American Standard Version
Acts 23:3
3Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: and sittest thou to judge me according to the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
Acts 23:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then 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?
- New International Version (NIV)Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”
Context of Acts 23:3
1And Paul, looking stedfastly on the council, said, Brethren, I have lived before God in all good conscience until this day. 2And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: and sittest thou to judge me according to the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? 4And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest? 5And Paul said, I knew not, brethren, that he was high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of a ruler of thy people.
Read all of Acts 23Acts 23:3 word by word
τότε ὁ Παῦλος πρὸς αὐτὸν εἶπεν· τύπτειν σε μέλλει ὁ θεός, τοῖχε κεκονιαμένε· καὶ σὺ κάθῃ κρίνων με κατὰ τὸν νόμον, καὶ παρανομῶν κελεύεις με τύπτεσθαι;Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Acts 23:3
- Matthew 23:27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
- Leviticus 19:35Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.
- Psalms 58:1Do ye indeed in silence speak righteousness? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
- Psalms 82:1God standeth in the congregation of God; He judgeth among the gods.
- Psalms 94:20Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with thee, Which frameth mischief by statute?
- Ecclesiastes 3:16And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.
- Amos 5:7Ye who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth,
- Micah 3:8But as for me, I am full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
- Deuteronomy 25:1If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, and the judges judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
- John 7:51Doth our law judge a man, except it first hear from himself and know what he doeth?
- John 18:24Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.
Commentaries on Acts 23:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3God shall smite thee, thou whited wall - Thou hypocrite! who sittest on the seat of judgment, pretending to hear and seriously weigh the defense of an accused person, who must in justice and equity be presumed to be innocent till he is proved to be guilty; and, instead of acting according to the law, commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law, which always has the person of the prisoner under its protection; nor ever suffers any penalty to be…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3God shall smite thee - God shall punish thee. God is just; and he will not suffer such a manifest violation of all the laws of a fair trial to pass unavenged. This was a remarkably bold and fearless declaration. Paul was surrounded by enemies. They were seeking his life. He must have known that such declarations would only excite their wrath and make them more thirsty for his blood. That he could thus address the president of the council was not only…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3you whitewashed wall: Compare Ezekiel 13:10–17; Matthew 23:27.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-43-4. God shall smite thee--as indeed He did; for he was killed by an assassin during the Jewish war [Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 2.17.9]. thou whited wall--that is, hypocrite (Mt 23:27). This epithet, however correctly describing the man, must not be defended as addressed to a judge, though the remonstrance which follows--"for sittest thou," &c.--ought to have put him to shame.Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 23:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Acts 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries