Chapter
Verse

Acts 24:9

ESV The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.
NIV The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.
NASB The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.
CSB The Jews also joined in the attack, alleging that these things were true.
NLT Then the other Jews chimed in, declaring that everything Tertullus said was true.
KJV And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so.
NKJV And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so.

What does Acts 24:9 mean?

Tertullus, the Sanhedrin's lawyer, has presented his case against Paul in the court of Governor Felix. Paul is accused of being a "plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple" (Acts 24:5–6).

Now, the "Jews" affirm Tertullus's claims. "Jews" in these New Testament contexts usually means Jewish religious leaders. Here, it means the high priest Ananias and the elders who came with him (Acts 24:1).

It is true that Paul was involved in a melee in Jerusalem, but not because he initiated it. He was attacked by a mob when falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple. Paul's words in Acts 24:18–21 seem to suggest that none of these Jews were at the temple when the riot occurred (Acts 21:27–36). They only know what happened the next morning when Lysias brought Paul to the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:30–23:11). That means that the chief priest and the elders of the Sanhedrin are literally breaking the 9th Commandment: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16).

After Paul gives his testimony, Felix announces he will wait to render judgment until he receives the testimony of the Roman tribune stationed in Jerusalem (Acts 24:22). The tribune never appears, however. To placate the Jewish leaders and attempt to elicit a bribe from Paul, Felix keeps Paul under house arrest until Felix is replaced by Porcius Festus two years later (Acts 24:27).
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