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Acts 23:19

in Acts 23

The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside, and asked, “What do you need to tell me?”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the chief captain took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, What is it that thou hast to tell me?

KJV

Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?

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This verse in Acts 23

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Paul's sister's son--(See on Ac 9:30). If he was at this time residing at Jerusalem for his education, like Paul himself, he may have got at the schools those hints of the conspiracy on which he so promptly acted.

This site's exposition

Take this young man

on Acts 23:17-19

From custody Paul summons a centurion to take his nephew to the commander, the chain of command Roman military order required. The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside, and heard the warning in private.

This site's exposition

took the young man by the hand

Albert Barnes reads the gesture as kindness, and the step aside as care to hear the message in private. Matthew Henry suggests a further motive. Having bound a Roman citizen, the commander had reason to treat Paul's cause with care.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 49 · Written before 407.

proposed

"Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the tribune: For he hath a certain thing to tell him. So he took him, and brought him to the tribune, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee. Then the tribune took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?" Again he is saved by man's forethought. And observe: Paul lets no man learn this, not even the centurion, that the matter might not become known. And the centurion having come, reported to the tribune. And it is well done of the tribune also, that he bids him keep it secret, that it might not become known.

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Tell me wherein I can be serviceable to Paul." It is probable that the chief captain was the more obliging in this case because he was sensible he had run himself into a premunire in binding Paul, against his privilege as a Roman citizen, which he was willing now to atone for.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

Then the chief captain took him by the hand,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

The chief captain's care of Paul's safety, by which he prevented the execution of the design; he sent him away immediately under a strong guard from Jerusalem to Cæsarea, which was now the residence of Felix, the Roman governor, and there he safely arrived,

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Took him by the hand - As an expression of kindness and civility. He did it to draw him aside from the multitude, that he might communicate his message privately.

The words behind it

18 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.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Mark 8:23So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything?” He asked.2 worksMark 10:51“What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “Rabboni,” said the blind man, “let me see again.”2 worksMark 9:27But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.2 worksNehemiah 2:4“What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven2 worksEsther 7:2and as they drank their wine on that second day, the king asked once more, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.”2 worksEsther 5:3“What is it, Queen Esther?” the king inquired. “What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you.”2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
Esther 9:12who said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what further do you request? It will be fulfilled.”2 worksJeremiah 31:32It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.2 works

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

    Nehemiah 2:4

    “What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven

    it leads to

    • Philippians 4:6

      Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Nehemiah 1:4

      When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

    • Proverbs 3:6

      in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

  • Through

    Mark 10:51

    “What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “Rabboni,” said the blind man, “let me see again.”

    it leads to

    • Luke 18:41–43

      “What do you want Me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “let me see again.”

    • Mark 10:36

      “What do you want Me to do for you?” He inquired.

    • Matthew 7:7

      Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

    • 2 Chronicles 1:7

      That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”

  • Through

    Mark 8:23

    So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything?” He…

    it leads to

    • Mark 7:33

      So Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, and put His fingers into the man’s ears. Then He spit and touched the man’s tongue.

Where this verse is studied

About Acts

The Pentecost, El Greco, about 1600, Museo del Prado. Public domain.
The Pentecost, El Greco, about 1600, Museo del Prado. Public domain.
Acts: the study guide →Read Acts 23 →

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); 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 William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.

Read on in Acts 23 →