Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: ACTS #40 - 23:12-35)
3. 23:12-30 PAUL ESCAPES A JEWISH CONSPIRACY
a. 23:12 THE “CURSE” FOR ASSASSINATION
Ge-noMEnes de heMEras, poiEsan-tes sus-troPHEN [4962]hoi IouDAIoi,
And when it was day, the Jews banded together,
a-ne-theMAti-san [332] he-auTOUS, LEgon-tes
and bound themselves under a curse, saying
MEte phaGEIN MEte pein HEos hou a-pokTEIno-sin ton PAULlon.
they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed :Paul.
b. 23:13 And they were more than forty that made this :conspiracy.
Esan de PLEIous tes-seRAkon-ta hoi TAUten ten su-no-moSIan [4945]poi-eSAme-noi.
c. 23:14 COOPERATION OF CHIEF PRIEST AND ELDERS SOUGHT
HOIti-nes pro-selTHONtes tois ar-chi-eREUsin kai tois pres-buTErois,
Andthey came to the chief priest and the elders,
EIpan, A-naTHEma-ti [331] a-ne-the-maTIsa-men [332] he-auTOUS,
andsaid, We have bound ourselves under a great curse,
me-deNOS GEUsas-thai HEos hou a-pokTEIno-men ton PAUlon.
to taste nothing until we kill :Paul.
d. 23:15 PLAN OF THE ASSASSINATORS
nun oun huMEIS em-phaNIsa-te [1718] to chi-liARcho
Now therefore do YOU with the Sanhedrin
sun to su-neDRIo HOpos ka-taGAge auTON eis huMAS,
signify to the colonel that he bring him down unto you,
hos MELlon-tas di-a-giNOskein [1231] a-kriBEste-ron [197] ta peRI auTOU:
as though you would judge :of his casemore exactly:
huMEIS de, pro tou egGIsai auTON, HEtoiMOI es-men tou a-neLEIN auTON.
and WE, before he comes near, are ready to slay him.
e. 23:16 PAUL'S NEPHEW WARNS HIS UNCLE
aKOUsas de ho huiOS tes a-delPHES PAUlon ten Ene-dran [1749],
But the son of the sister of Paul heard of theirlying in wait,
pa-ra-giNOme-nos [3854] kai ei-selTHON eis ten pa-rem-boLEN aPEGgei-len to PAUlo.
and he came andentered into the castle andtold :Paul.
f. 23:17 PAUL SENDS HIS NEPHEW TO THE COLONEL
pros-ka-leSAme-nos [4341] de ho PAUlos HEna ton he-ka-tonTARchon,
And :Paul called unto himone of the centurions,
ePHE, Ton ne-aNIan TOUton aPAge pros ton chiLIar-chon; Echei gar a-pagGEI-LAI [518] ti auTO.
and said, Bring this young :man unto the colonel; for he has something to tell him.
g. 23:18 HIS NEPHEW BROUGHT TO THE COLONEL
ho men oun pa-ra-laBON auTON, Ega-gen pros ton chiLIar-chon,
So he took him, and brought him to the colonel,
kai PHEsin, Ho DESmi-os [1198] PAUlos pro-ska-leSAmeNOS me,
and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him,
eROte-sen TOUton ton ne-aNIan [3494]a-gaGEIN PROS se, EchonTA ti laLE-SAI soi.
and asked to bring this youth unto you, who has something to say to you.
h. 23:19 THE COLONEL INQUIRES CONCERNING HIS MESSAGE
e-pi-laBOme-nos de tes cheiROS auTOU ho chiLIar-chos,
And the colonel took him by the hand,
kai a-na-choREsas [402] kat' iDIan e-punTHAne-to [4441], TI es-tin ho Echeis a-pagGEI-LAI moi?
and going aside asked privately, What is it that you have to tell me?
