What Does Acts 23:30 Mean in the King James?
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.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
A hidden plot becomes a spoken charge, and the accusers must state it before someone who can judge it.
THE MEANING
When a threat is exposed, it moves from concealment into a hearing: the accusers must say openly what they have against the person. The charge remains something to be stated before a judge, not a verdict already settled.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
An accusation is not a verdict; the charge must be brought into the open before it can be examined.
THE ROOT
ἐπιβουλήν
epiboulēn
GROWS FROM
βουλή
boulē
Counsel, deliberation, or intention; with ἐπί (epi, against), it describes a plan directed against someone.
“Laid wait” can sound like a bare act of hiding, but ἐπιβουλή names an intention formed against someone: a counseled plot. The verse’s movement is from planned secrecy to a setting where the accusers must speak.
ALSO GROWS
boulē: Counsel or plan
βουλή
The ambush is presented as a formed intention, not a chance encounter.
bouleuomai: To deliberate or take counsel
βουλεύομαι
This related verb makes the planning behind the plot visible.
κατηγόροις
katēgorois
GROWS FROM
ἀγορεύω / ἀγορα- (agoreuō / agora)
The word combines κατά (kata, against) with ἀγορεύω (agoreuō, speak publicly); its root carries the sense of speech brought before an assembly.
The Greek word for “accusers” carries an image of speech brought into a public forum. Beside ἐπιβουλή, the verse moves from a hidden plot to a spoken charge before the governor, making the accusation answerable as words.
ALSO GROWS
agoreuō: To speak publicly
ἀγορεύω
The accuser’s role is expressed through speech brought before others.
agora: A public gathering or assembly
ἀγορά
This related word illuminates the public setting implied by the accuser’s speech.
THE PATTERN
A charge is brought into the open so it can be examined before it is treated as settled.
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him.THE THREAD
To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him.Acts 25:16 repeats the Greek accuser vocabulary and makes the procedure explicit: the accused faces the accusers and may answer. It opens Acts 23:30 further because the demanded statement is not a formality; the charge becomes answerable speech in a hearing.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us