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Acts 23:13-35

Context
23:13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy.¹ 23:14 They² went³ to the chief priests⁴ and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath⁵ not to partake⁶ of anything until we have killed Paul. 23:15 So now you and the council⁷ request the commanding officer⁸ to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine⁹ his case¹⁰ by conducting a more thorough inquiry.¹¹ We are ready to kill him¹² before he comes near this place.”¹³

23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush,¹⁴ he came and entered¹⁵ the barracks¹⁶ and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called¹⁷ one of the centurions¹⁸ and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer,¹⁹ for he has something to report to him.” 23:18 So the centurion²⁰ took him and brought him to the commanding officer²¹ and said, “The prisoner Paul called²² me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 23:19 The commanding officer²³ took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want²⁴ to report to me?” 23:20 He replied,²⁵ “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council²⁶ tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this,²⁷ because more than forty of them²⁸ are lying in ambush²⁹ for him. They³⁰ have bound themselves with an oath³¹ not to eat or drink anything³² until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.”³³ 23:22 Then the commanding officer³⁴ sent the young man away, directing him,³⁵ “Tell no one that you have reported³⁶ these things to me.” 23:23 Then³⁷ he summoned³⁸ two of the centurions³⁹ and said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea⁴⁰ along with seventy horsemen⁴¹ and two hundred spearmen⁴² by⁴³ nine o’clock tonight,⁴⁴ 23:24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride⁴⁵ so that he may be brought safely to Felix⁴⁶ the governor.”⁴⁷ 23:25 He wrote⁴⁸ a letter that went like this:⁴⁹

23:26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor⁵⁰ Felix,⁵¹ greetings. 23:27 This man was seized⁵² by the Jews and they were about to kill him,⁵³ when I came up⁵⁴ with the detachment⁵⁵ and rescued him, because I had learned that he was⁵⁶ a Roman citizen.⁵⁷ 23:28 Since I wanted to know⁵⁸ what charge they were accusing him of,⁵⁹ I brought him down to their council.⁶⁰ 23:29 I found he⁶¹ was accused with reference to controversial questions⁶² about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment.⁶³ 23:30 When I was informed⁶⁴ there would be a plot⁶⁵ against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges⁶⁶ against him before you.

23:31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders,⁶⁷ took⁶⁸ Paul and brought him to Antipatris⁶⁹ during the night. 23:32 The next day they let⁷⁰ the horsemen⁷¹ go on with him, and they returned to the barracks.⁷² 23:33 When the horsemen⁷³ came to Caesarea⁷⁴ and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented⁷⁵ Paul to him. 23:34 When the governor⁷⁶ had read⁷⁷ the letter,⁷⁸ he asked⁷⁹ what province he was from.⁸⁰ When he learned⁸¹ that he was from Cilicia,⁸² 23:35 he said, “I will give you a hearing⁸³ when your accusers arrive too.” Then⁸⁴ he ordered that Paul⁸⁵ be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.⁸⁶

[23:13] ¹tn 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] ²tn 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] ³tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:14] ⁴sn 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] ⁵tn 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] ⁶tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).

[23:15] ⁷tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:15] ⁸tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:15] ⁹tn 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] ¹⁰tn Grk “determine the things about him.”

[23:15] ¹¹tn The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).

[23:15] ¹²sn “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] ¹³tn The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[23:16] ¹⁴tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).

[23:16] ¹⁵tn 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] ¹⁶tn 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] ¹⁷tn Grk “calling…Paul said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:17] ¹⁸sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:17] ¹⁹tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18] ²⁰tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:18] ²¹tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18] ²²tn Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

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

[23:19] ²⁴tn 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] ²⁵tn Grk “He said.”

[23:20] ²⁶tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:21] ²⁷tn 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] ²⁸tn 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] ²⁹tn Grk “are lying in wait for him” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.

[23:21] ³⁰tn 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] ³¹tn 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] ³²tn 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] ³³tn 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] ³⁴tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:22] ³⁵tn 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] ³⁶tn 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] ³⁷tn 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] ³⁸tn Grk “summoning…he said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:23] ³⁹sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:23] ⁴⁰sn 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] ⁴¹tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:23] ⁴²tn 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] ⁴³tn Grk “from.”

[23:23] ⁴⁴tn Grk “from the third hour of the night.”

[23:24] ⁴⁵tn Grk “provide mounts to put Paul on.”

[23:24] ⁴⁶sn 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] ⁴⁷tn Grk “Felix the procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:25] ⁴⁸tn 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] ⁴⁹tn 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] ⁵⁰tn Grk “Procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:26] ⁵¹sn Governor Felix. See the note on Felix in v. 24.

[23:27] ⁵²tn 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] ⁵³tn 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] ⁵⁴tn Or “approached.”

[23:27] ⁵⁵tn 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] ⁵⁶tn In Greek this is a present tense retained in indirect discourse.

[23:27] ⁵⁷tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[23:28] ⁵⁸tn Or “determine.”

[23:28] ⁵⁹tn 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] ⁶⁰tn Grk “their Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:29] ⁶¹tn 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] ⁶²tn 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] ⁶³tn 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] ⁶⁴tn Grk “It being revealed to me.” The participle μηνυθείσης (mhnuqeish") has been taken temporally.

[23:30] ⁶⁵tn The term translated “plot” here is a different one than the one in Acts 23:16 (see BDAG 368 s.v. ἐπιβουλή).

[23:30] ⁶⁶tn 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] ⁶⁷tn BDAG 237-38 s.v. διατάσσω 2 has “κατὰ τὸ δ. αὐτοῖς in accordance w. their orders…Ac 23:31.”

[23:31] ⁶⁸tn Grk “taking.” The participle ἀναλαβόντες (analabonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:31] ⁶⁹sn 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] ⁷⁰tn Grk “letting.” The participle ἐάσαντες (easante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:32] ⁷¹tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:32] ⁷²tn 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] ⁷³tn 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] ⁷⁴sn 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] ⁷⁵tn 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] ⁷⁶tn Grk “he”; the referent (the governor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:34] ⁷⁷tn Grk “having read.” The participle ἀναγνούς (anagnou") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34] ⁷⁸tn 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] ⁷⁹tn 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] ⁸⁰sn 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] ⁸¹tn Grk “and learning.” The participle πυθόμενος (puqomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34] ⁸²sn Cilicia was a province in northeastern Asia Minor.

[23:35] ⁸³tn 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] ⁸⁴tn 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] ⁸⁵tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:35] ⁸⁶sn 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.