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Acts 23:15-35

Context
23:15 So now you and the council¹ request the commanding officer² to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine³ his case⁴ by conducting a more thorough inquiry.⁵ We are ready to kill him⁶ before he comes near this place.”⁷

23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush,⁸ he came and entered⁹ the barracks¹⁰ and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called¹¹ one of the centurions¹² and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer,¹³ for he has something to report to him.” 23:18 So the centurion¹⁴ took him and brought him to the commanding officer¹⁵ and said, “The prisoner Paul called¹⁶ me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 23:19 The commanding officer¹⁷ took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want¹⁸ to report to me?” 23:20 He replied,¹⁹ “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council²⁰ tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this,²¹ because more than forty of them²² are lying in ambush²³ for him. They²⁴ have bound themselves with an oath²⁵ not to eat or drink anything²⁶ until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.”²⁷ 23:22 Then the commanding officer²⁸ sent the young man away, directing him,²⁹ “Tell no one that you have reported³⁰ these things to me.” 23:23 Then³¹ he summoned³² two of the centurions³³ and said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea³⁴ along with seventy horsemen³⁵ and two hundred spearmen³⁶ by³⁷ nine o’clock tonight,³⁸ 23:24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride³⁹ so that he may be brought safely to Felix⁴⁰ the governor.”⁴¹ 23:25 He wrote⁴² a letter that went like this:⁴³

23:26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor⁴⁴ Felix,⁴⁵ greetings. 23:27 This man was seized⁴⁶ by the Jews and they were about to kill him,⁴⁷ when I came up⁴⁸ with the detachment⁴⁹ and rescued him, because I had learned that he was⁵⁰ a Roman citizen.⁵¹ 23:28 Since I wanted to know⁵² what charge they were accusing him of,⁵³ I brought him down to their council.⁵⁴ 23:29 I found he⁵⁵ was accused with reference to controversial questions⁵⁶ about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment.⁵⁷ 23:30 When I was informed⁵⁸ there would be a plot⁵⁹ against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges⁶⁰ against him before you.

23:31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders,⁶¹ took⁶² Paul and brought him to Antipatris⁶³ during the night. 23:32 The next day they let⁶⁴ the horsemen⁶⁵ go on with him, and they returned to the barracks.⁶⁶ 23:33 When the horsemen⁶⁷ came to Caesarea⁶⁸ and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented⁶⁹ Paul to him. 23:34 When the governor⁷⁰ had read⁷¹ the letter,⁷² he asked⁷³ what province he was from.⁷⁴ When he learned⁷⁵ that he was from Cilicia,⁷⁶ 23:35 he said, “I will give you a hearing⁷⁷ when your accusers arrive too.” Then⁷⁸ he ordered that Paul⁷⁹ be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.⁸⁰

[23:15] ¹tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:15] ²tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:15] ³tn 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] ⁴tn Grk “determine the things about him.”

[23:15] ⁵tn The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).

[23:15] ⁶sn “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] ⁷tn The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[23:16] ⁸tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).

[23:16] ⁹tn 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] ¹⁰tn 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] ¹¹tn Grk “calling…Paul said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:17] ¹²sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:17] ¹³tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18] ¹⁴tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:18] ¹⁵tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:18] ¹⁶tn Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

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

[23:19] ¹⁸tn 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] ¹⁹tn Grk “He said.”

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

[23:21] ²¹tn 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] ²²tn 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] ²³tn Grk “are lying in wait for him” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.

[23:21] ²⁴tn 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] ²⁵tn 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] ²⁶tn 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] ²⁷tn 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] ²⁸tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:22] ²⁹tn 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] ³⁰tn 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] ³¹tn 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] ³²tn Grk “summoning…he said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:23] ³³sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:23] ³⁴sn 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] ³⁵tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:23] ³⁶tn 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] ³⁷tn Grk “from.”

[23:23] ³⁸tn Grk “from the third hour of the night.”

[23:24] ³⁹tn Grk “provide mounts to put Paul on.”

[23:24] ⁴⁰sn 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] ⁴¹tn Grk “Felix the procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:25] ⁴²tn 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] ⁴³tn 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] ⁴⁴tn Grk “Procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:26] ⁴⁵sn Governor Felix. See the note on Felix in v. 24.

[23:27] ⁴⁶tn 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] ⁴⁷tn 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] ⁴⁸tn Or “approached.”

[23:27] ⁴⁹tn 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] ⁵⁰tn In Greek this is a present tense retained in indirect discourse.

[23:27] ⁵¹tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[23:28] ⁵²tn Or “determine.”

[23:28] ⁵³tn 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] ⁵⁴tn Grk “their Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:29] ⁵⁵tn 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] ⁵⁶tn 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] ⁵⁷tn 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] ⁵⁸tn Grk “It being revealed to me.” The participle μηνυθείσης (mhnuqeish") has been taken temporally.

[23:30] ⁵⁹tn The term translated “plot” here is a different one than the one in Acts 23:16 (see BDAG 368 s.v. ἐπιβουλή).

[23:30] ⁶⁰tn 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] ⁶¹tn BDAG 237-38 s.v. διατάσσω 2 has “κατὰ τὸ δ. αὐτοῖς in accordance w. their orders…Ac 23:31.”

[23:31] ⁶²tn Grk “taking.” The participle ἀναλαβόντες (analabonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:31] ⁶³sn 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] ⁶⁴tn Grk “letting.” The participle ἐάσαντες (easante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:32] ⁶⁵tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:32] ⁶⁶tn 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] ⁶⁷tn 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] ⁶⁸sn 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] ⁶⁹tn 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] ⁷⁰tn Grk “he”; the referent (the governor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:34] ⁷¹tn Grk “having read.” The participle ἀναγνούς (anagnou") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34] ⁷²tn 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] ⁷³tn 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] ⁷⁴sn 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] ⁷⁵tn Grk “and learning.” The participle πυθόμενος (puqomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34] ⁷⁶sn Cilicia was a province in northeastern Asia Minor.

[23:35] ⁷⁷tn 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] ⁷⁸tn 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] ⁷⁹tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:35] ⁸⁰sn 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.