Acts 23:25
in Acts 23And he wrote the following letter:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he wrote a letter after this form:
KJV
And he wrote a letter after this manner:
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This verse in Acts 23
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHere is a letter written in defense of him and in accusation of the Jews. Look: Paul is acknowledged as innocent not by the Jews, but by foreigners, just as Christ was by Pilate.
This site's exposition
he wrote a letter after this manner
on Acts 23:25-27
Lysias's letter follows the standard form of a Roman military dispatch, sender's name, addressee's title, and a formal greeting, Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting, the same official style Luke himself opens Luke and Acts with toward Theophilus. The letter states that Lysias rescued Paul only after learning he was a Roman, a claim that shades the truth slightly, since 22:25-29 shows Lysias learned this only after very nearly having Paul scourged. The bench notes the small self-serving edit without judging it harshly, an officer's report naturally cast in the light that serves him best.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And he wrote a letter after this manner: Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting. This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council: 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. 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. Fare ye well." See how the letter speaks for him as a defence-for it says, "I found nothing worthy of death," but as accusation against them rather than against him.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Now that Paul was brought before them he thought to have faced them down, but could not, such was their wicked impudence. However, now was fulfilled in him what God promised to Ezekiel ( ch. iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And he wrote a letter after this manner. The chief captain wrote a letter to Felix the governor, the form and sum of which were as follow; this letter he sent by one of the centurions to him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He wrote a letter after this manner - It appears that this was not only the substance of the letter, but the letter itself: the whole of it is so perfectly formal as to prove this; and in this simple manner are all the letters of the ancients formed. In this also we have an additional proof of St. Luke’s accuracy.
The words behind it
6 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| γράψας | grapsas | having written | G1125 → | 189 times |
| ἐπιστολὴν | epistolen | a letter | G1992 → | 24 times |
| ἔχουσαν | echousan | having | G2192 → | 707 times |
| τὸν | ton | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| τύπον | tupon | form | G5179 → | 15 times |
| τοῦτον·¶ | touton | this: | G3778 → | 1381 times |
γράψαςhaving written
grapsasG1125 →189 times
ἐπιστολὴνa letter
epistolenG1992 →24 times
ἔχουσανhaving
echousanG2192 →707 times
τὸν<the>
tonG3588 →19766 times
τύπονform
tuponG5179 →15 times
τοῦτον·¶this:
toutonG3778 →1381 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Acts
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 49; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.