Christian Standard Bible
Acts 23:3
3Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?”
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
1Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience to this day.” 2The high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?” 4Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare revile God’s high priest?” 5“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thenτότεtote · thenG5119
- saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Paulὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- PaulΠαῦλοςPaulos · PaulG3972
- untoπρόςpros · to/withG4314
- himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- shallμέλλωmellō · to ensueG3195
- smiteτύπτωtuptō · to strikeG5180
- theeσύsu · youG4771
- whitedκονιάωkoniaō · to whitewashG2867
- wallτοῖχοςtoichos · wallG5109
- forκαίkai · andG2532
- sittestκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
- to judgeκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
- meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- afterκατάkata · according toG2596
- the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
- commandestκελεύωkeleuō · to orderG2753
- contrary to the lawπαρανομέωparanomeō · to break the lawG3891
Cross-references for Acts 23:3
- Matthew 23:27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity.
- Leviticus 19:35“Do not be unfair in measurements of length, weight, or volume.
- Psalms 58:1Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones? Do you judge people fairly?
- Psalms 82:1God stands in the divine assembly; he pronounces judgment among the gods:
- Psalms 94:20Can a corrupt throne be your ally, a throne that makes evil laws?
- Ecclesiastes 3:16I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.
- Amos 5:7Those who turn justice into wormwood also throw righteousness to the ground.
- Micah 3:8As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord, with justice and courage, to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.
- Deuteronomy 25:1“If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court, and the judges will hear their case. They will clear the innocent and condemn the guilty.
- John 7:51“Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?”
- John 18:24Then Annas sent him bound to 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
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