God’s Word Translation
Acts 23:5
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.’ ”
Acts 23:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
- New International Version (NIV)Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And 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.'"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”
Context of Acts 23:5
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!” 4The men standing near Paul said to him, “You’re insulting God’s chief priest!” Paul 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.’ ” 6When Paul saw that some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted in the council, “Brothers, I’m a Pharisee and a descendant of Pharisees. I’m on trial because I expect that the dead will come back to life.” 7After Paul said that, the Pharisees and Sadducees began to quarrel, and the men in the meeting were divided.
Read all of Acts 23Acts 23:5 word by word
ἔφη τε ὁ Παῦλος· οὐκ ᾔδειν, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι ἐστὶν ἀρχιερεύς· γέγραπται γὰρ ἄρχοντα τοῦ λαοῦ σου οὐκ ἐρεῖς κακῶς.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thenτεte · and/bothG5037
- saidφημίphēmi · to assertG5346
- Paulὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- PaulΠαῦλοςPaulos · PaulG3972
- I wistεἴδωeidō · to perceive: knowG1492
- notοὐou · noG3756
- brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
- thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- he wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- the high priestἀρχιερεύςarchiereus · high-priestG749
- forγάρgar · forG1063
- it is writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
- Thou shaltἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
- evilκακῶςkakōs · badlyG2560
- of the rulerἄρχωνarchōn · rulerG758
- of thyσύsu · youG4771
- peopleλαόςlaos · a peopleG2992
Cross-references for Acts 23:5
- Acts 24:17After many years I have come back to my people and brought gifts for the poor and offerings ⌞for God⌟.
- Exodus 22:28“Never show disrespect for God or curse a leader of your people.
- Ecclesiastes 10:20Don’t curse the king even in your thoughts, and don’t curse rich people even in your bedroom. A bird may carry your words, or some winged creature may repeat what you say.
- 2 Peter 2:10This is especially true of those who follow their corrupt nature along the path of impure desires and who despise the Lord’s authority. These false teachers are bold and arrogant. They aren’t afraid to insult the ⌞Lord’s⌟ glory.
- Jude 1:8Yet, in a similar way, the people who slipped in among you are dreamers. They contaminate their bodies with sin, reject the Lord’s authority, and insult his glory.
Commentaries on Acts 23:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest - After all the learned labor that has been spent on this subject, the simple meaning appears plainly to be this: - St. Paul did not know that Ananias was high priest; he had been long absent from Jerusalem; political changes were frequent; the high priesthood was no longer in succession, and was frequently bought and sold; the Romans put down one high priest, and raised up another, as political reasons…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Then said Paul, I wist not - I know not; I was ignorant of the fact that he was high priest. Interpreters have been greatly divided on the meaning of this expression. Some have supposed that Paul said it in irony, as if he had said, “Pardon me, brethren, I did not consider that this was the high priest. It did not occur to me that a man who could conduct thus could be God‘s highest. Others have thought (as Grotius) that Paul used these words for the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5It is unclear why Paul did not recognize the high priest. Paul responded by quoting Exodus 22:28, showing respect for the high priest's position.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. I wist not ... that he was the high priest--All sorts of explanations of this have been given. The high priesthood was in a state of great confusion and constant change at this time (as appears from Josephus), and the apostle's long absence from Jerusalem, and perhaps the manner in which he was habited or the seat he occupied, with other circumstances to us unknown, may account for such a speech. But if he was thrown off his guard by an insult which…Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 23:5
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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