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Acts 23:12-35

Context

The Plot to Kill Paul

23:12 When morning came,¹ the Jews formed² a conspiracy³ and bound themselves with an oath⁴ not to eat or drink anything⁵ until they had killed Paul. 23:13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy.⁶ 23:14 They⁷ went⁸ to the chief priests⁹ and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath¹⁰ not to partake¹¹ of anything until we have killed Paul. 23:15 So now you and the council¹² request the commanding officer¹³ to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine¹⁴ his case¹⁵ by conducting a more thorough inquiry.¹⁶ We are ready to kill him¹⁷ before he comes near this place.”¹⁸

23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush,¹⁹ he came and entered²⁰ the barracks²¹ and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called²² one of the centurions²³ and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer,²⁴ for he has something to report to him.” 23:18 So the centurion²⁵ took him and brought him to the commanding officer²⁶ and said, “The prisoner Paul called²⁷ me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 23:19 The commanding officer²⁸ took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want²⁹ to report to me?” 23:20 He replied,³⁰ “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council³¹ tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this,³² because more than forty of them³³ are lying in ambush³⁴ for him. They³⁵ have bound themselves with an oath³⁶ not to eat or drink anything³⁷ until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.”³⁸ 23:22 Then the commanding officer³⁹ sent the young man away, directing him,⁴⁰ “Tell no one that you have reported⁴¹ these things to me.” 23:23 Then⁴² he summoned⁴³ two of the centurions⁴⁴ and said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea⁴⁵ along with seventy horsemen⁴⁶ and two hundred spearmen⁴⁷ by⁴⁸ nine o’clock tonight,⁴⁹ 23:24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride⁵⁰ so that he may be brought safely to Felix⁵¹ the governor.”⁵² 23:25 He wrote⁵³ a letter that went like this:⁵⁴

23:26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor⁵⁵ Felix,⁵⁶ greetings. 23:27 This man was seized⁵⁷ by the Jews and they were about to kill him,⁵⁸ when I came up⁵⁹ with the detachment⁶⁰ and rescued him, because I had learned that he was⁶¹ a Roman citizen.⁶² 23:28 Since I wanted to know⁶³ what charge they were accusing him of,⁶⁴ I brought him down to their council.⁶⁵ 23:29 I found he⁶⁶ was accused with reference to controversial questions⁶⁷ about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment.⁶⁸ 23:30 When I was informed⁶⁹ there would be a plot⁷⁰ against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges⁷¹ against him before you.

23:31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders,⁷² took⁷³ Paul and brought him to Antipatris⁷⁴ during the night. 23:32 The next day they let⁷⁵ the horsemen⁷⁶ go on with him, and they returned to the barracks.⁷⁷ 23:33 When the horsemen⁷⁸ came to Caesarea⁷⁹ and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented⁸⁰ Paul to him. 23:34 When the governor⁸¹ had read⁸² the letter,⁸³ he asked⁸⁴ what province he was from.⁸⁵ When he learned⁸⁶ that he was from Cilicia,⁸⁷ 23:35 he said, “I will give you a hearing⁸⁸ when your accusers arrive too.” Then⁸⁹ he ordered that Paul⁹⁰ be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.⁹¹

[23:12] ¹tn Grk “when it was day.”

[23:12] ²tn Grk “forming a conspiracy, bound.” The participle ποιήσαντες (poihsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:12] ³tn L&N 30.72 has ‘some Jews formed a conspiracy’ Ac 23:12”; BDAG 979 s.v. συστροφή 1 has “Judeans came together in a mob 23:12. But in the last pass. the word may also mean – 2. the product of a clandestine gathering, plot, conspiracy” (see also Amos 7:10; Ps 63:3).

[23:12] ⁴tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” On such oaths see m. Shevi’it 3:1-5. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[23:12] ⁵tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[23:13] ⁶tn L&N 30.73 defines συνωμοσία (sunwmosia) as “a plan for taking secret action someone or some institution, with the implication of an oath binding the conspirators – ‘conspiracy, plot.’ …‘there were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy’ Ac 23:13.”

[23:14] ⁷tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:14] ⁸tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:14] ⁹sn They went to the chief priests. The fact that the high priest knew of this plot and did nothing shows the Jewish leadership would even become accomplices to murder to stop Paul. They would not allow Roman justice to take its course. Paul’s charge in v. 3 of superficially following the law is thus shown to be true.

[23:14] ¹⁰tn Or “bound ourselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” The pleonastic use ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν (literally “we have cursed ourselves with a curse”) probably serves as an intensifier following Semitic usage, and is represented in the translation by the word “solemn.” On such oaths see m. Nedarim 3:1, 3.

[23:14] ¹¹tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).

[23:15] ¹²tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:15] ¹³tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:15] ¹⁴tn Or “decide.” BDAG 227 s.v. διαγινώσκω has “ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ to make a more thorough examination of his case Ac 23:15.”

