Acts 23:35

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
he said, “I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers also get here.” He ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

King James Version (1611)
I will heare thee, said hee, when thine accusers are also come. And hee commanded him to be kept in Herods iudgement hall.

King James Version
I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.

English Standard Version
he said, "I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive." And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium.

New American Standard Bible
he said, "I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive as well," giving orders for Paul to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.

New Century Version
he said, "I will hear your case when those who are against you come here, too." Then the governor gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in Herod's palace.

Amplified Bible
he said, "I will hear your case when your accusers have arrived," giving orders that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's Praetorium (the governor's official residence).

New American Standard Bible (1995)
he said, "I will give you a hearing after your accusers arrive also," giving orders for him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.

Legacy Standard Bible
he said, "I will give you a hearing after your accusers arrive also," giving orders for him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.

Berean Standard Bible
he said, "I will hear your case when your accusers arrive." Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's Praetorium.

Contemporary English Version
The governor said, "I will listen to your case as soon as the people come to bring their charges against you." After saying this, he gave orders for Paul to be kept as a prisoner in Herod's palace.

Complete Jewish Bible
he said, "I will give you a full hearing after your accusers have also arrived," and ordered him to be kept under guard in Herod's headquarters.

Darby Translation
he said, I will hear thee fully when thine accusers also are arrived. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's praetorium.

Easy-to-Read Version
The governor said, "I will hear your case when the Jews who are accusing you come here too." Then the governor gave orders for Paul to be kept in the palace built by Herod.

Geneva Bible (1587)
I will heare thee, said he, when thine accusers also are come, and commaunded him to bee kept in Herods iudgement hall.

George Lamsa Translation
He said to him, I will give you an audience when your accusers arrive. And he commanded him to be kept in the Pr-to''ri-um of Herod.

Good News Translation
he said, "I will hear you when your accusers arrive." Then he gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in the governor's headquarters.

Lexham English Bible
he said, "I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers arrive also," giving orders for him to be guarded in the praetorium of Herod.

Literal Translation
he said, I will hear you fully when your accusers arrive. And he commanded him to be kept in the praetorium of Herod.

American Standard Version
I will hear thee fully, said he, when thine accusers also are come: and he commanded him to be kept in Herod's palace.

Bible in Basic English
I will give hearing to your cause, he said, when those who are against you have come. And he gave orders for him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.

Hebrew Names Version
"I will hear you fully when your accusers also arrive." He commanded that he be kept in Herod's palace.

International Standard Version
he said, "I will hear your case when your accusers arrive." Then he ordered him to be kept in custody in Herod's palace.praetorium">[fn]Matthew 27:27; Acts 24:1,10; 25:16;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
he said to him, I will hear thee when thy accusers have come. And he commanded that they should keep him in the pretorium of Herodes.

Murdock Translation
he said to him: I will give thee audience, when thy accusers arrive. And he ordered him to be kept in the Praetorium of Herod.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
I wyll heare thee, sayde he, when thyne accusars are come also. And he comaunded hym to be kept in Herodes iudgement hall.

English Revised Version
I will hear thy cause, said he, when thine accusers also are come: and he commanded him to be kept in Herod's palace.

World English Bible
"I will hear you fully when your accusers also arrive." He commanded that he be kept in Herod's palace.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And being informed, that he was of Cilicia, I will give thee, said he, a thorough hearing, when thy accusers also are come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's palace.

Weymouth's New Testament
he said, "I will hear all you have to say, when your accusers also have come." And he ordered him to be detained in custody in Herod's Palace.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y schal here thee, he seide, whanne thin accuseris comen. And he comaundide hym to be kept in the moot halle of Eroude.

Update Bible Version
I will hear you fully, he said, when your accusers also have come: and he commanded him to be kept in Herod's palace.

Webster's Bible Translation
I will hear thee, said he, when thy accusers also have come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment-hall.

New English Translation
he said, "I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive too." Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace.

New King James Version
he said, "I will hear you when your accusers also have come." And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.

New Living Translation
"I will hear your case myself when your accusers arrive," the governor told him. Then the governor ordered him kept in the prison at Herod's headquarters.

New Life Bible
He said, "I will listen to all of this when the men come who want to kill you." He had Paul kept in King Herod's building.

New Revised Standard
he said, "I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive." Then he ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod's headquarters.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
I myself will hear thee in full, said he, whensoever, thine accusers also, are come; and gave orders that, in the palace of Herod, he should be kept under guard.

