Acts 23

Paul looked straight at the council, the Jewish high court, and said, "Brothers, I have lived my life before God with a clear conscience, right up to this day."

1And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

NoteThe "council" is the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish court in Jerusalem: roughly seventy chief priests, elders and teachers of the law, presided over by the high priest. Under Roman rule it kept wide authority over questions of Jewish law and religion.

2At that, Ananias the high priest, the chief leader of the temple priests, ordered the men standing near Paul to hit him on the mouth.

2And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.

NoteAnanias son of Nedebaeus was high priest from about AD 47 to 59. Other ancient sources describe him as wealthy and ready to use violence. The high priest headed the temple and presided over the council, so ordering a blow before any evidence had been heard is what Paul protests against in the next verse.

3Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me by the law, and yet you break the law yourself by ordering them to hit me."

3Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?

NoteA "whited wall" is a wall coated with whitewash so that it looks clean and solid while the crumbling mud or rubble behind it is hidden. As an insult it means a man whose legal appearance covers the opposite.

4The men standing nearby said, "Do you dare insult God's high priest?"

4And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest?

5Paul answered, "Brothers, I did not know he was the high priest. It is written in scripture, 'Do not speak evil of the ruler of your people.'"

5Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

NoteKJV "I wist not" simply means "I did not know." The quotation is from Exodus 22:28. Why Paul did not know is disputed: he had been away from Jerusalem for years and may not have recognized the man, the hearing may not have been a formal session with the high priest in his robes, his eyesight may have been poor, or the words may be pointed, meaning he would not recognize a man acting like that as a high priest. The Greek allows any of these.

6Paul saw that part of the council were Sadducees and part were Pharisees, two Jewish groups that disagreed with each other. So he called out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I am on trial because of my hope that the dead will rise."

6But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

NoteThe Pharisees and Sadducees were the two main parties among the Jewish leadership. The Sadducees came largely from wealthy priestly families and were centered on the temple; they treated only the five books of Moses as binding and rejected later developments such as belief in resurrection. The Pharisees were teachers and interpreters of the law who accepted the whole of scripture along with a large body of oral tradition, including the rising of the dead. "The son of a Pharisee" claims a family loyalty, not just a personal one.

7As soon as he said this, an argument broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the whole gathering split into two sides.

7And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.

8The Sadducees say there is no rising from the dead, and no angels and no spirits either. The Pharisees believe in all of them.

8For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

NoteThe Sadducees' position followed from limiting authority to the books of Moses, where they found no clear teaching about a resurrection, about angels as an order of beings, or about the spirit surviving death. By saying he is on trial over the resurrection, Paul puts himself on the side of one half of the court against the other.

9A great shouting started. Some teachers of the law who belonged to the Pharisees stood up and argued hard, saying, "We find nothing wrong with this man. If a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God."

9And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

Note"Scribes" were professional experts in the written law, trained to copy, interpret and teach it; many of them belonged to the Pharisee party. In the Greek their sentence breaks off unfinished after "if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him", leaving the thought hanging; the words "let us not fight against God" appear only in later manuscripts, borrowed from Acts 5:39, and most modern translations leave them out.

10The argument grew so violent that the Roman commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered his soldiers to go down, take Paul away from the crowd by force, and bring him into the army barracks.

10And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.

NoteThe "chief captain" is a Roman tribune, named in verse 26 as Claudius Lysias, commanding a cohort of about a thousand men. The "castle" is the Antonia fortress, the garrison barracks built against the north side of the temple courts, which is why the soldiers have to "go down" to reach the council and then bring Paul up again.

11The next night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, "Take courage, Paul. You have told people about me here in Jerusalem, and you must do the same in Rome."

11And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

12When morning came, some of the Jews joined together and swore an oath, calling down a curse on themselves if they ate or drank anything before they had killed Paul.

12And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

NoteThe oath was a formal self-curse: the men called down disaster on themselves if they failed to do what they had sworn. Jewish legal authorities could release a person from such a vow when keeping it became impossible, so in practice the oath bound them less absolutely than the words sound.

13There were more than forty men who made this plot.

13And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.

14They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, "We have sworn a solemn oath, with a curse on ourselves, not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.

14And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.

NoteThe "chief priests" were the senior temple officials, including men from the leading priestly families and former high priests; the "elders" were lay heads of prominent families. Both groups sat on the council, which is why the plotters approach them.

15So now you and the council should ask the commander to bring Paul down to you tomorrow, as if you wanted to look into his case more carefully. We will be ready to kill him before he gets near."

15Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.

16But the son of Paul's sister heard about the ambush. He went into the barracks and told Paul.

16And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.

NoteThis is the only place in Acts where a member of Paul's family appears. It implies that his sister's household lived in or near Jerusalem, the city where Paul had been brought up and educated.

