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Acts 24:13

in Acts 24

Nor can they prove to you any of their charges against me.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Neither can they prove to thee the things whereof they now accuse me.

KJV

Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.

This verse in Acts 24

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. As that he was a pestilent fellow, a mover of sedition, and a profaner of the temple these things they could not set forth in any clear light, and bring testimonies, or give demonstration of; they could not make them appear to be true, which it lay upon them to do, or otherwise in course he ought be acquitted: this was challenging and defying them to make good their assertions.

This site's exposition

did not find me debating

on Acts 24:12-13

Paul denies that his accusers found him debating in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city. A charge of sedition needs evidence of some act of insurrection, which the accusers never name.

This site's exposition

Nor can they prove

The burden of proof lay on the accusers. Gill reads the sentence as a challenge, since the charges had to be shown true by testimony or the prisoner went free. Barnes notes that no one answered by naming a single act of disorder.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Neither can they prove the things ... - That is, that I am a mover of sedition, or a disturber of the peace of the people. This appeal he boldly makes; he challenges investigation; and as they did not offer to specify any acts of disorder or tumult excited by him, this charge falls of course.

The words behind it

9 Greek words

Every 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.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Peter 3:16

    keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ.

    it leads to

    • 1 Peter 2:12

      Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

    • 1 Peter 2:15

      For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.

    • Hebrews 13:18

      Pray for us; we are convinced that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.

    • Titus 2:8

      and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.

    • Matthew 5:11

      Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

  • Through

    Acts 25:7

    When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove.

    it leads to

    • Luke 23:2

      And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”

    • Acts 24:5–6

      We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,

    • Acts 25:24

      Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him, both here and in Jerusalem, crying out that he…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About Acts

The Pentecost, El Greco, about 1600, Museo del Prado. Public domain.
The Pentecost, El Greco, about 1600, Museo del Prado. Public domain.

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Acts of the Apostles; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.