1 And G1161 Paul, G3972 earnestly beholding G816 the council, G4892 said, G2036 Men G435 and brethren, G80 I G1473 have lived G4176 in all G3956 good G18 conscience G4893 before God G2316 until G891 this G5026 day. G2250
2 And G1161 the high priest G749 Ananias G367 commanded G2004 them that stood by G3936 him G846 to smite G5180 him G846 on the mouth. G4750
3 Then G5119 said G2036 Paul G3972 unto G4314 him, G846 God G2316 shall G3195 smite G5180 thee, G4571 thou whited G2867 wall: G5109 for G2532 sittest G2521 thou G4771 to judge G2919 me G3165 after G2596 the law, G3551 and G2532 commandest G2753 me G3165 to be smitten G5180 contrary to the law? G3891
4 And G1161 they that stood by G3936 said, G2036 Revilest thou G3058 God's G2316 high priest? G749
5 Then G5037 said G5346 Paul, G3972 I wist G1492 not, G3756 brethren, G80 that G3754 he was G2076 the high priest: G749 for G1063 it is written, G1125 Thou shalt G2046 not G3756 speak G2046 evil G2560 of the ruler G758 of thy G4675 people. G2992
6 But G1161 when Paul G3972 perceived G1097 that G3754 the one G1520 part G3313 were G2076 Sadducees, G4523 and G1161 the other G2087 Pharisees, G5330 he cried out G2896 in G1722 the council, G4892 Men G435 and brethren, G80 I G1473 am G1510 a Pharisee, G5330 the son G5207 of a Pharisee: G5330 of G4012 the hope G1680 and G2532 resurrection G386 of the dead G3498 I G1473 am called in question. G2919
7 And G1161 when he G846 had G2980 so G5124 said, G2980 there arose G1096 a dissension G4714 between the Pharisees G5330 and G2532 the Sadducees: G4523 and G2532 the multitude G4128 was divided. G4977
8 For G1063 G3303 the Sadducees G4523 say G3004 that there is G1511 no G3361 resurrection, G386 neither G3366 angel, G32 nor G3383 spirit: G4151 but G1161 the Pharisees G5330 confess G3670 both. G297
9 And G1161 there arose G1096 a great G3173 cry: G2906 and G2532 the scribes G1122 that were of the Pharisees' G5330 part G3313 arose, G450 and strove, G1264 saying, G3004 We find G2147 no G3762 evil G2556 in G1722 this G5129 man: G444 but G1161 if G1487 a spirit G4151 or G2228 an angel G32 hath spoken G2980 to him, G846 let us G2313 not G3361 fight G2313 against God.
10 And G1161 when there arose G1096 a great G4183 dissension, G4714 the chief captain, G5506 fearing G2125 lest G3361 Paul G3972 should have been pulled in pieces G1288 of G5259 them, G846 commanded G2753 the soldiers G4753 to go down, G2597 and to take G726 him G846 by force G726 from G1537 among G3319 them, G846 and G5037 to bring G71 him into G1519 the castle. G3925
11 And G1161 the night G3571 following G1966 the Lord G2962 stood by G2186 him, G846 and said, G2036 Be of good cheer, G2293 Paul: G3972 for G1063 as G5613 thou hast testified G1263 of G4012 me G1700 in G1519 Jerusalem, G2419 so G3779 must G1163 thou G4571 bear witness G3140 also G2532 at G1519 Rome. G4516
12 And G1161 when it was G1096 day, G2250 certain G5100 of the Jews G2453 banded together, G4160 G4963 and bound G332 themselves G1438 under a curse, G332 saying G3004 that they would G5315 neither G3383 eat G5315 nor G3383 drink G4095 till G2193 G3757 they had killed G615 Paul. G3972
13 And G1161 they were G2258 more than G4119 forty G5062 which G3588 had made G4160 this G5026 conspiracy. G4945
14 And they G3748 came to G4334 the chief priests G749 and G2532 elders, G4245 and said, G2036 We have bound G332 ourselves G1438 under a great curse, G331 that we will eat G1089 nothing G3367 until G2193 G3739 we have slain G615 Paul. G3972
15 Now G3568 therefore G3767 ye G5210 with G4862 the council G4892 signify G1718 to the chief captain G5506 that G3704 he bring G2609 him G846 down G2609 unto G4314 you G5209 to morrow, G839 as G5613 though ye would G3195 enquire G1231 something more perfectly G197 concerning G4012 him: G846 and G1161 we, G2249 or ever G4253 he G846 come near, G1448 are G2070 ready G2092 to kill G337 him. G846
16 And G1161 when Paul's G3972 sister's G79 son G5207 heard G191 of their lying in wait, G1749 he went G3854 and G2532 entered G1525 into G1519 the castle, G3925 and told G518 Paul. G3972
