New King James Version
Acts 23:3
3Then 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?”
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 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
1Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until 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 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?” 4And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” 5Then 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.’ ”
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 indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
- Leviticus 19:35‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume.
- Psalms 58:1Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
- Psalms 82:1God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.
- Psalms 94:20Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, Have fellowship with You?
- Ecclesiastes 3:16Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there.
- Amos 5:7You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
- Micah 3:8But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, And of 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 to court, that the judges may judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked,
- John 7:51“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”
- 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries