And when the commander gave him permission, Paul stood on the stairway and motioned to the people with his hand [for attention]. When they completely quieted down, he spoke to them in the Hebrew [i.e., Aramaic] language, saying,
So, Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand [to get their attention], he said, “You Israelites and those who have great respect for God, listen [to me].
[Upon entering the house] he held up his hand to quiet them, and then went on to explain how the Lord had rescued him from jail. He said to them, “[Go] tell all this to James [the Lord’s half-brother] and to [the rest of] the brothers.” Then he left [them] and went elsewhere.
And when he [finally] came out, he was not able to talk to them. Then they realized he had seen a vision while in the Temple. So, he remained a mute and had to make [hand] signs to them [i.e., in order to be understood].