Douay-Rheims Bible
I will hear thee, said he, when thy accusers come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.

Revised Standard Version
he said, "I will hear you when your accusers arrive." And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
I will heare the (sayde he) whe thyne accusars are come also: and commaunded him to be kepte in Herodes pallys.

Young's Literal Translation
`I will hear thee -- said he -- when thine accusers also may have come;' he also commanded him to be kept in the praetorium of Herod.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
he sayde: I wil heare the, whan thine accusers are come also. And he commaunded him to be kepte in Herodes iudgment house.

Mace New Testament (1729)
said he, when your accusers are come: and then order'd him to the guard-room at Herod's palace.

Simplified Cowboy Version
"I'll preside over your trial myself when your accusers arrive," Felix said. Then Paul was ordered to be put in the jail at Herod's headquarters.

Contextual Overview

¹²Next day the Jews worked up a plot against Paul. They took a solemn oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed him. Over forty of them ritually bound themselves to this murder pact and presented themselves to the high priests and religious leaders. "We've bound ourselves by a solemn oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. But we need your help. Send a request from the council to the captain to bring Paul back so that you can investigate the charges in more detail. We'll do the rest. Before he gets anywhere near you, we'll have killed him. You won't be involved." ¹⁶Paul's nephew, his sister's son, overheard them plotting the ambush. He went immediately to the barracks and told Paul. Paul called over one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the captain. He has something important to tell him." ¹⁸ The centurion brought him to the captain and said, "The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He said he has something urgent to tell you." ¹⁹ The captain took him by the arm and led him aside privately. "What is it? What do you have to tell me?" ²⁰Paul's nephew said, "The Jews have worked up a plot against Paul. They're going to ask you to bring Paul to the council first thing in the morning on the pretext that they want to investigate the charges against him in more detail. But it's a trick to get him out of your safekeeping so they can murder him. Right now there are more than forty men lying in ambush for him. They've all taken a vow to neither eat nor drink until they've killed him. The ambush is set—all they're waiting for is for you to send him over." ²² The captain dismissed the nephew with a warning: "Don't breathe a word of this to a soul." ²³The captain called up two centurions. "Get two hundred soldiers ready to go immediately to Caesarea. Also seventy cavalry and two hundred light infantry. I want them ready to march by nine o'clock tonight. And you'll need a couple of mules for Paul and his gear. We're going to present this man safe and sound to Governor Felix." ²⁵Then he wrote this letter: From Claudius Lysias, to the Most Honorable Governor Felix: Greetings! I rescued this man from a Jewish mob. They had seized him and were about to kill him when I learned that he was a Roman citizen. So I sent in my soldiers. Wanting to know what he had done wrong, I had him brought before their council. It turned out to be a squabble turned vicious over some of their religious differences, but nothing remotely criminal. The next thing I knew, they had cooked up a plot to murder him. I decided that for his own safety I'd better get him out of here in a hurry. So I'm sending him to you. I'm informing his accusers that he's now under your jurisdiction. ³¹The soldiers, following orders, took Paul that same night to safety in Antipatris. In the morning the soldiers returned to their barracks in Jerusalem, sending Paul on to Caesarea under guard of the cavalry. The cavalry entered Caesarea and handed Paul and the letter over to the governor. ³⁴After reading the letter, the governor asked Paul what province he came from and was told "Cilicia." Then he said, "I'll take up your case when your accusers show up." He ordered him locked up for the meantime in King Herod's official quarters.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when: Acts 23:30, Acts 24:1, Acts 24:10, Acts 24:22, Acts 24:24-27, Acts 25:16

in: Matthew 2:1, Matthew 2:3, Matthew 2:16

judgment: Matthew 27:27, John 18:28

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 38:13 - Jeremiah Acts 24:8 - Commanding 2 Corinthians 6:5 - imprisonments

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I will hear thee, said he,.... The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, "we will hear", which is a grand courtly way of speaking:

when thine accusers are come; which Lysias, in his letter, informed him that he had ordered them to come; which shows the governor to have some sense of justice and integrity, being desirous to hear both sides before he judged of the affair, though there was so much said in the chief captain's letter in favour of Paul's innocence, and against his enemies.

And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall; or palace: this was a place built by Herod the great at Caesarea, of whose magnificent buildings here Josephus gives a large account. For besides the famous haven or port which he made here, he adorned the place with splendid palaces, he built a theatre, and an amphitheatre, and a "forum" h, which was either a market place, or a court of judicature; and if the latter, perhaps the same that is here meant, in a part of which, or in a place adjoining to it, the apostle was put. Here he was kept by a guard of soldiers, but not in close confinement; he had much liberty, and his friends and acquaintance had leave to come to him; see Acts 24:23. We read i of

דיטי של קיסרין, which some interpret "the chamber of the judges of Caesarea"; or the place where they sat in judgment, and may be the same that is here meant; though others interpret it a prison; and so it seems was this judgment hall of Herod's.

h Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 21. sect. 5, 8. i Megillat Esther, fol. 85. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In Herod’s judgment hall - Greek: in the praetorium of Herod. The word used here denoted formerly “the tent of the Roman praetor”; and since that was the place where justice was administered, it came to be applied to “halls (courts) of justice.” This had been raised probably by Herod the Great as his palace, or as a place for administering justice. It is probable, also, that prisons, or places of security, would be attached to such places.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 23:35. I will hear thee — διακουσομαι σου; I will give thee a fair, full, and attentive hearing when thy accusers are come; in whose presence thou shalt be permitted to defend thyself.

In Herod's judgment-hall. — εν τω πραιτωριω, In Herod's praetorium, so called because it was built by Herod the Great. The praetorium was the place where the Roman praetor had his residence; and it is probable that, in or near this place, there was a sort of guard room, where state prisoners were kept. Paul was lodged here till his accusers should arrive.

ON the preceeding chapter many useful observations may be made.

1. Paul, while acting contrary to the Gospel of Christ, pleaded conscience as his guide. Conscience is generally allowed to be the rule of human actions; but it cannot be a right rule, unless it be well informed. While it is unenlightened it may be a guide to the perdition of its professor, and the cause of the ruin of others. That conscience can alone be trusted in which the light of God's Spirit and God's truth dwells. An ill-informed conscience may burn even the saints for God's sake!

2. No circumstance in which a man can be placed can excuse him from showing respect and reverence to the authorities which God, in the course of his providence, has instituted for the benefit of civil or religious society. All such authorities come originally from God, and can never lose any of their rights on account of the persons who are invested with them. An evil can never be of use, and a good may be abused; but it loses not its character, essential qualities, or usefulness, because of this abuse.

3. Paul availed himself of the discordant sentiments of his judges, who had agreed to show him no justice, that he might rid himself out of their hands. To take advantage of the sentiments and dispositions of an audience, without deceiving it, and to raise dissension between the enemies of the truth, is an impotent artifice, when truth itself is not violated and when error is exposed thereby to public view.

4. The Pharisees and Sadducees strove together. God frequently raises up defenders of the principles of truth, even among those who, in practice, are its decided enemies. "Though," says one, "I do not like the truth, yet will I defend it." A man clothed with sovereign authority, vicious in his heart, and immoral in his life, fostered those principles of truth and righteousness by which error was banished from these lands, and pure and undefiled religion established among us for many generations.

5. The providence of God, and his management of the world, are in many respects great mysteries; but, as far as we are individually concerned, all is plain. Paul had the fullest assurance, from the mouth of Christ himself, that he should see Rome; and, consequently, that he should be extricated from all his present difficulties. Why then did he not quietly sit still, when his nephew informed him that forty men had conspired to murder him? Because he knew that God made use of the prudence with which he has endowed man as an agent in that very providence by which he is supported; and that to neglect the natural means of safety with which God provides us is to tempt and dishonour him, and induce him in judgment to use those means against us, which, in his mercy, he had designed for our comfort and salvation. Prudence is well associated even with an apostolical spirit. Every being that God has formed, he designs should accomplish those functions for which he has endowed it with the requisite powers.

6. Claudius Lysias sent Paul to Felix. "In the generality of human events," says one, "we do not often distinguish the designs of God from those of men. The design of Lysias, in preserving Paul from the rage of the Jews, was to render his own conduct free from exception: the design of God was, that he might bring Paul safely to Rome, that he might attack idolatry in its strongest fort, and there establish the Christian faith." God governs the world, and works by proper means; and counterworks evil or sinister devices, so as ultimately to accomplish the purposes of his will, and cause all things to work together for good to them that love Him.

7. Felix acted prudently when he would not even hear St. Paul till he had his accusers face to face. How many false judgments, evil surmises, and uncharitable censures would be avoided, did men always adopt this reasonable plan! Hear either side of a complaint separately, and the evil seems very great: hear both together, and the evil is generally lessened by one half. Audi et alteram partem-hear the other side, says a heathen: remember, if you have an ear for the first complainant, you have one also for the second.