Acts 23:2

Acts 23:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
• New International Version (NIV)At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.

Context of Acts 23:2

1Paul looked at the group of Jewish leaders and he said to them, ‘My Jewish friends, God knows that I have nothing to be ashamed about today. I have always respected God's Laws.’ The most important priest, who was called Ananias, heard Paul's words. He said to the men who were near Paul, ‘Hit that man on his mouth!’ 3Paul said to him, ‘God will certainly hit you! You are a hypocrite! You are sitting there and you are judging me. You are asking if I obey the Law of God. But you yourself do not obey the Law! You should not have said, “Hit that man!” ’ 4The men who were standing near Paul said to him, ‘You must not say bad things against our most important priest!’

Acts 23:2 word by word

ὁ δὲ ἀρχιερεὺς Ἁνανίας ἐπέταξεν τοῖς παρεστῶσιν αὐτῷ τύπτειν αὐτοῦ τὸ στόμα.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andδέde · thenG1161
• the high priestἀρχιερεύςarchiereus · high-priestG749
• AnaniasἈνανίαςAnanias · AnaniasG367
• commandedἐπιτάσσωepitassō · to commandG2004
• stood byπαρίστημιparistēmi paristanō · to stand byG3936
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• to smiteτύπτωtuptō · to strikeG5180
• on the mouthστόμαstoma · mouthG4750

Cross-references for Acts 23:2

• Acts 24:1Five days after that, Ananias, the leader of the priests, went to Caesarea. Some important Jews went with him. A man called Tertullus also went with them. He was a lawyer. All these people went to meet with Felix, the ruler. They told Felix what Paul had done. Felix would judge who was right.
• 1 Kings 22:24Then Kenaanah's son Zedekiah went to Micaiah. He hit Micaiah on his face. He asked Micaiah, ‘Do you say that the Lord's spirit has gone away from me and has spoken to you instead? How did he do that?’
• Jeremiah 20:2So he told his men to beat Jeremiah. Then they tied Jeremiah up with heavy pieces of wood on his legs. That was at the Benjamin Gate of the Lord's temple.
• Micah 5:1Soldiers in Jerusalem, come together! Get ready, because your enemies are attacking you. They are all round the city, ready to fight. They will hit Israel's ruler on his face with a stick.
• Matthew 26:67Then some of them spat into Jesus' face. They also hit him with their fists.
• John 18:22When Jesus said this, one of the soldiers hit him on the face. The soldier said, ‘You should not speak to the leader of the priests like that!’

Commentaries on Acts 23:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The high priest, Ananias - There was a high priest of this name, who was sent a prisoner to Rome by Quadratus, governor of Syria, to give an account of the part he took in the quarrel between the Jews and the Samaritans; see Joseph. Antiq. lib. xx. cap. 6, s. 8; but whether he ever returned again to Jerusalem, says Dr. Lightfoot, is uncertain; still more uncertain whether he was ever restored to the office of high priest; and most uncertain of all whether…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2And the high priest Ananias - This Ananias was doubtless the son of Nebedinus (Josephus, Antiq., book 20, chapter 5, section 3), who was high priest when Quadratus, who preceded Felix, was president of Syria. He was sent bound to Rome by Quadratus, at the same time with Ananias, the prefect of the temple, that they might give an account of their conduct to Claudius Caesar (Josephus, Antiq., book 20, chapter 6, section 2). But in consequence of the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Ananias was the Jewish high priest from AD 47 to 58. strike him: Ananias had the apostle struck because he thought Paul was lying and wanted to scare him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. the high priest ... commanded ... to smite him on the mouth--a method of silencing a speaker common in the East to this day [Hacket]. But for a judge thus to treat a prisoner on his "trial," for merely prefacing his defense by a protestation of his integrity, was infamous.Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 23:2

• Ananias
• Court
• Defense
• Intolerance, Religious
• Paul
• Priest
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• High priest
• Ananias
• Band
• Conspiracy
• Cry
• James
• Thorn in the flesh
• Tiller
• Acts of the Apostles
• Ananias (1)

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