Acts 23:20

And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would inquire somewhat of him more perfectly.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

23:12-24 False religious principles, adopted by carnal men, urge on to such wickedness, as human nature would hardly be supposed capable of. Yet the Lord readily disappoints the best concerted schemes of iniquity. Paul knew that the Divine providence acts by reasonable and prudent means; and that, if he neglected to use the means in his power, he could not expect God's providence to work on his behalf. He who will not help himself according to his means and power, has neither reason nor revelation to assure him that he shall receive help from God. Believing in the Lord, we and ours shall be kept from every evil work, and kept to his kingdom. Heavenly Father, give us by thy Holy Spirit, for Christ's sake, this precious faith.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And he said ... - In what way this young man had received intelligence of this, we can only conjecture. It is not improbable that he was a student under some one of the Jewish teachers, and that he might have learned it of him. It is not at all probable that the purpose of the 40 men would be very closely kept. Indeed, it is evident that they were not themselves very anxious about concealing their oath, as they mentioned it freely to the chief priests and elders, Acts 23:14.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

19. took him by the hand—This shows that he must have been quite in his boyhood, and throws a pleasing light on the kind-hearted impartiality of this officer.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The Jews; both the council, and those forty and upwards spoken of, in Acts 23:12,13.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he said, the Jews have agreed to desire thee,.... By the Jews are meant, the Jewish sanhedrim, for the young man had not only intelligence of the conspiracy, and lying in wait of the forty men or more; but also of the agreement which the sanhedrim at the motion of these men were come into, to make the following request to the chief captain; which seems to confirm the above conjecture, that this young man might be a student under the president of the council, or one of the doctors, whereby he came at the knowledge of these things:

that thou wouldst bring down Paul tomorrow into the council, &c. See Gill on Acts 23:15.

Geneva Study Bible

And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

Acts 23:20. συνέθεντο, Luke 22:5, John 9:22, so in classical Greek in middle, cf. 1 Samuel 22:13, Dan. (Th.) Acts 2:9.—τοῦ ἐρωτῆσαι: the word certainly points to a certain equality with the person asked (not αἰτέω), see above on Acts 23:15—but still a request, not a demand.—μέλλοντες, see critical note; if plural, the clause intimates the pretext put forward by the conspirators; if singular, it is perhaps more in accordance with the deference of the youth, who would refer the control of the proceedings to the chiliarch.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

20. as though they would inquire] The oldest MSS. give “as though thou wouldest inquire.” It is more probable that this older reading was altered to agree with the plural in Acts 23:15, than that the plural was changed into the singular. It was natural enough for the speaker among the Zealots to say to the chief priests “as though ye would inquire,” and it is equally natural that Paul’s nephew, speaking to the chief captain, who had control of the whole proceedings, should say “as though thou wouldest inquire.”

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 20. - Ask thee to bring for desire thee that then wouldest bring, A.V; unto for into, A.V.; thou wouldest for they would, A.V. and T.R.; more exactly concerning him for of him more perfectly, A.V. Have agreed. Συντίθημι occurs four times in the New Testament, of which three are in St. Luke's writings (Luke 22:5; this passage; and Acts 24:9), and the fourth in John 9:22. As though thou wouldest. The R.T., which reads μέλλων for μέλλοντες, must surely be wrong. It is in contradiction to ver. 15, and makes no sense. The pretext of further inquiry was theirs, not Lysias's. Acts 23:20