Acts 23:9

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.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
arose	Ἐγένετο Egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
great	μεγάλη· megalē	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — nominative singular feminine
cry	κραυγὴ kraugē	G2906	an outcry (in notification · noun — nominative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
scribes	γραμματέων grammateōn	G1122	scribe · noun — genitive plural masculine
Pharisees’	Φαρισαίων Pharisaiōn	G5330	a separatist · noun — genitive plural masculine, a title
part	μέρους merous	G3313	a division or share (literally or figuratively · noun — genitive singular neuter
arose	ἀναστάντες anastantes	G450	to stand up (literal or figurative · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
strove	διεμάχοντο diemachonto	G1264	to fight fiercely (in altercation) · verb — imperfect middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person plural
saying	λέγοντες· legontes	G3004	properly · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
find	εὑρίσκομεν heuriskomen	G2147	to find (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active indicative, 1st person plural
no	οὐδὲν ouden	G3762	not even one (man · adjective — accusative singular neuter
evil	κακὸν kakon	G2556	worthless (intrinsically · adjective — accusative singular neuter
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
this	τούτῳ toútōi	G5129	to (in
man	ἀνθρώπῳ anthrōpō	G444	from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — dative singular masculine
but	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
if	εἰ ei	G1487	if · conditional particle
spirit	πνεῦμα pneuma	G4151	a current of air · noun — nominative singular neuter
or	ἢ ē	G2228	disjunctive · conjunction
angel	ἄγγελος angelos	G32	compare G34 (ἀγέλη)) (to bring tidings) · noun — nominative singular masculine
spoken	ἐλάλησεν elalēsen	G2980	to talk · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
him	αὐτῷ autō	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
us	θεομαχῶμεν; theomachōmen	G2313	to resist deity · verb — present active subjunctive, 1st person plural
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
God	θεομαχέω theomachéō	G2313	to resist deity

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Acts 22:7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts 22:17-18 And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
John 12:29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Mark 2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinke…
Acts 23:29 Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
Acts 25:25 But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him…
Acts 26:31 And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 23:6-11

Many are the troubles of the righteous, but some way or other the Lord delivereth them out of them all. Paul owned he had experienced the truth of this in the persecutions he had undergone among the Gentiles (see Ti2 3:11): Out of them all the Lord delivered me. And now he finds that he who has delivered does and will deliver. He that delivered him in the foregoing chapter from the tumult of the people here delivers him from that of the elders. I. His own prudence and ingenuity stand him in some stead, and contribute much to his escape. Paul's greatest honour, and that upon which he most valued himself, was that he was a Christian, and an apostle of Christ; and all his other honours he despi…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 23:8

the Sadducees say . . . there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit--(See on Luk 20:37). the scribes . . . of the Pharisees' part . . . strove, saying, We find no evil in this man, but--as to those startling things which he brings to our ears. if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him--referring, perhaps, to his trance in the temple, of which he had told them (Act 22:17). They put this favorable construction upon his proceedings for no other reason than that they had found him one of their own party. They care not to inquire into the truth of what he alleged, over and above their opinions, but only to explain it away as something not worth raising a noise about. (The following w…

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Adam Clarke on Acts 23:9

The scribes - arose, and strove - Διεμαχοντο, They contended forcibly - they came to an open rupture with the Sadducees; and, in order to support their own party against them, they even admitted as truth, St. Paul's account of his miraculous conversion, and therefore they said, if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, etc. He had previously mentioned that Jesus Christ had appeared to him, when on his way to Damascus; and, though they might not be ready to admit the doctrine of Christ's resurrection, yet they could, consistently with their own principles, allow that the soul of Christ might appear to him; and they immediately caught at this, as furnishing a strong proof against the doctrin…

The Church Fathers

"And the scribes," etc. Look; the tribune also hears that the Pharisees have acquitted him of the charges, and have given sentence in his favor, and with greater confidence carries him off by force.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 49

"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 has spoken to him, or an angel?" Why did they not plead for him before this? Do you observe, how, when the passions give way, the truth is discovered? Where is the crime, say they, if an angel has spoken to him, or a spirit? Paul gives them no handle against him.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 49

"What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" These words are obscure or something is missing for the completion of the sentence, which would be, "If a spirit or an angel has told to him what to say in order to avoid dangers, he is being deceptive." Otherwise, what the Pharisees say must be understood in the sense, "Look! He's clearly talking about the resurrection, since he's been taught either this teaching on the resurrection by the Holy Spirit or an angel."
— Ammonius of Alexandria, CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 23.9

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Immortality · 2:11; — 2:11;
Pharisees, The · Many rulers, lawyers, and scribes were of — Many rulers, lawyers, and scribes were of
Sadducees, The · The resurrection a cause of dispute between them and the Pharisees — The resurrection a cause of dispute between them and the Pharisees
Scribes · Were frequently Pharisees — Were frequently Pharisees
Tact · other when he was in trouble — other when he was in trouble

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Acts 23:9

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 23:6-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 23:8

Adam Clarke on Acts 23:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 23:9

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 23:6-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 23:8

Adam Clarke on Acts 23:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Acts 23:9

John Calvin on Acts 23:6-9

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 23:7-10