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Acts 23

KJV · Chapter 23/28

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

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

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?

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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?

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.

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

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

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

25And he wrote a letter after this manner:

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Before the Sanhedrin, Paul causes division between Pharisees and Sadducees by mentioning the resurrection. When a plot by more than forty men to kill him is uncovered, he is sent under heavy guard to Caesarea, to the governor Felix.

Explanation

Paul shows strategic insight by exploiting the theological divide between the Pharisees (who believed in the resurrection) and the Sadducees (who did not), sparking a dispute that ends up shielding him from direct violence. The vision he receives from Jesus himself, confirming that he would also testify in Rome, gives divine context to events that seemed like mere political persecution. The assassination plot, revealed by his nephew, shows that Paul's protection came both from divine intervention and from ordinary people willing to act.

Fun facts

  • Paul's nephew, mentioned here, is the only biblical reference to his family besides indirect mentions — suggesting that part of his family still lived in Jerusalem.
  • The escort of 470 soldiers (200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen) to transport a single prisoner shows how serious the threat was and how seriously Rome took keeping public order in the province of Judea.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Acts 23:1Paul opens his address before the Sanhedrin by stating that he had lived up to that point with a good conscience before God, a declaration of innocence even before any formal accusation.
  2. Acts 23:2Ananias was the high priest at the time, not to be confused with the Ananias of Damascus in chapter 9 or the one in chapter 5. Ordering a defendant struck before even hearing his defense was a clear violation of Jewish judicial procedure itself.
  3. Acts 23:3Paul reacts sharply to the order to strike him before the trial has even begun, calling the high priest a “whited wall”—an image of a fine-looking surface hiding rot underneath—and pointing out the hypocrisy of judging him against the very law he was supposed to uphold.
  4. Acts 23:4Those present are shocked at Paul’s boldness in directly insulting the high priest, a figure of the highest religious authority.
  5. Acts 23:5Paul apologizes, saying he did not know it was the high priest who had given the order, and cites an Old Testament law forbidding speaking evil of a ruler of the people.
  6. Acts 23:6Paul uses a clever tactic: knowing the council was split between Pharisees and Sadducees, he shifts the discussion to belief in the resurrection, which only the Pharisees accepted, turning the two groups against each other instead of against him.
  7. Acts 23:7As soon as Paul mentions the resurrection, an internal dispute breaks out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, dividing the very assembly that was supposed to judge him.
  8. Acts 23:8A direct summary of the theological difference between the two main Jewish religious groups of the time: the Sadducees followed only the five books of Moses in a more literal way, while the Pharisees accepted more developed ideas such as the resurrection and angels.
  9. Acts 23:9The uproar grows, and the scribes on the Pharisaic side even go so far as to defend Paul, saying they find no fault in him and admitting the possibility that he really had received a spiritual revelation.
  10. Acts 23:10With the fight spiraling out of control, the Roman commander fears Paul will be torn apart in the confusion and orders the soldiers to force him back into the fortress.
  11. Acts 23:11This is the first clear indication that Paul will eventually reach Rome, something that will only be fulfilled two years of imprisonment later, at the end of the book. It functions as a promise that guides the rest of the narrative.
  12. Acts 23:12The next day, a group of Jews makes an extreme oath: not to eat or drink until they succeed in killing Paul, showing the level of hatred he stirred up.
  13. Acts 23:13Luke records the exact size of this group of conspirators, more than forty men, making clear this was not an isolated plan by just a few people.
  14. Acts 23:14The conspirators approach the chief priests and elders to tell them the plan and ask for logistical help in carrying it out.
  15. Acts 23:15Their strategy is to convince the council to ask the Roman commander to bring Paul back before the Sanhedrin, claiming they want more information, so they can ambush him along the way.
  16. Acts 23:16This is the Bible’s only mention of a relative of Paul, showing he had family living in Jerusalem. The nephew, whose name we do not know, is the one who learns of the murder plot and prevents his uncle’s death.
  17. Acts 23:17As soon as he learns of the plan through his nephew, Paul asks a centurion to take the young man to the commander to tell him what he knew.
  18. Acts 23:18The centurion obeys and takes the young man to the commander, explaining that it was Paul the prisoner himself who asked for him to be heard.
  19. Acts 23:19The commander takes the young man aside to a private spot, takes him by the hand in a gesture of personal attention, and asks directly what he has to tell him.
  20. Acts 23:20The nephew reveals the Jews’ plan to ask that Paul be brought back before the council under the pretext of further questions.
  21. Acts 23:21He warns that more than forty men were lying in ambush, ready to kill Paul along the way, and were only waiting for the commander’s approval to act.
  22. Acts 23:22The commander lets the young man go, but demands total secrecy, telling him not to tell anyone that he had revealed this information.
  23. Acts 23:23A huge escort, nearly four hundred soldiers between infantry, cavalry, and spearmen, to take a single prisoner to Caesarea. It shows the scale of the uproar Paul caused and how careful the Roman commander was to avoid a scandal involving a Roman citizen under his watch.
  24. Acts 23:24The commander also provides mounts to transport Paul safely to Governor Felix, an escort fit for someone important, even though he was a prisoner.
  25. Acts 23:25The commander writes an official letter explaining the situation to the governor, a document Luke reproduces almost in full next.
  26. Acts 23:26The letter opens with a standard formal Roman greeting: from Claudius Lysias, the commander, to the “most excellent” governor Felix.
  27. Acts 23:27Lysias sums up the case in his own favor, describing how he rescued Paul from being killed by the Jews as soon as he learned he was a Roman citizen.
  28. Acts 23:28He explains that, wanting to understand the real charge against Paul, he brought him before the Jewish religious council to investigate.
  29. Acts 23:29Lysias concludes, in the official report, that the accusation was only about internal questions of Jewish law, with no crime deserving death or imprisonment.
  30. Acts 23:30He justifies sending Paul urgently to Felix by pointing to the discovery of the ambush plot, and asks that the accusers themselves bring their charges directly to the governor.
  31. Acts 23:31Following the orders they received, the soldiers take Paul by night to Antipatris, a town about halfway to Caesarea.
  32. Acts 23:32The next day, the infantry returns to the fortress in Jerusalem, leaving only the cavalry to continue escorting Paul, now in a safer region.
  33. Acts 23:33On arriving in Caesarea, the horsemen deliver both the letter and Paul himself directly to Governor Felix.
  34. Acts 23:34After reading the letter, Felix asks what province Paul is from, and on learning he is from Cilicia, decides how to proceed.
  35. Acts 23:35Felix promises to hear the case once the accusers arrive, and orders Paul kept under guard in Herod’s former palace, used as the seat of Roman government in Caesarea.

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