17 Then G1161 Paul G3972 called G4341 one G1520 of the centurions G1543 unto him, and said, G5346 Bring G520 this G5126 young man G3494 unto G4314 the chief captain: G5506 for G1063 he hath G2192 a certain thing G5100 to tell G518 him. G846
18 So G3767 G3303 he took G3880 him, G846 and brought G71 him to G4314 the chief captain, G5506 and G2532 said, G5346 Paul G3972 the prisoner G1198 called G4341 me G3165 unto him, and prayed me G2065 to bring G71 this G5126 young man G3494 unto G4314 thee, G4571 who hath G2192 something G5100 to say G2980 unto thee. G4671
19 Then G1161 the chief captain G5506 took G1949 him G846 by the hand, G5495 and G2532 went with him aside G402 privately, G2596 G2398 and asked G4441 him, What G5101 is G2076 that G3739 thou hast G2192 to tell G518 me? G3427
20 And G1161 he said, G2036 G3754 The Jews G2453 have agreed G4934 to desire G2065 thee G4571 that G3704 thou wouldest bring down G2609 Paul G3972 to morrow G839 into G1519 the council, G4892 as G5613 though they would G3195 enquire G4441 somewhat G5100 of G4012 him G846 more perfectly. G197
21 But G3767 do G3982 not G3361 thou G4771 yield G3982 unto them: G846 for G1063 there lie in wait for G1748 him G846 of G1537 them G846 more than G4119 forty G5062 men, G435 which G3748 have bound G332 themselves G1438 with an oath, G332 that they will G5315 neither G3383 eat G5315 nor G3383 drink G4095 till G2193 G3739 they have killed G337 him: G846 and G2532 now G3568 are they G1526 ready, G2092 looking for G4327 a promise G1860 from G575 thee. G4675
22 So G3303 G3767 the chief captain G5506 then let G630 the young man G3494 depart, G630 and charged G3853 him, See thou tell G1583 no man G3367 that G3754 thou hast shewed G1718 these things G5023 to G4314 me. G3165
23 And G2532 he called unto G4341 him G5100 two G1417 centurions, G1543 saying, G2036 Make ready G2090 two hundred G1250 soldiers G4757 to G3704 go G4198 to G2193 Caesarea, G2542 and G2532 horsemen G2460 threescore and ten, G1440 and G2532 spearmen G1187 two hundred, G1250 at G575 the third G5154 hour G5610 of the night; G3571
24 And G5037 provide G3936 them beasts, G2934 that G2443 they may set G1913 Paul G3972 on, G1913 and bring him safe G1295 unto G4314 Felix G5344 the governor. G2232
25 And he wrote G1125 a letter G1992 after G4023 this G5126 manner: G5179
26 Claudius G2804 Lysias G3079 unto the most excellent G2903 governor G2232 Felix G5344 sendeth greeting. G5463
27 This G5126 man G435 was taken G4815 of G5259 the Jews, G2453 and G2532 should G3195 have been killed G337 of G5259 them: G846 then came I G2186 with G4862 an army, G4753 and rescued G1807 him, G846 having understood G3129 that G3754 he was G2076 a Roman. G4514
28 And G1161 when G1014 I would G1014 have known G1097 the cause G156 wherefore G1223 G3739 they accused G1458 him, G846 I brought G2609 him G846 forth G2609 into G1519 their G846 council: G4892
29 Whom G3739 I perceived G2147 to be accused G1458 of G4012 questions G2213 of their G846 law, G3551 but G1161 to have G2192 nothing G3367 laid to his charge G1462 worthy G514 of death G2288 or G2228 of bonds. G1199
30 And G1161 when it was told G3377 me G3427 how that G5259 the Jews G2453 laid wait G1917 G3195 G1510 for G1519 the man, G435 I sent G3992 straightway G1824 to G4314 thee, G4571 and gave commandment G3853 to his accusers G2725 also G2532 to say G3004 before G1909 thee G4675 what they had against G4314 him. G846 Farewell. G4517
31 Then G3767 G3303 the soldiers, G4757 as G2596 it was commanded G1299 them, G846 took G353 Paul, G3972 and brought G71 him by G1223 night G3571 to G1519 Antipatris. G494
32 G1161 On the morrow G1887 they left G1439 the horsemen G2460 to go G4198 with G4862 him, G846 and returned G5290 to G1519 the castle: G3925
33 Who, G3748 when they came G1525 to G1519 Caesarea, G2542 and G2532 delivered G325 the epistle G1992 to the governor, G2232 presented G3936 Paul G3972 also G2532 before him. G846
34 And G1161 when the governor G2232 had read G314 the letter, G2532 he asked G1905 of G1537 what G4169 province G1885 he was. G2076 And G2532 when he understood G4441 that G3754 he was of G575 Cilicia; G2791
35 I will hear G1251 thee, G4675 said he, G5346 when G3752 thine G4675 accusers G2725 are G3854 also G2532 come. G3854 And G5037 he commanded G2753 him G846 to be kept G5442 in G1722 Herod's G2264 judgment hall. G4232