[23:15] ¹⁵tn Grk “determine the things about him.”

[23:15] ¹⁶tn The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).

[23:15] ¹⁷sn “We are ready to kill him.” Now those Jews involved in the conspiracy, along with the leaders as accomplices, are going to break one of the ten commandments.

[23:15] ¹⁸tn The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[23:16] ¹⁹tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).

[23:16] ²⁰tn Grk “coming and entering…, he told.” The participles παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") and εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:16] ²¹tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”

[23:17] ²²tn Grk “calling…Paul said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:17] ²³sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:17] ²⁴tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18] ²⁵tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:18] ²⁶tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18] ²⁷tn Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:19] ²⁸tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:19] ²⁹tn Grk “you have,” but the expression “have to report” in English could be understood to mean “must report” rather than “possess to report.” For this reason the nearly equivalent expression “want to report,” which is not subject to misunderstanding, was used in the translation.

[23:20] ³⁰tn Grk “He said.”

[23:20] ³¹tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:21] ³²tn Grk “do not be persuaded by them.” The passive construction μὴ πεισθῇς αὐτοῖς (mh peisqh" autoi") has been converted to an active construction in the translation, and the phrase “to do this” supplied to indicate more clearly the object of their persuasion.

[23:21] ³³tn Grk “forty men of them.” In the expression ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες (ex autwn andre") “men” is somewhat redundant and has not been included in the English translation.

[23:21] ³⁴tn Grk “are lying in wait for him” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.

[23:21] ³⁵tn Grk “for him, who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“they”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[23:21] ³⁶tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone… ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.”

[23:21] ³⁷tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[23:21] ³⁸tn Grk “waiting for your approval,” “waiting for your agreement.” Since it would be possible to misunderstand the literal translation “waiting for your approval” to mean that the Jews were waiting for the commander’s approval to carry out their plot or to kill Paul (as if he were to be an accomplice to their plot), the object of the commander’s approval (their request to bring Paul to the council) has been specified in the translation as “their request.”

[23:22] ³⁹tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:22] ⁴⁰tn BDAG 760 s.v. παραγγέλλω has “to make an announcement about someth. that must be done, give orders, command, instruct, direct of all kinds of persons in authority, worldly rulers, Jesus, the apostles…παραγγέλλειν w. an inf. and μή comes to mean forbid to do someth.: π. τινί w. aor. inf. Lk 5:14; 8:56; without the dat., which is easily supplied fr. the context Ac 23:22.” However, if the direct discourse which follows is to be retained in the translation, a different translation must be used since it is awkward to introduce direct discourse with the verb to forbid. Thus the alternative to direct was used.

[23:22] ⁴¹tn On this verb, see BDAG 325-26 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 2. The term was frequently used of an official report to authorities. In modern terms, this was a police tip.

[23:23] ⁴²tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to the reported ambush, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[23:23] ⁴³tn Grk “summoning…he said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:23] ⁴⁴sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:23] ⁴⁵sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a journey of about 65 mi (just over 100 km).

[23:23] ⁴⁶tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:23] ⁴⁷tn A military technical term of uncertain meaning. BDAG 217 s.v. δεξιολάβος states, “a word of uncertain mng., military t.t., acc. to Joannes Lydus…and Theophyl. Sim., Hist. 4, 1 a light-armed soldier, perh. bowman, slinger; acc. to a scholion in CMatthaei p. 342 body-guard….Spearman Goodspd., NRSV; ‘security officer’, GDKilpatrick, JTS 14, ’63, 393f.”

[23:23] ⁴⁸tn Grk “from.”

[23:23] ⁴⁹tn Grk “from the third hour of the night.”

[23:24] ⁵⁰tn Grk “provide mounts to put Paul on.”

[23:24] ⁵¹sn Felix the governor was Antonius Felix, a freedman of Antonia, mother of the Emperor Claudius. He was the brother of Pallas and became procurator of Palestine in a.d. 52/53. His administration was notorious for its corruption, cynicism, and cruelty. According to the historian Tacitus (History 5.9) Felix “reveled in cruelty and lust, and wielded the power of a king with the mind of a slave.”

[23:24] ⁵²tn Grk “Felix the procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:25] ⁵³tn Grk “writing.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun here in the translation, supplying “he” (referring to the commanding officer, Claudius Lysias) as subject. The participle γράψας (grayas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:25] ⁵⁴tn Grk “having this form,” “having this content.” L&N 33.48 has “γράψσς ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον ‘then he wrote a letter that went like this’ Ac 23:25. It is also possible to understand ἐπιστολή in Ac 23:25 not as a content or message, but as an object (see 6.63).”

[23:26] ⁵⁵tn Grk “Procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:26] ⁵⁶sn Governor Felix. See the note on Felix in v. 24.

[23:27] ⁵⁷tn The participle συλλημφθέντα (sullhmfqenta) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. The remark reviews events of Acts 21:27-40.