17Then Paul called over one of the centurions, an officer in charge of about a hundred soldiers, and said, "Take this young man to the commander. He has something to tell him."

17Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.

18So the officer took him and brought him to the commander and said, "Paul the prisoner called me over and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you."

18So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.

19The commander took the young man by the hand, led him off to one side where they could speak alone, and asked, "What is it you have to tell me?"

19Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?

20He said, "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as if they wanted to ask him more careful questions about his case.

20And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly.

21Do not give in to them. More than forty of their men are hiding, waiting to attack him. They have sworn an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready right now, waiting for you to agree."

21But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.

22So the commander sent the young man away and ordered him, "Do not tell anyone that you reported this to me."

22So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me.

23Then he called two of his centurions and said, "Get two hundred soldiers ready to march to Caesarea, along with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen. Leave at the third hour of the night.

23And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night;

Note"Threescore and ten" is the King James way of saying seventy; a score is twenty. The "third hour of the night" is counted from sunset, so about nine in the evening. The Greek word behind "spearmen" is found almost nowhere else and its sense is uncertain: it has been taken to mean spearmen, light-armed auxiliaries, or men leading spare mounts. The escort of 470 men is close to half the Jerusalem garrison, a very heavy guard for one prisoner. Caesarea, on the Mediterranean coast about sixty miles northwest of Jerusalem, was the seat of Roman government in Judea.

24Also provide animals for Paul to ride, and bring him safely to Felix, the Roman governor."

24And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.

Note"Beasts" means riding animals, probably mules or horses; the plural leaves room for remounts or baggage as well as a mount for Paul. Felix is Antonius Felix, Roman governor of Judea from about AD 52 to 59. He was a former slave who had been freed and owed his post to influence at the imperial court; the Roman historian Tacitus wrote of him harshly. He governed from Caesarea rather than Jerusalem.

25And he wrote a letter that went like this:

25And he wrote a letter after this manner:

26"From Claudius Lysias, to His Excellency, Governor Felix. Greetings.

26Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting.

Note"Most excellent" was the standard formal address for a Roman official of rank. The letter follows the ordinary Greek pattern of the time: sender, then addressee, then the single word "greeting". The commander's name is Roman, and he most likely took "Claudius" when he bought his citizenship during the reign of the emperor Claudius, which fits his remark in Acts 22:28 that it had cost him a large sum.

27This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him. I came with my soldiers and rescued him, because I had learned that he is a Roman citizen.

27This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.

NoteLysias arranges the facts to his own advantage. By the account given in Acts 21 and 22 he rescued Paul without knowing he was a Roman citizen, and learned it only afterward, when Paul had already been bound and was about to be flogged. A Roman official could face serious consequences for treating a citizen that way, which is what his version quietly covers.

28I wanted to find out what they were charging him with, so I brought him down to their council.

28And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council:

29I found that the charges against him were about questions in their own law, and that nothing he was accused of deserved death or prison.

29Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.

Note"Bonds" in the King James means chains or imprisonment. The finding carries legal weight: the commander is reporting that the dispute belongs to Jewish law and that Paul has committed no offense punishable under Roman law.

30When I was told that the Jews were setting a trap for the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered the men accusing him to bring their case against him to you. Goodbye."

30And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.

Note"Straightway" means at once. "Farewell" translates the standard closing of a Greek letter, roughly "be well" or "keep strong"; it is ordinary correspondence etiquette rather than a personal goodbye.

31So the soldiers did what they were ordered. They took Paul and brought him during the night to the town of Antipatris.

31Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.

NoteAntipatris was a town rebuilt by Herod the Great and named after his father Antipater, about forty miles northwest of Jerusalem on the road to Caesarea. That first stretch, through hill country with a largely Jewish population, was where an ambush was most likely, so it was covered in one night march.

32The next day the foot soldiers went back to the barracks and let the horsemen ride on with Paul.

32On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:

NoteBeyond Antipatris the road ran across open coastal plain through mostly Gentile territory, where the Jerusalem plotters were unlikely to follow. The foot soldiers could therefore turn back and leave the cavalry to cover the remaining twenty five miles or so.

33When the horsemen reached Caesarea, they handed the letter to the governor and brought Paul before him as well.

33Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.

34The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul came from. When he learned that Paul was from Cilicia, he said,

34And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia;

NoteA Roman governor had to decide whether a prisoner fell under his own jurisdiction or should be sent to the governor of the man's home province, so the question about province is a legal one. Cilicia lay in the southeast of Asia Minor, in what is now southern Turkey; its chief city was Tarsus, where Paul was born.

35"I will hear your case when the men accusing you have arrived too." Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's judgment hall.

35I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.

Note"Herod's judgment hall" translates the word praetorium: the palace built at Caesarea by Herod the Great, which had since become the Roman governor's official residence and administrative headquarters. Paul is held there under guard rather than in a common prison.