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Acts 23:11-35

Context

23:11 The following night the Lord¹ stood near² Paul³ and said, “Have courage,⁴ for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem,⁵ so you must also testify in Rome.”⁶

The Plot to Kill Paul

23:12 When morning came,⁷ the Jews formed⁸ a conspiracy⁹ and bound themselves with an oath¹⁰ not to eat or drink anything¹¹ until they had killed Paul. 23:13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy.¹² 23:14 They¹³ went¹⁴ to the chief priests¹⁵ and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath¹⁶ not to partake¹⁷ of anything until we have killed Paul. 23:15 So now you and the council¹⁸ request the commanding officer¹⁹ to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine²⁰ his case²¹ by conducting a more thorough inquiry.²² We are ready to kill him²³ before he comes near this place.”²⁴

23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush,²⁵ he came and entered²⁶ the barracks²⁷ and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called²⁸ one of the centurions²⁹ and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer,³⁰ for he has something to report to him.” 23:18 So the centurion³¹ took him and brought him to the commanding officer³² and said, “The prisoner Paul called³³ me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 23:19 The commanding officer³⁴ took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want³⁵ to report to me?” 23:20 He replied,³⁶ “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council³⁷ tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this,³⁸ because more than forty of them³⁹ are lying in ambush⁴⁰ for him. They⁴¹ have bound themselves with an oath⁴² not to eat or drink anything⁴³ until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.”⁴⁴ 23:22 Then the commanding officer⁴⁵ sent the young man away, directing him,⁴⁶ “Tell no one that you have reported⁴⁷ these things to me.” 23:23 Then⁴⁸ he summoned⁴⁹ two of the centurions⁵⁰ and said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea⁵¹ along with seventy horsemen⁵² and two hundred spearmen⁵³ by⁵⁴ nine o’clock tonight,⁵⁵ 23:24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride⁵⁶ so that he may be brought safely to Felix⁵⁷ the governor.”⁵⁸ 23:25 He wrote⁵⁹ a letter that went like this:⁶⁰

23:26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor⁶¹ Felix,⁶² greetings. 23:27 This man was seized⁶³ by the Jews and they were about to kill him,⁶⁴ when I came up⁶⁵ with the detachment⁶⁶ and rescued him, because I had learned that he was⁶⁷ a Roman citizen.⁶⁸ 23:28 Since I wanted to know⁶⁹ what charge they were accusing him of,⁷⁰ I brought him down to their council.⁷¹ 23:29 I found he⁷² was accused with reference to controversial questions⁷³ about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment.⁷⁴ 23:30 When I was informed⁷⁵ there would be a plot⁷⁶ against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges⁷⁷ against him before you.

23:31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders,⁷⁸ took⁷⁹ Paul and brought him to Antipatris⁸⁰ during the night. 23:32 The next day they let⁸¹ the horsemen⁸² go on with him, and they returned to the barracks.⁸³ 23:33 When the horsemen⁸⁴ came to Caesarea⁸⁵ and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented⁸⁶ Paul to him. 23:34 When the governor⁸⁷ had read⁸⁸ the letter,⁸⁹ he asked⁹⁰ what province he was from.⁹¹ When he learned⁹² that he was from Cilicia,⁹³ 23:35 he said, “I will give you a hearing⁹⁴ when your accusers arrive too.” Then⁹⁵ he ordered that Paul⁹⁶ be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.⁹⁷

[23:11] ¹sn The presence of the Lord indicated the vindicating presence and direction of God.

[23:11] ²tn Grk “standing near Paul, said.” The participle ἐπιστάς (epistas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:11] ³tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:11] ⁴tn Or “Do not be afraid.”

[23:11] ⁵map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:11] ⁶sn Like Jesus went to Jerusalem, Paul would now go to Rome. This trip forms the concluding backdrop to Acts. This is the second notice about going to Rome (see Acts 19:21 for the first).

[23:12] ⁷tn Grk “when it was day.”

[23:12] ⁸tn 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] ⁹tn 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] ¹⁰tn 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] ¹¹tn 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] ¹²tn 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] ¹³tn 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] ¹⁴tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:14] ¹⁵sn 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] ¹⁶tn 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] ¹⁷tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).

[23:15] ¹⁸tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:15] ¹⁹tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:15] ²⁰tn 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] ²¹tn Grk “determine the things about him.”

[23:15] ²²tn The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).

[23:15] ²³sn “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] ²⁴tn The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[23:16] ²⁵tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).

[23:16] ²⁶tn 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] ²⁷tn 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] ²⁸tn Grk “calling…Paul said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:17] ²⁹sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:17] ³⁰tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18] ³¹tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:18] ³²tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18] ³³tn Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:19] ³⁴tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:19] ³⁵tn 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] ³⁶tn Grk “He said.”

[23:20] ³⁷tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:21] ³⁸tn 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] ³⁹tn 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] ⁴⁰tn Grk “are lying in wait for him” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.

[23:21] ⁴¹tn 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] ⁴²tn 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] ⁴³tn 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] ⁴⁴tn 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] ⁴⁵tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:22] ⁴⁶tn 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] ⁴⁷tn 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] ⁴⁸tn 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] ⁴⁹tn Grk “summoning…he said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:23] ⁵⁰sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:23] ⁵¹sn 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] ⁵²tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:23] ⁵³tn 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] ⁵⁴tn Grk “from.”

[23:23] ⁵⁵tn Grk “from the third hour of the night.”

[23:24] ⁵⁶tn Grk “provide mounts to put Paul on.”

[23:24] ⁵⁷sn 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] ⁵⁸tn Grk “Felix the procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:25] ⁵⁹tn 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] ⁶⁰tn 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] ⁶¹tn Grk “Procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:26] ⁶²sn Governor Felix. See the note on Felix in v. 24.

[23:27] ⁶³tn 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] ⁶⁴tn 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] ⁶⁵tn Or “approached.”

[23:27] ⁶⁶tn 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] ⁶⁷tn In Greek this is a present tense retained in indirect discourse.

[23:27] ⁶⁸tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[23:28] ⁶⁹tn Or “determine.”

[23:28] ⁷⁰tn 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] ⁷¹tn Grk “their Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:29] ⁷²tn 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] ⁷³tn 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] ⁷⁴tn 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] ⁷⁵tn Grk “It being revealed to me.” The participle μηνυθείσης (mhnuqeish") has been taken temporally.

[23:30] ⁷⁶tn The term translated “plot” here is a different one than the one in Acts 23:16 (see BDAG 368 s.v. ἐπιβουλή).

[23:30] ⁷⁷tn 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] ⁷⁸tn BDAG 237-38 s.v. διατάσσω 2 has “κατὰ τὸ δ. αὐτοῖς in accordance w. their orders…Ac 23:31.”

[23:31] ⁷⁹tn Grk “taking.” The participle ἀναλαβόντες (analabonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:31] ⁸⁰sn 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] ⁸¹tn Grk “letting.” The participle ἐάσαντες (easante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:32] ⁸²tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:32] ⁸³tn 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] ⁸⁴tn 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] ⁸⁵sn 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] ⁸⁶tn 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] ⁸⁷tn Grk “he”; the referent (the governor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:34] ⁸⁸tn Grk “having read.” The participle ἀναγνούς (anagnou") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34] ⁸⁹tn 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] ⁹⁰tn 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] ⁹¹sn 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] ⁹²tn Grk “and learning.” The participle πυθόμενος (puqomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34] ⁹³sn Cilicia was a province in northeastern Asia Minor.

[23:35] ⁹⁴tn 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] ⁹⁵tn 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] ⁹⁶tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:35] ⁹⁷sn 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.