[23:27] ⁵⁸tn Grk “and was about to be killed by them.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:27] ⁵⁹tn Or “approached.”

[23:27] ⁶⁰tn Normally this term means “army,” but according to BDAG 947 s.v. στράτευμα, “Of a smaller detachment of soldiers, sing. Ac 23:10, 27.” In the plural it can be translated “troops,” but it is singular here.

[23:27] ⁶¹tn In Greek this is a present tense retained in indirect discourse.

[23:27] ⁶²tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[23:28] ⁶³tn Or “determine.”

[23:28] ⁶⁴tn Grk “to know the charge on account of which they were accusing him.” This has been simplified to eliminate the prepositional phrase and relative pronoun δι᾿ ἣν (di’ }hn) similar to L&N 27.8 which has “‘I wanted to find out what they were accusing him of, so I took him down to their Council’ Ac 23:28.”

[23:28] ⁶⁵tn Grk “their Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:29] ⁶⁶tn Grk “whom I found.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been changed to a personal pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence begun in the translation at this point.

[23:29] ⁶⁷tn BDAG 428 s.v. ζήτημα states, “in our lit. only in Ac, w. the mng. it still has in Mod. Gk. (controversial) question, issue, argument…Ac 15:2; 26:3. ζ. περί τινος questions about someth.…18:15; 25:19. – In 23:29, since περί had already been used, the subj. of the discussion is added in the gen. ζ. τοῦ νόμου αὐτῶν.”

[23:29] ⁶⁸tn Grk “but having no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.” BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 has “legal t.t.…ἔ. ἄξιον θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν a charge deserving death or imprisonment 23:29.”

[23:30] ⁶⁹tn Grk “It being revealed to me.” The participle μηνυθείσης (mhnuqeish") has been taken temporally.

[23:30] ⁷⁰tn The term translated “plot” here is a different one than the one in Acts 23:16 (see BDAG 368 s.v. ἐπιβουλή).

[23:30] ⁷¹tn Grk “the things against him.” This could be rendered as “accusations,” “grievances,” or “charges,” but since “ordered his accusers to state their accusations” sounds redundant in English, “charges” was used instead.

[23:31] ⁷²tn BDAG 237-38 s.v. διατάσσω 2 has “κατὰ τὸ δ. αὐτοῖς in accordance w. their orders…Ac 23:31.”

[23:31] ⁷³tn Grk “taking.” The participle ἀναλαβόντες (analabonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:31] ⁷⁴sn Antipatris was a city in Judea about 35 mi (55 km) northwest of Jerusalem (about halfway to Caesarea). It was mentioned several times by Josephus (Ant. 13.15.1 [13.390]; J. W. 1.4.7 [1.99]).

[23:32] ⁷⁵tn Grk “letting.” The participle ἐάσαντες (easante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:32] ⁷⁶tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:32] ⁷⁷tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”

[23:33] ⁷⁸tn Grk “who, coming to Caesarea.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek construction, a new sentence was begun here in the translation. The relative pronoun (“who”) has been replaced with the referent (the horsemen) in the translation for clarity.

[23:33] ⁷⁹sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. It was about 30 mi (50 km) from Antipatris.

[23:33] ⁸⁰tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 1.b has “present, represent – α. lit. τινά τινι someone to someone παρέστησαν τὸν Παῦλον αὐτῷ Ac 23:33.”

[23:34] ⁸¹tn Grk “he”; the referent (the governor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:34] ⁸²tn Grk “having read.” The participle ἀναγνούς (anagnou") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34] ⁸³tn The words “the letter” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[23:34] ⁸⁴tn Grk “and asking.” The participle ἐπερωτήσας (eperwthsa") has been translated as a finite verb and καί (kai) left untranslated due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34] ⁸⁵sn Governor Felix asked what province he was from to determine whether he had legal jurisdiction over Paul. He could have sent him to his home province for trial, but decided to hear the case himself.

[23:34] ⁸⁶tn Grk “and learning.” The participle πυθόμενος (puqomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34] ⁸⁷sn Cilicia was a province in northeastern Asia Minor.

[23:35] ⁸⁸tn Or “I will hear your case.” BDAG 231 s.v. διακούω has “as legal t.t. give someone an opportunity to be heard in court, give someone (τινός) a hearing Ac 23:35”; L&N 56.13 has “to give a judicial hearing in a legal matter – ‘to hear a case, to provide a legal hearing, to hear a case in court.’”

[23:35] ⁸⁹tn Grk “ordering.” The participle κελεύσας (keleusas) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence. “Then” has also been supplied to indicate the logical and temporal sequence.

[23:35] ⁹⁰tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:35] ⁹¹sn Herod’s palace (Grk “Herod’s praetorium”) was the palace built in Caesarea by Herod the Great. See Josephus, Ant. 15.9.6 (15.331). These events belong to the period of a.d. 56-57.