Acts 23:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent."

NIV: Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request."

NASB: So do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are in hiding to ambush him, and these men have put themselves under an oath not to eat or drink until they kill him; and now they are ready and waiting for assurance from you.'

CSB: Don’t let them persuade you, because there are more than forty of them lying in ambush—men who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, waiting for your consent."

NLT: But don’t do it! There are more than forty men hiding along the way ready to ambush him. They have vowed not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent.'

KJV: But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.

NKJV: But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.”

A young man, Paul's nephew, is before the local Roman tribune, warning him of a plot to kill Paul. The tribune—Lysias—rescued Paul from a crowd trying to kill him (Acts 21:30–34). Lysias has spent the last three days trying to figure out if Paul is at fault and should be in prison. He has already taken Paul to the Sanhedrin once and learned nothing except that Paul is smarter than the Jewish ruling council (Acts 23:1–10). Lysias would probably welcome an opportunity to return if he could get to the bottom of the issue.

Unbeknownst to Lysias, the Sanhedrin is about to offer such an invitation. The Sanhedrin, in turn, don't know that Paul's nephew knows their request is part of a plot to murder Paul (Acts 23:12–16). We're not sure who the forty men are. They're called "the Jews" which usually refers to Jewish religious leaders, like the scribes of the sect of Pharisees. But Paul's original accusers were Jews from the province of Asia in southwest modern-day Turkey (Acts 21:27). Either way, Paul's life is in danger and since he's a Roman citizen, the tribune must protect him.

Lysias realizes that this case is more than he is authorized to handle. He decides to send Paul to Caesarea Maritima, on the coast of Samaria, to the governor's palace (Acts 23:23–24). The governor will have more resources to discover what Paul has done. And if he doesn't, that absolves Lysias' failure, as well.

Acts 23:12–22 shows Paul just how unwelcoming Jerusalem can be. False accusations and old religious-political differences have conspired to keep him incarcerated in the Roman barracks. Forty men gain the approval of the Sanhedrin to murder Paul. But Paul's nephew hears of their plan and tells the Roman tribune. The tribune swears him to secrecy as he makes plans for Paul to go to the governor: a man with higher legal authority and a larger army.

Acts 23 continues the tribune's attempt to discover why a mob of Jews suddenly turned violent and attacked Paul (Acts 21:27–33). He takes Paul to the Sanhedrin to see if they understand what his crime is. Paul barely begins his story when he is slapped for impudence. He disrespects the high priest and starts a fight between the Pharisees and Sadducees. The next day, a group of forty Jews invite the Sanhedrin to help them murder Paul. Paul's nephew reports the plot to the tribune who gives up and sends Paul to the governor. The governor awaits Paul's accusers for trial.

Jews from near Ephesus accused Paul of bringing a Gentile into the temple and incited a crowd to attack him. The tribune saved Paul but couldn't uncover the reason for the violence; most of the mob didn't know, and Paul was a Roman citizen, so the tribune couldn't beat the truth out of him (Acts 21—22). When the Sanhedrin would rather murder Paul than talk to him, the tribune sends Paul to the governor. The governor holds Paul without charges for so long he invokes his right to a trial before Caesar. The governor agrees, and Paul finally gets to Rome (Acts 24—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.