced

καὶ ἐδόξαζον τὸν θεὸν λέγοντες·independent — imperfect — objection turns to sustained doxology

Ἄρα καὶ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὁ θεὸς τὴν μετάνοιαν εἰς ζωὴν ἔδωκεν.content — inferential ἄρα — the Gentile mission's first official validation; καὶ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν echoes v. 1

Antioch founded — the Greeks, Barnabas, Saul, and the name 11:19–26

vv. 19–21 — the scattered ones preach to the Greeks

Οἱ μὲν οὖν διασπαρέντες ἀπὸ τῆς θλίψεως τῆς γενομένης ἐπὶ Στεφάνῳ διῆλθον ἕως Φοινίκης καὶ Κύπρου καὶ Ἀντιοχείας,independent — μὲν οὖν resumes 8:1, 4 — the thread picked up from Stephen; substantival participle kept whole

μηδενὶ λαλοῦντες τὸν λόγον εἰ μὴ μόνον Ἰουδαίοις.participial — the restriction stated — the foil for v. 20

ἦσαν δέ τινες ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες Κύπριοι καὶ Κυρηναῖοι,independent — unnamed pioneers — the Gentile church's founders left anonymous

οἵτινες ἐλθόντες εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν ἐλάλουν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Ἕλληνας,relative — Ἕλληνας — the chapter's prime crux: 'Greeks' (harder, surely original) against the variant Ἑλληνιστάς 'Hellenists'

εὐαγγελιζόμενοι τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν.participial — τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν — the title chosen for Greek ears, not 'the Christ'

καὶ ἦν χεὶρ κυρίου μετ᾿ αὐτῶν,independent — the Septuagintal idiom — divine agency credited (cf. Lk 1:66)

πολύς τε ἀριθμὸς ὁ πιστεύσας ἐπέστρεψεν ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον.independent — believing and turning — Luke's twin conversion verbs

vv. 22–24 — Jerusalem sends Barnabas

Ἠκούσθη δὲ ὁ λόγος εἰς τὰ ὦτα τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῆς οὔσης ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ περὶ αὐτῶν,independent — the pattern of v. 1 repeats — news travels to Jerusalem, and Jerusalem responds

καὶ ἐξαπέστειλαν Βαρναβᾶνindependent — the right envoy — himself a Cypriot (4:36), for a work begun by Cypriots

διελθεῖν ἕως Ἀντιοχείας·purpose — purpose infinitive — ἕως Ἀντιοχείας echoes v. 19

ὃς παραγενόμενος καὶ ἰδὼν τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐχάρηrelative — the wordplay — χάριν … ἐχάρη: he saw grace and was glad

καὶ παρεκάλει πάντας τῇ προθέσει τῆς καρδίας προσμένειν τῷ κυρίῳ·relative — coordinate within the relative — παρεκάλει: the 'son of παράκλησις' (4:36) doing his name

ὅτι ἦν ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου καὶ πίστεως.cause — the narrator's character note — the grounds of the exhortation

καὶ προσετέθη ὄχλος ἱκανὸς τῷ κυρίῳ.independent — divine passive προσετέθη — the growth refrain (2:41, 47; 5:14)

vv. 25–26 — Saul fetched from Tarsus; the year of teaching; the name

Ἐξῆλθεν δὲ εἰς Ταρσὸνindependent — Barnabas remembers Saul (9:27, 30) — the fetch that changes the story

ἀναζητῆσαι Σαῦλον,purpose — ἀναζητῆσαι — to search up and down; Saul had to be found

καὶ εὑρὼνparticipial — preposed aorist participle — leans on ἤγαγεν

ἤγαγεν εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν.independent — Saul enters the Gentile church's story

ἐγένετο δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐνιαυτὸν ὅλον συναχθῆναι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳindependent — ἐγένετο + infinitives — the year of partnership; ἐκκλησία now names the Antioch body

καὶ διδάξαι ὄχλον ἱκανόν,content — the second infinitive under ἐγένετο — a teaching church from the start

χρηματίσαι τε πρώτως ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ τοὺς μαθητὰς Χριστιανούς.content — χρηματίσαι, the verb of official designations — Χριστιανοί, a Latin-style coinage (like Ἡρῳδιανοί), almost certainly an outsiders' name

Agabus and the relief for Judea 11:27–30

vv. 27–28 — the famine foretold

Ἐν δὲ ταύταις ταῖς ἡμέραις κατῆλθον ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων προφῆται εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν.independent — κατῆλθον — 'down' from Jerusalem; the two churches now in living exchange

ἀναστὰς δὲ εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν ὀνόματι Ἅγαβοςparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἐσήμανεν; Agabus enters (he returns at 21:10)

ἐσήμανεν διὰ τοῦ πνεύματοςindependent — ἐσήμανεν — prophecy as sign-giving; the Spirit the real speaker

λιμὸν μεγάλην μέλλειν ἔσεσθαι ἐφ᾿ ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην·content — accusative + infinitive — λιμόν here feminine (μεγάλην), a Koine touch

ἥτις ἐγένετο ἐπὶ Κλαυδίου.relative — Luke's aside — Acts' one synchronism with a datable event (the Judean famines c. AD 46–48)

vv. 29–30 — the collection resolved and delivered

τῶν δὲ μαθητῶν καθὼς ηὐπορεῖτό τις,comparative — preposed καθώς clause with τῶν μαθητῶν pulled forward — leans on ὥρισαν; each according to ability

ὥρισαν ἕκαστος αὐτῶν εἰς διακονίαν πέμψαι τοῖς κατοικοῦσιν ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ἀδελφοῖς·independent — διακονία — the first Gentile-church collection: the daughter church gives to the mother

ὃ καὶ ἐποίησανrelative — connective relative on the whole resolve — Luke's brisk seal: resolve becomes act

ἀποστείλαντες πρὸς τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους διὰ χειρὸς Βαρναβᾶ καὶ Σαύλου.participial — πρεσβυτέρους — elders first named in Acts; διὰ χειρός, the Semitic idiom: the pair now yoked

Analysis. Acts 11 pairs a speech with a founding, and the layout shows both shapes. Verses 1–3 run flush-left in narrative purple — the news reaches Judea, Peter goes up, the circumcision party contends — with the double charge hanging blue under λέγοντες: you went in, you ate. Then vv. 4–17 display the chapter's real architecture: one main verb (ἐξετίθετο … καθεξῆς, 'he set it out in order') and Peter's entire defense hanging as a single cnt catena beneath its λέγων, the ch. 10 events replayed in strict sequence — the vision, the voice's θῦσον καὶ φάγε and Peter's μηδαμῶς quoted inside the recital, the reversal 'what God has cleansed,' the three men at the door, the Spirit's μηδὲν διακρίναντα (answering the διεκρίνοντο of v. 2), and Cornelius' angel, whose promise of σωθήσῃ nests to the layout's deepest point at five levels down — speech within report within recital. The Spirit falls ὥσπερ καὶ ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐν ἀρχῇ, the remembered word of the Lord (the John-with-water saying) nests as quotation-within-the-recital, and the defense ends where the argument does: a forward-leaning protasis (εἰ οὖν τὴν ἴσην δωρεάν …) over the unanswerable ἐγὼ τίς ἤμην δυνατὸς κωλῦσαι τὸν θεόν; — and v. 18 answers with silence and doxology, the mission's first official validation. The second half returns to the flush-left column: the scattered ones reach Antioch and speak πρὸς τοὺς Ἕλληνας — the text prints Ἕλληνας ('Greeks'), the harder and surely original reading against the variant Ἑλληνιστάς, the chapter's prime critical crux — Barnabas is dispatched and his exhortation is grounded in the narrator's character note (ὅτι ἦν ἀνὴρ ἀγαθός), Saul is fetched from Tarsus, and the year of teaching issues in the outsiders' coinage Χριστιανοί (χρηματίσαι, the verb of official designations). Agabus closes the chapter with the famine ἥτις ἐγένετο ἐπὶ Κλαυδίου — Acts' one synchronism with a datable external event — and the relief resolve (καθὼς ηὐπορεῖτό τις, each by ability) enacted διὰ χειρὸς Βαρναβᾶ καὶ Σαύλου.