i. 23:20 THE NEPHEW'S INTRODUCTION
EIpen de [HOti], Hoi IouDAIoi suNEthen-to [4934] tou e-roTE-SAI se
And he said [that], The Jews have agreed to ask you
HOpos AUri-on ton PAUlon ka-taGAges eis to suNEdri-on,
to bring down :Paul to-morrow unto the Sanhedrin,
hos MELlon ti a-kriBEste-ron [197] punTHAnes-thai [4441] peRI auTOU.
as though you would inquire somewhat more exactly concerning him.
j. 23:21 THE COUNSEL OF THE NEPHEW TO THE COLONEL
su oun me peisTHES [3982] auTOIS:
Do not you therefore yield unto them:
e-neDREUou-sin [1748] gar auTON ex auTON ANdres PLEIous tes-seRAkon-ta,
for more than forty [men] of them lie in wait for him,
HOIti-nes a-ne-theMAti-san [332] he-auTOUS, MEte phaGEIN MEte pein HEos hou aNElosin auTON:
who have bound themselves under a curse, neither to eat nor to drink till they have slain him:
kai NUN ei-sin HEtoi-moi, pros-deCHOme-noi [4327] ten aPO sou e-pag-geLIan.
and now are they ready, looking for the promise from you.
k. 23:22 THE COLONEL COMMANDS SECRECY IN THIS MATTER
ho men oun chiLIar-chos aPElu-se [630] ton ne-aNIskon, pa-ragGEIlas [3853],
So the colonel let the young man go, charging him,
me-deNI e-klaLEsai HOti TAUta e-nePHAni-sas [1718] pros eME.
Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.
l. 23:23-24 THE CENTURIONS WITH HORSEMEN TO BRING PAUL TO CAESAREA
kai pro-ska-leSAmeNOS ti-nas DUo ton he-ka-tonTARchon,
And he called unto himcertain two of the centurions,
EIpen, He-toiMAsa-te [2090] stra-tiOtas di-a-koSIous HOpos po-reuTHOsin HEos
andsaid, Get ready two hundred soldiers to go as far as
Kai-saRIas, kai hipPEIS heb-doMEkon-ta, kai de-xi-oLAbous [1187] di-a-koSIous,
Caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen,
aPO TRItes HOras tes nukTOS: KTEne [2934] te pa-raSTEsai, HIna e-pi-biBAsan-tes ton PAUlon,
at thethird hour of the night: 24and to provide beasts, that they might set :Paul thereon,
di-aSOso-si [1295] pros PHEli-ka ton he-geMOna.
andbring him safe unto Felix the governor.
m. 23:25-26 THE COLONEL TURNS PAUL OVER TO FELIX OF CAESAREA
GRApsas e-pi-stoLEN Echou-san ton TUpon [5179] TOUton:
Andhe wrote a letter after this :form:
KLAUdi-os LuSIas to kraTIsto [2903] he-geMOni [2232] PHEli-ki, CHAIrein.
26Claudius Lysias to the excellent governor Felix, greeting.
n. 23:27 CLAUDIUS LYSIAS SPELLS OUT PAUL'S PROBLEM
ton ANdra TOUton sul-lemphTHENta [4815] huPO ton IouDAIon,
This :man was seized by the Jews,
kai MELlon-ta a-naiREISthai hup' auTON, e-piSTAS sun to straTEUma-ti
and was about to be slain of them, when I came upon themwith the soldiers
e-xeiLAmen, maTHON HOti 'RoMAI-OS es-tin.
andrescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.
o. 23:28-29 THE SANHEDRIN COULDN'T HELP THE COLONEL
bouLOmeNOS te e-pigNOsai ten aiTIan di' hen e-neKAloun auTO,
And desiring to know the cause for which they accused him,
kaTEga-gon eis to suNEdri-on auTON:
I brought him down to their :Sanhedrin:
hon HEUron eg-kaLOUme-non [1458] peRI ze-teMAton [2213] tou NOmou auTON,
29whom I found to be accused about questions of their :law,
meDEN de Axi-on thaNAtou e desMON Echon-ta EGklema [1462].
but to have no accusation worthy of death or of bonds.
p. 23:30 PLOT AGAINST PAUL FORCED THE CAESAREA SOLUTION
me-nuTHEIses [3377] DE moi e-pi-bouLES [1917] eis ton ANdra Eses-thai, e-xauTES Epem-psa PROS se,
And when it was shown to me that therewould be a plot against the man, I sent himto you forthwith,
pa-ragGEIlas kai tois ka-teGOrois [2725] LEgein pros auTON ePI sou.
charging the accusers also to speak against him before you.
