Acts 23:9

A great clamor arose, and some scribes from the party of the Pharisees got up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Some Pharisaic scribes stand in the Sanhedrin assembly to defend Paul against the Sadducees, arguing that a spirit or angel may have spoken to him. Their intervention occurs at the peak of a violent doctrinal clash over the resurrection and the existence of angels and spirits.

The words — The narrative records a κραυγὴ (kraugē), a great clamor, as certain Pharisees ἀναστάντες (anastantes), having risen up, sharply contend that nothing wrong is found in Paul.

The thread — The dispute over whether a divine voice or angelic messenger spoke to a human figure parallels the divided reactions to Jesus in John 12:29 and Paul’s own prior visions in Acts 22:7 and Acts 22:17.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to observe how competing claims about supernatural revelation can instantly fracture a council, forcing civil authority to intervene to prevent physical violence.

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

King James Version

And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

Cross-references

Acts 22:7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’
Acts 22:17 Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
John 12:29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to Him.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.
Mark 2:16 When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Acts 23:29 I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.
Acts 25:25 But I found he had done nothing worthy of death, and since he has now appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.
Acts 26:31 On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”
1 Samuel 24:17 and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, though I have rewarded you with evil.
Luke 5:30 But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”