Acts 23:12
And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
Acts 23:12 in other translations
| BSB | When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. |
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| WEB | When it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. |
| ASV | And when it was day, the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. |
| YLT | And day having come, certain of the Jews having made a concourse, did anathematize themselves, saying neither to eat nor to drink till they may kill Paul; |
| DARBY | And when it was day, the Jews, having banded together, put themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they should kill Paul. |
| BBE | And when it was day, the Jews came together and put themselves under an oath that they would take no food or drink till they had put Paul to death. |
| Webster | And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying, that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. |
What does Acts 23:12 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 23:12-14
Barnes' Notes
Banded together. Made an agreement, or compact. They conspired to kill him.
And bound themselves under a curse. See the margin. The Greek is, "they anathematized themselves;" i.e., they bound themselves by a solemn oath. They invoked a curse on themselves, or devoted themselves to destruction, if they did not do it. Lightfoot remarks, however, that they could be absolved from this vow by the Rabbins, if they were unable to execute it. Under various pretences they could easily be freed from such oaths, and it was common to take them; and if there was any difficulty in fulfilling them, they could easily apply to their religious teachers and be absolved.
That they would neither eat nor drink. That is, that they would do it as soon as possible. This was a common form of an oath, or curse, among the Jews. Sometimes they only vowed abstinence from particular things, as from meat or wine. But in this case, to make the oath more certain and binding, they vowed abstinence from all kinds of food and drink till they had killed him. Who these were--whether their were Sadducees or not--is not mentioned by the sacred writer. It is evident, however, that the minds of the Jews were greatly inflamed against Paul; and as they saw him in the custody of the Roman tribune, and as there was no prospect that he would punish him, they resolved to take the matter into their own hands. Michaelis conjectures that they were of the number of the Sicarii, or cut-throats, with which Judea then abounded. Acts 21:38. It is needless to remark that this was a most wicked oath. It was a deliberate purpose to commit murder; and it shows the desperate state of morals among the Jews at that time, and the infuriated malice of the people against the apostle.
(|) "Certain" "Some" (f) "Certain" Acts 23:21,30, 25:3 (1) "oath" "with an oath of execration" (g) "till" Ps 31:13
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Acts 23:12-24
Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain
Acts 23:12 in the original Greek
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Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Acts 23:12
- Acts 23:30
And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.
- Isaiah 8:9-10
Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
- Acts 23:21
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.
- Acts 23:14
And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.
- Psalms 2:1-3
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
- Psalms 31:13
For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.
- Jeremiah 11:19
But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
- Acts 25:3
And desired favour against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him.
- 2 Kings 6:31
Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
- Psalms 64:2-6
Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? …
- Matthew 26:4
And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
- Galatians 3:13
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
21,30; 25:3; Ps 2:1-3; 64:2-6; Isa 8:9,10; Jer 11:19; Mt 26:4
bound.
1Ki 19:2; 2Ki 6:31; Mt 27:25; Mr 6:23-26
under a curse. or, with an oath of execration.
Le 27:29; Jos 6:26; 7:1,15; Ne 10:29; Mt 26:74; *Gr:
1Co 16:22; Ga 3:13
that.Such execrable vows as these were not unusual among the Jews, who, from their perverted traditions, challenged to themselves a right of punishing without any legal process, those whom they considered transgressors of the law; and in some cases, as in the case of one who had forsaken the law of Moses, they thought they were justified in killing them. They therefore made no scruple of acquainting the chief priests and elders with their conspiracy against the life of Paul, and applying for their connivance and support; who, being chiefly of the sect of the Sadducees, and the apostle's bitterest enemies, were so far from blaming them for it, that they gladly aided and abetted them in this mode of dispatching him, and on its failure they soon afterwards determined upon making a similar attempt. (ch. 25:2, 3.) If these were, in their bad way, conscientious men, they were under no necessity of perishing for hunger, when the providence of God had hindered them from accomplishing their vow; for their vows of abstinence from eating and drinking were as easy to loose as to bind, any of their wise men or Rabbis having power to absolve them, as Dr. Lightfoot has shown from the Talmud.
1Sa 14:24,27,28,40-44; Ps 31:13
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Acts 23:11
And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
- Acts 23:12
And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
- Acts 23:13
And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.
Acts 23:12 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y venido el día, algunos de los Judíos se juntaron, é hicieron voto bajo de maldición, diciendo que ni comerían ni beberían hasta que hubiesen muerto á Pablo. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Et quand le jour fut venu, les Juifs s’unirent et s’obligèrent par un serment d’exécration, disant qu’ils ne mangeraient ni ne boiraient jusqu’à ce qu’ils aient tué Paul. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Als es aber Tag geworden war, rotteten sich die Juden zusammen, verfluchten sich und sagten, daß sie weder essen noch trinken würden, bis sie Paulus getötet hätten. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Facta autem die collegerunt se quidam ex Judæis, et devoverunt, se dicentes neque manducaturos, neque bibituros donec occiderent Paulum. |