Therefore don’t yield to them, for more than forty men lie in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse to neither eat nor drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, looking for the promise from you.”
Parallel Translations
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Therefore don’t yield to them, for more than forty men lie in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse to neither eat nor drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, looking for the promise from you.”
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But folowe not their mindes: for ther lyein wayte for him of the moo then.xl. men which have boude the selves with a vowe that they will nether eate ner drinke till they have killed him. And now are they redy and loke for thy promes.
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But let them not perswade thee: for there lie in waite for him of them, more then fourtie men, which haue bound themselues with a curse, that they will neither eate nor drinke, till they haue killed him: and nowe are they readie, and waite for thy promise.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Acts 23:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 23:12-14 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. There were more than forty people who had made this conspiracy. They came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.
- Exodus 23:2 “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice.
- Acts 9:23-24 When many days were fulfilled, the Jews conspired together to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They watched the gates both day and night that they might kill him,
- Acts 14:5-6 When some of both the Gentiles and the Jews, with their rulers, made a violent attempt to mistreat and stone them, they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region.
- Acts 20:19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials which happened to me by the plots of the Jews;
- Acts 25:3 asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem; plotting to kill him on the way.
- Romans 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers’ sake, my relatives according to the flesh
- 2 Corinthians 11:26 I have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers;
- 2 Corinthians 11:32-33 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas guarded the Damascenes’ city, desiring to arrest me. I was let down in a basket through a window by the wall, and escaped his hands.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (8 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 21 But do not thou yield unto them: for…
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.
Ver. 21. Which have bound themselves] Gr. ανεθεματισαν, wished themselves dead, or given up to the devil, except they brought their purpose to pass; and likely enough they had their wish, for they missed their purpose. Cursing men are cursed men. See Act 23:17.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Do not thou yield unto them; this the young…
Do not thou yield unto them; this the young man desires out of his care for his uncle’s (Paul’s) preservation, as also touched with the horror of the fact if it should have been executed; and howsoever, by this means he delivers his own soul, having done his utmost to hinder it.
Now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee; the match is laid, the hand is as it were lifted up, nothing is wanting to Paul’s destruction but the chief captain’s consent, which the Jews assuredly expected, it being but a small courtesy to grant them, to examine a prisoner, especially such a one as upon their complaint was committed in a case cognizable by them: but, Deus e machina, Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us, Isa 8:10.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain So the chief captain then let the young man…
So the chief captain then let the young man depart,.... After he had had the account from him, and was master of the whole affair:
and charged him, see thou tell no man that thou hast showed these things to me; which was prudently said; it was a right and wise thing to conceal this matter, that the men might go on with their designs, and an opportunity be taken to convey Paul away, before the time came fixed by them to execute them; for otherwise, should it have been known that their plot was discovered, they would have entered upon new measures.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Looking for a promise from thee - Waiting for…
Looking for a promise from thee - Waiting for your consent to bring him down to them.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain and now are they ready, looking for a promise…
and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee--Thus, as is so often the case with God's people, not till the last moment, when the plot was all prepared, did deliverance come.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21. But do not thou yield unto them] More…
21. But do not thou yield unto them] More literally, “Do not thou therefore yield, &c.” (with Rev. Ver.).
which have bound themselves with an oath] The Greek is the same as in Act_23:12. It is better therefore to render as there “bound themselves under a curse.” Beside which, the invocation implied in the original is much stronger than is indicated by our English “oath.” And to vary the English rendering gives an idea of variation in the Greek, which in one continuous narrative should be avoided.
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looking for a promise] Rev. Ver. “the promise” i.e. the one which they are coming to ask you to make.
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Do not thou therefore for but do not thou,…
Do not thou therefore for but do not thou, A.V.; under a curse for with an oath, A.V.; neither to eat nor to drink for that they will neither eat nor drink, A.V.; slain for killed, A.V.; the for a (promise), A.V. Do not yield (mh peisqhv); be not persuaded by them; do not assent unto them. (see Luk_16:6; Act_5:40 Act_17:4, etc.) The promise, etc.; thn ajpoan. The word occurs above fifty times in the New Testament, and is always rendered "promise" in the A.V., except in 1Jn_1:5, where it is rendered both in the A.V. and the R.V. "message," which is the literal meaning of the word. In Polybius it means "a summons." Either of these meanings suits this passage better than "promise."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain See notes on verse 17
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.