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The Plot to Kill Paul

12 In the morning the Jews joined in a conspiracy and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.(A) 13 There were more than forty who joined in this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food until we have killed Paul.(B) 15 Now then, you and the council must notify the tribune to bring him down to you, on the pretext that you want to make a more thorough examination of his case. And we are ready to do away with him before he arrives.”(C)

16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, so he went and gained entrance to the barracks and told Paul.(D) 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to report to him.” 18 So he took him, brought him to the tribune, and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you; he has something to tell you.”(E) 19 The tribune took him by the hand, drew him aside privately, and asked, “What is it that you have to report to me?” 20 He answered, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more thoroughly into his case.(F) 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him. They have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink until they kill him. They are ready now and are waiting for your consent.”(G) 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, ordering him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of this.”

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The Plot to Kill Paul

12 When morning came,[a] the Jews formed[b] a conspiracy[c] and bound themselves with an oath[d] not to eat or drink anything[e] until they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy.[f] 14 They[g] went[h] to the chief priests[i] and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath[j] not to partake[k] of anything until we have killed Paul. 15 So now you and the council[l] request the commanding officer[m] to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine[n] his case[o] by conducting a more thorough inquiry.[p] We are ready to kill him[q] before he comes near this place.”[r]

16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush,[s] he came and entered[t] the barracks[u] and told Paul. 17 Paul called[v] one of the centurions[w] and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer,[x] for he has something to report to him.” 18 So the centurion[y] took him and brought him to the commanding officer[z] and said, “The prisoner Paul called[aa] me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 19 The commanding officer[ab] took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want[ac] to report to me?” 20 He replied,[ad] “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council[ae] tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 21 So do not let them persuade you to do this,[af] because more than forty of them[ag] are lying in ambush[ah] for him. They[ai] have bound themselves with an oath[aj] not to eat or drink anything[ak] until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.”[al] 22 Then the commanding officer[am] sent the young man away, directing him,[an] “Tell no one that you have reported[ao] these things to me.”

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 23:12 tn Grk “when it was day.”
  2. Acts 23:12 tn Grk “forming a conspiracy, bound.” The participle ποιήσαντες (poiēsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  3. Acts 23:12 tn L&N 30.72 has ‘some Jews formed a conspiracy’ Ac 23:12”; BDAG 979 s.v. συστροφή 1 has “Judeans came together in a mob 23:12. But in the last pass. the word may also mean—2. the product of a clandestine gathering, plot, conspiracy” (see also Amos 7:10; Ps 63:3).
  4. Acts 23:12 tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” On such oaths see m. Shevi’it 3:1-5. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
  5. Acts 23:12 tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
  6. Acts 23:13 tn L&N 30.73 defines συνωμοσία (sunōmosia) as “a plan for taking secret action someone or some institution, with the implication of an oath binding the conspirators—‘conspiracy, plot.’…‘there were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy’ Ac 23:13.”
  7. Acts 23:14 tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
  8. Acts 23:14 tn Grk “going.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  9. Acts 23:14 sn They went to the chief priests. The fact that the high priest knew of this plot and did nothing shows the Jewish leadership would even become accomplices to murder to stop Paul. They would not allow Roman justice to take its course. Paul’s charge in v. 3 of superficially following the law is thus shown to be true.
  10. Acts 23:14 tn Or “bound ourselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” The pleonastic use ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν (literally “we have cursed ourselves with a curse”) probably serves as an intensifier following Semitic usage, and is represented in the translation by the word “solemn.” On such oaths see m. Nedarim 3:1, 3.
  11. Acts 23:14 tn This included both food and drink (γεύομαι [geuomai] is used of water turned to wine in John 2:9).
  12. Acts 23:15 tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
  13. Acts 23:15 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.
  14. Acts 23:15 tn Or “decide.” BDAG 227 s.v. διαγινώσκω has “ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ to make a more thorough examination of his case Ac 23:15.”
  15. Acts 23:15 tn Grk “determine the things about him.”
  16. Acts 23:15 tn The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).
  17. Acts 23:15 sn “We are ready to kill him.” Now those Jews involved in the conspiracy, along with the leaders as accomplices, are going to break one of the ten commandments.
  18. Acts 23:15 tn The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
  19. Acts 23:16 tn Or “plot” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνέδρα).
  20. Acts 23:16 tn Grk “coming and entering…, he told.” The participles παραγενόμενος (paragenomenos) and εἰσελθών (eiselthōn) have been translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  21. Acts 23:16 tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”
  22. Acts 23:17 tn Grk “calling…Paul said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  23. Acts 23:17 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
  24. Acts 23:17 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.
  25. Acts 23:18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  26. Acts 23:18 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.
  27. Acts 23:18 tn Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  28. Acts 23:19 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.
  29. Acts 23:19 tn Grk “you have,” but the expression “have to report” in English could be understood to mean “must report” rather than “possess to report.” For this reason the nearly equivalent expression “want to report,” which is not subject to misunderstanding, was used in the translation.
  30. Acts 23:20 tn Grk “He said.”
  31. Acts 23:20 tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
  32. Acts 23:21 tn Grk “do not be persuaded by them.” The passive construction μὴ πεισθῇς αὐτοῖς (mē peisthēs autois) has been converted to an active construction in the translation, and the phrase “to do this” supplied to indicate more clearly the object of their persuasion.
  33. Acts 23:21 tn Grk “forty men of them.” In the expression ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες (ex autōn andres) “men” is somewhat redundant and has not been included in the English translation.
  34. Acts 23:21 tn Grk “are lying in wait for him” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνεδρεύω); see also v. 16.
  35. Acts 23:21 tn Grk “for him, who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“they”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.
  36. Acts 23:21 tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.”
  37. Acts 23:21 tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
  38. Acts 23:21 tn Grk “waiting for your approval,” “waiting for your agreement.” Since it would be possible to misunderstand the literal translation “waiting for your approval” to mean that the Jews were waiting for the commander’s approval to carry out their plot or to kill Paul (as if he were to be an accomplice to their plot), the object of the commander’s approval (their request to bring Paul to the council) has been specified in the translation as “their request.”
  39. Acts 23:22 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.
  40. Acts 23:22 tn BDAG 760 s.v. παραγγέλλω has “to make an announcement about someth. that must be done, give orders, command, instruct, direct of all kinds of persons in authority, worldly rulers, Jesus, the apostles…παραγγέλλειν w. an inf. and μή comes to mean forbid to do someth.: π. τινί w. aor. inf. Lk 5:14; 8:56; without the dat., which is easily supplied fr. the context Ac 23:22.” However, if the direct discourse which follows is to be retained in the translation, a different translation must be used since it is awkward to introduce direct discourse with the verb to forbid. Thus the alternative to direct was used.
  41. Acts 23:22 tn On this verb, see BDAG 325-26 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 2. The term was frequently used of an official report to authorities. In modern terms, this was a police tip.