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Acts 23
Commentary on Acts 23 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 23
Ac 23:1-10. Paul's Defense before the Sanhedrin Divides the Rival Factions, from Whose Violence the Commandant Has the Apostle Removed into the Fortress.
1. Paul, earnestly beholding the council—with a look of conscious integrity and unfaltering courage, perhaps also recognizing some of his early fellow pupils.
I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day—The word has an indirect reference to the "polity" or "commonwealth of Israel," of which he would signify that he had been, and was to that hour, an honest and God-fearing member.
2. the high priest … commanded … to smite him on the mouth—a method of silencing a speaker common in the East to this day [Hacket]. But for a judge thus to treat a prisoner on his "trial," for merely prefacing his defense by a protestation of his integrity, was infamous.
3, 4. God shall smite thee—as indeed He did; for he was killed by an assassin during the Jewish war [Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 2.17.9].
thou whited wall—that is, hypocrite (Mt 23:27). This epithet, however correctly describing the man, must not be defended as addressed to a judge, though the remonstrance which follows—"for sittest thou," &c.—ought to have put him to shame.
5. I wist not … that he was the high priest—All sorts of explanations of this have been given. The high priesthood was in a state of great confusion and constant change at this time (as appears from Josephus), and the apostle's long absence from Jerusalem, and perhaps the manner in which he was habited or the seat he occupied, with other circumstances to us unknown, may account for such a speech. But if he was thrown off his guard by an insult which touched him to the quick, "what can surpass the grace with which he recovered his self-possession, and the frankness with which he acknowledged his error? If his conduct in yielding to the momentary impulse was not that of Christ Himself under a similar provocation (Joh 18:22, 23), certainly the manner in which he atoned for his fault was Christ-like" [Hacket].
6-9. when Paul perceived—from the discussion which plainly had by this time arisen between the parties.
that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out—raising his voice above both parties.
I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee—The true reading seems to be, "the son of Pharisees," that is, belonging to a family who from father to son had long been such.
of the hope and resurrection of the dead—that is, not the vague hope of immortality, but the definite expectation of the resurrection.
I am called in question—By this adroit stroke, Paul engages the whole Pharisaic section of the council in his favor; the doctrine of a resurrection being common to both, though they would totally differ in their application of it. This was, of course, quite warrantable, and the more so as it was already evident that no impartiality in trying his cause was to be looked for from such an assembly.
8. the Sadducees say … there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit—(See on Lu 20:37).
the scribes … of the Pharisees' part … strove, saying, We find no evil in this man, but—as to those startling things which he brings to our ears.
if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him—referring, perhaps, to his trance in the temple, of which he had told them (Ac 22:17). They put this favorable construction upon his proceedings for no other reason than that they had found him one of their own party. They care not to inquire into the truth of what he alleged, over and above their opinions, but only to explain it away as something not worth raising a noise about. (The following words, "Let us not fight against God," seem not to belong to the original text, and perhaps are from Ac 5:39. In this case, either the meaning is, "If he has had some divine communication, what of that?" or, the conclusion of the sentence may have been drowned in the hubbub, which Ac 23:10 shows to have been intense).
10. the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled to pieces … commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force, &c.—This shows that the commandant was not himself present, and further, that instead of the Sanhedrim trying the cause, the proceedings quickly consisted in the one party attempting to seize the prisoner, and the other to protect him.
Ac 23:11-35. In the Fortress Paul Is Cheered by a Night Vision—An Infamous Conspiracy to Assassinate Him Is Providentially Defeated, and He Is Despatched by Night with a Letter from the Commandant to Felix at Cæsarea, by Whom Arrangements Are Made for a Hearing of His Cause.
11. the night following—his heart perhaps sinking, in the solitude of his barrack ward, and thinking perhaps that all the predictions of danger at Jerusalem were now to be fulfilled in his death there.
the Lord—that is, Jesus.
stood by him … Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou … also at Rome—that is, "Thy work in Jerusalem is done, faithfully and well done; but thou art not to die here; thy purpose next to 'see Rome' (Ac 19:21) shall not be disappointed, and there also must thou bear witness of Me." As this vision was not unneeded now, so we shall find it cheering and upholding him throughout all that befell him up to his arrival there.
12-14. bound themselves under a curse … that they would neither eat … fill they had killed Paul—Compare 2Sa 3:35; 1Sa 14:24.
15. Now … ye with the council signify to the chief captain … as though, &c.—That these high ecclesiastics fell in readily with this infamous plot is clear. What will not unscrupulous and hypocritical religionists do under the mask of religion? The narrative bears unmistakable internal marks of truth.
or ever he come near—Their plan was to assassinate him on his way down from the barracks to the council. The case was critical, but He who had pledged His word to him that he should testify for Him at Rome provided unexpected means of defeating this well-laid scheme.
16-22. Paul's sister's son—(See on Ac 9:30). If he was at this time residing at Jerusalem for his education, like Paul himself, he may have got at the schools those hints of the conspiracy on which he so promptly acted.
17. Then Paul called one of the centurions—Though divinely assured of safety, he never allows this to interfere with the duty he owed to his own life and the work he had yet to do. (See on Ac 27:22-25; Ac 27:31).
19. took him by the hand—This shows that he must have been quite in his boyhood, and throws a pleasing light on the kind-hearted impartiality of this officer.
21. and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee—Thus, as is so often the case with God's people, not till the last moment, when the plot was all prepared, did deliverance come.
23, 24. two hundred soldiers—a formidable guard for such an occasion; but Roman officials felt their honor concerned in the preservation of the public peace, and the danger of an attempted rescue would seem to require it. The force at Jerusalem was large enough to spare this convoy.
the third hour of the night—nine o'clock.
24. beasts … set Paul on—as relays, and to carry baggage.
unto Felix, the governor—the procurator. See on Ac 24:24, 25.
26-30. Claudius—the Roman name he would take on purchasing his citizenship.
Lysias—his Greek family name.
the most excellent governor—an honorary title of office.
27. came I with an army—rather, "with the military."
29. perceived to be accused of questions of their law, &c.—Amidst all his difficulty in getting at the charges laid against Paul, enough, no doubt, come out to satisfy him that the whole was a question of religion, and that there was no case for a civil tribunal.
30. gave commandment to his accusers … to say before thee—This was not done when he wrote, but would be before the letter reached its destination.
31, 32. brought him … to Antipatris—nearly forty miles from Jerusalem, on the way to Cæsarea; so named by Herod in honor of his father, Antipater.
32. On the morrow they—the infantry.
left the horsemen—themselves no longer needed as a guard. The remaining distance was about twenty-five or twenty-six miles.
34, 35. asked of what province he was—the letter describing him as a Roman citizen.
35. I will hear thee—The word means, "give thee a full hearing."
to be kept in Herod's judgment hall—"prætorium," the palace built at Cæsarea by Herod, and now occupied by the Roman procurators; in one of the buildings attached to which Paul was ordered to be kept.