Acts 23:21

Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are ready now, awaiting your consent.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The young informant warns the Roman commander not to grant the Sanhedrin's request to move Paul, stating that over forty men are prepared to ambush him. This conversation occurs between the conspirators' initial pitch and the commander's order to keep the report secret.

The words — The Greek πεισθῇς (peisthēas) literally means "may be persuaded," combined with μὴ (mē) to command against yielding to pressure. The verb ἐνεδρεὺουσιν (enedreuousin) denotes actively lying in wait or preparing an ambush.

The thread — The warning directly continues the binding oath described in Acts 23:12 and mirrors the judicial caution against following a crowd into wrongdoing in Exodus 23:2, while extending the pattern of hostile conspiracy against Paul in Acts 9:23.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to distinguish between official procedures and hidden violent intent. It demands that judgment be withheld when external pressure masks a coordinated threat.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

σὺsuYou yourself οὖνountherefore μὴmēnot πεισθῇςpeisthēasmay be persuaded αὐτοῖς,autoisby them,ἐνεδρεύουσινenedreuousinLie in wait γὰρgarindeed αὐτὸνautonfor him ἐξexof αὐτῶνautōnthem ἄνδρεςandresmen πλείουςpleiousmore τεσσεράκοντα,tesserakontathan forty,οἵτινεςoitineswho ἀνεθεμάτισανanethematisanwas put under an oath ἑαυτοὺςhe'autousthemselves μήτεmēteneither φαγεῖνphageinto eat μήτεmētenor πιεῖνpieinto drink ἕωςhe'ōsuntil οὗhouthat ἀνέλωσινanelōsinthey may execute αὐτὸνautonhim καὶkaiand νῦνnunnow εἰσινeisinthey are ἕτοιμοιhetoimoiready προσδεχόμενοιprosdechomenoiawaiting τὴνtēnthe ἀπὸapofrom σοῦsouyou ἐπαγγελίαν.¶epangelianpromise.

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Acts 23:12 When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
Exodus 23:2 You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
Acts 9:23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him,
Acts 14:5 But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them,
Acts 20:19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, especially in the trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews.
Acts 25:3 to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
Romans 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,
2 Corinthians 11:26 In my frequent journeys, I have been in danger from rivers and from bandits, in danger from my countrymen and from the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger on the sea and among false brothers,
2 Corinthians 11:32 In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas secured the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest me.