Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to judge me according to the law, and command me to be struck contrary to the law?”
- KJV Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
- NKJV Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”
- NASB Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law, order me to be struck?”
- NLT But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul rebukes Ananias as a 'whitewashed wall' for judging him while breaking the law himself. He exposes the hypocrisy of the high priest's unjust command.
Overview
'Whitewashed wall' pictures a structure made to look sound but inwardly corrupt (compare Matthew 23:27). Paul's warning that God will strike him proved prophetic, as Ananias was later killed by assassins. The verse shows righteous indignation against hypocrisy, yet Paul's next words also reveal his readiness to submit to lawful authority.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Deut 25:1–2If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.
- John 7:51“Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”
- Matt 23:27–28Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.
- Lev 19:15You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
- Ps 82:1–2A Psalm of Asaph. God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods:
- Amos 5:7There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
- Mic 3:8–11As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and courage, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
- Ps 58:1–2For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?
- Ps 94:20Can a corrupt throne be Your ally—one devising mischief by decree?
- Eccl 3:16Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.
- Lev 19:35You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume.
- John 18:24Then Annas sent Him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.
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Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
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Original language
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