English Standard Version
Acts 23:3
3Then 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?"
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!”
- 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?”
- New Living Translation (NLT)But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?”
Context of Acts 23:3
1And looking intently at the council, Paul said, "Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day." 2And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 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?" 4Those who stood by said, "Would you revile God's high priest?" 5And Paul said, "I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, 'You shall 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! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.
- Leviticus 19:35"You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity.
- Psalms 58:1Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
- Psalms 82:1God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
- Psalms 94:20Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?
- Ecclesiastes 3:16Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.
- Amos 5:7O you who turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth!
- Micah 3:8But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
- Deuteronomy 25:1"If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty,
- John 7:51"Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?"
- John 18:24Annas then 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries