Acts 23:22

Act_23:22-35

So the chief captain then let the young man depart.

Varied duties

I. Pauls nephew could do nothing. He was therefore told to hold his tongue--a very necessary duty sometimes. There is a time to speak, and well did the young man use his opportunity; but there is a time to keep silence, and he discharged this duty no less well. Had he, inflated with his success, or with his interview with the great man, boasted even in a whisper, all might have been upset, and himself dishonoured. So many gifted men spoil all their past good service by some momentary indiscretion of speech. Be content that you have done a good work and do not talk about it. Be content also to see others work sometimes without complaining that you have no part in it, or criticising them and it.

II. Lysias could do something. He could provide for Pauls safety and give him a recommendation; but he could not set him at liberty. Even had he possessed the power, it would have been unwise to exercise it for Pauls sake. Learn the limitations of human ability and respect them. Do not try to do too much or you will spoil what you can do. Be content to do what you can do well, and leave it to be said about you, He hath done what he could.

III. Felix could do everything. He could give the apostle a fair trial and set him at liberty. But we see from his case that men with the greatest abilities do next to nothing or worse than nothing. Paul was tried, and the governor was convinced of his innocence, but kept him in prison for the worst motives. How much better to be able to do little and to do it well, than to have great abilities and abuse them! (J. W. Burn.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 23:22 . ἐκλαλῆσαι , Jdt 11:9 (but al [374] ), “to divulge,” here only in N.T., but in classical Greek, and in Philo. As in i. 4, transition to oratio recta , cf. Luk 5:14 , Mar 6:9 , etc., very common in Greek prose, Winer-Moulton, lxiii., ii., 2, Blass, Gram. , p. 280.

[374] Alford’s Greek Testament .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

There is no counsel against the Lord and his servants.

Greek, that thou hast showed these things to me.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(22) So the chief captain.—The chiliarch is obviously glad of the intelligence. His sympathies are clearly with St. Paul personally as against the high priest and his followers. He welcomes an opportunity for showing his zeal for the safe-keeping of a Roman citizen, and for making a statement of the whole transaction from his own point of view. With true official caution he treats the communication he has received as confidential, and takes his measures accordingly.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22. So the chief captain then let the young man depart] There is but one conjunction in the original, which is doubly rendered here by So and then. It is better to omit the latter.

and charged him, See thou tell no man, &c.] The Rev. Ver. has “charging him, Tell no man, &c.” The Greek is literally “charging him to tell, &c.” but though this is correct enough in Greek when a sentence like “that thou hast shewed, &c.” is to follow it cannot stand in English; so for the infinitive “to tell” an imperative or its equivalent must be substituted. The A. V. has taken the one, the Rev. Ver. the other way of rendering.

that thou hast shewed [Rev. Ver. signified] &c.] This change is made because the same word was so rendered in Act_23:15.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he called to him two centurions,.... Who had each of them an hundred soldiers under them:

saying, make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea; which was formerly called Strato's tower, a sea port town, where Felix the Roman governor now was; it was six hundred furlongs, or seventy five miles (f) from Jerusalem: these two hundred soldiers were foot soldiers, as appears by their being distinguished from horsemen in the next clause, and were just the number that the two centurions had the command of; the making of them ready, was their seeing to it, that they were properly clothed, and accoutred with arms and ammunition, and with sufficient provision for their journey:

and horsemen threescore and ten; the Ethiopic version reads, "a hundred"; but without support from any copy: "and spearmen two hundred"; who carried spears in their right hand; the word used signifies such who receive, lay hold on, or hold anything in their right hand: some think it designs such who were employed in the militia, to lay hold on guilty persons, and hold them; the Alexandrian copy reads, "those that cast with the right hand"; and so reads the Syriac version, to which the Arabic agrees, which renders it "darters"; such as carried darts in their hands, and did not shoot out of a bow, but cast darts with their hands: now these being got ready, were ordered to march,

at the third hour of the night; at nine o'clock at night, that they might go out unobserved, and before the petition from the sanhedrim was presented to him.

(f) Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 3. sect. 5. Egesip de Excid. urb. l. 1. c. 7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

22 So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me.

Ver. 22. See thou tell no man] Taciturnity is reckoned among the virtues. Detexit facinus fatuus, et non implevit, saith Tacitus (that best historian) of a fool that could not keep his own counsel, and so marred the design.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The chief captain shows by this his care, both for St. Paul, and for the young man too; for had it been known that he had discovered their conspiracy, they would have sought his life, and might divers ways have taken it away; and as for Paul, being disappointed in this, they would have made other attempts against him.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

22. Tell no man—Paul’s sudden disappearance from Jerusalem was thus left a mystery to the excited Sanhedrin, and a sad perplexity to the oath-bound assassins.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let for then let, A.V.; go for depart, A.V.; charging for and charged, A.V.; tell for see then tell, A.V.; signified for showed, A.V. (see ver. 15, note). Charging. (as in Act_1:4 Act_4:18 Act_5:28, Act_5:40, etc.)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Observe here, 1. How wonderfully God overruled the heart of the chief captain, in that he took care both of St. Paul, and the young man also: he bids the young man depart; for had it been known that he had discovered the conspiracy, they had conspired against his life; and had not the chief captain conveyed away the apostle, his enemies, who had been disappointed in this, would have made further attempts against his life. Thus wonderfully doth the good providence of God work for his servants’ preservation.

Observe, 2. What a strong guard does God raise and set round the apostle for his defence and safety, even a guard of heathen soldiers, to secure him from the Jewish rage; two hundred soldiers, threescore and ten horsemen, and spearmen two hundred.

What a royal life-guard was here raised for the apostle’s safe-conduct to Cesarea! None of all these soldiers intended him any good; but God can make bad persons show kindness to his good servants, and do his will by them who know nothing of his mind and will.

When God has work to do, he will find instruments to do it by. And though we see them not, yet are they never the farther off.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes on verse 17

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

General Information:

Here the word "he" refers the chief captain.

General Information:

Felix, who resided at Caesarea, was the roman governor of the area.

he called to him

"he called to himself"

two of the centurions

"2 of the centurions" (See: Numbers)

seventy horsemen

"70 horsemen" (See: Numbers)

two hundred spearmen

"200 soldiers that are armed with spears" (See: Numbers)

third hour of the night

This was about Act 9:00 p.m. at night.

translationWords

instruct

centurion

soldier

Caesarea

horseman

spear

hour

Paul

govern

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

22. ὁ μὲν οὖν χιλίαρχος ἀπέλυσε τὸν νεανίσκον, so the chief captain let the young man depart. For ἀπολύειν = to dismiss a person, and let him go, Cf. 2Ma 12:25, ἀπέλυσαν αὐτὸν ἕνεκα τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν σωρηρίας.

ὅτι ταῦτα ἐνεφάνισας πρὸς ἐμέ, that thou hast shewed these things to me. Here the sentence which began in the oratio obliqua passes into the oratio recta. If the original form of the clause had been continued the close should have been = ‘bidding him tell no one that he had shewed these things to him.’ For a similar change though not so unmanageable to translate cf. Act 1:4.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22.] ὅτι … με, a variation of person, as in reff.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.