4. 23:31-35 FELIX RECEIVES PAUL AT CAESAREA
a. 23:31 PAUL SAFELY BROUGHT FIRST TO ANTIPATRIS
Hoi men oun stra-tiOtai, kaTA to di-a-te-tagMEnon [1299] auTOIS,
The soldiers therefore, as it was commanded them,
a-na-laBONtes ton PAUlon Ega-gon diA nukTOS eis ten An-ti-paTRIda.
took :Paul andbrought himby night to :Antipatris.
b. 23:32-33 THEN ON TO CAESAREA
te de ePAUri-on eAsan-tes tous hipPEIS [2460] aPERches-thai sun auTO, huPEstre-psan eis ten pa-rem-boLEN:
But on the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, andreturned to the castle:
HOIti-nes, ei-selTHONtes eis ten KaiSAri-an kai a-naDONtes
33And THEY, when they came to :Caesarea and delivered
ten e-pi-stoLEN to he-geMOni, paREste-san kai ton PAUlon auTO.
the letter to the governor, presented :Paul also before him.
c. 23:34-35 FELIX RECEIVES PAUL, BUT DEFERS EXAMINATION
a-nagNOUS [314] de, kai e-pe-roTEsas [1905] ek POIas e-parCHEIas [2232] esTIN;
And when he had read it, he also asked of what province he was;
kai puTHOme-nos [4441]HOti aPO Ki-liKIas,
and when he understood that he wasof Cilicia,
Di-aKOUsoMAI sou, Ephe, HOtan kai hoi kaTEgoROI sou pa-raGEnon-tai:
35 I will hear you fully, said he, when your :accusers also are come:
keLEUsas en to prai-toRIo [4232] tou HeROdou phuLASses-thai [5442] auTON.
andhe commanded him to be kept in the palace of Herod.
NOTE: 23:16-22 - See how God can use youth! Paul's nephew was probably in his early teens - but showed a maturity and responsibility that was mostcommendable! That he acted upon serious information was good! That he so wisely informed the colonel and advised him in the right response - excellent! That we can use the example of this man to encourage all youth today - yes! We should never sell our youth short. See Rhoda and her correct response to Peter's deliverance from prison, - when the adults did not share her faith immediately! David as a shepherd boy facing a lion, a bear and Goliath - fits into this picture also.
So - Paul's nephew was part of God's plan for Paul - that he would arrive safely in Rome to witness to rulers there concerning the Resurrection of Jesus. Paul knew the Lord's word would come to pass. He made good use of his nephew's information - to help fulfill the Word of the Lord!
23:22-30 - Then see the wise action of the colonel, Claudius Lysias, in sending Paul in safety to Governor Felix at Caesarea. My wife Marie and I have been in all these places a number of times. It all becomes more real in the light of this passage. It shows how the Lord can use Roman leaders to do His will. Expect the unexpected in the things of God! God even turns evil for good! He can do that for the United States today. As a matter of fact, for His Chosen - He makes all thingswork together for good! Praise in all circumstances on our part will magnify the Name of our God supremely.
I am sure Paul had peace of mind in the midst of all his testings! He knewHis resurrected Lord intimately, and the Lord's faithfulness in the past in delivering him from all his adversaries. And - his faith was notmisplaced. May we too like Paul learn to walk closely with our Lord - and to trust Him completely in allof life's circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount confirms such faith. J.A.W.