God’s Word Translation
Acts 23:3
3Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you hypocrite! You sit there and judge me by Moses’ Teachings and yet you break those teachings by ordering these men to strike me!”
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 stared at the Jewish council and said, “Brothers, my relationship with God has always given me a perfectly clear conscience.” 2The chief priest Ananias ordered the men standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you hypocrite! You sit there and judge me by Moses’ Teachings and yet you break those teachings by ordering these men to strike me!” 4The men standing near Paul said to him, “You’re insulting God’s chief priest!” 5Paul answered, “Brothers, I didn’t know that he is the chief priest. After all, Scripture says, ‘Don’t speak evil about 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“How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed graves that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and every kind of impurity.
- Leviticus 19:35“Don’t be corrupt when administering justice concerning length, weight, or measuring liquid.
- Psalms 58:1Do you rulers really give fair verdicts? Do you judge Adam’s descendants fairly?
- Psalms 82:1God takes his place in his own assembly. He pronounces judgment among the gods:
- Psalms 94:20Are wicked rulers who use the law to do unlawful things able to be your partners?
- Ecclesiastes 3:16I saw something else under the sun: There is wickedness where justice should be found. There is wickedness where righteousness should be found.
- Amos 5:7You, Israel, turn justice into poison and throw righteousness on the ground.
- Micah 3:8But I am filled with the power of the Lord’s Spirit, with justice, and with strength. So I will tell ⌞the descendants of⌟ Jacob about their crimes and ⌞the nation of⌟ Israel about its sins.
- Deuteronomy 25:1This is what you must do whenever ⌞two⌟ people have a disagreement that is brought into court. The judges will hear the case and decide who’s right and who’s wrong.
- John 7:51“Do Moses’ Teachings enable us to judge a person without first hearing that person’s side of the story? We can’t judge a person without finding out what that person has done.”
- John 18:24Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas, the chief priest. Jesus was still tied up.
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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