Acts 23:9

⁷ As soon as he had said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

⁸ For the Sadducees say that there is neither a resurrection, nor angels, nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

A great clamor arose, and some scribes from the party of the Pharisees got up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

¹⁰ The dispute grew so violent that the commander was afraid they would tear Paul to pieces. He ordered the soldiers to go down and remove him by force and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹ The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: A great clamor arose, and some scribes from the party of the Pharisees got up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
KJV: And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
WEB: A great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ part stood up, and contended, saying, “We find no evil in this man. But if a spirit or angel has spoken to him, let’s not fight against God!”
ASV: And there arose a great clamor: and some of the scribes of the Pharisees part stood up, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: and what if a spirit hath spoken to him, or an angel?
DARBY: And there was a great clamour, and the scribes of the Pharisees' part rising up contended, saying, We find nothing evil in this man; and if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel
BLB: Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the party of the Pharisees, having risen up, were contending, saying, “We find nothing evil in this man. And [what] if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

ÅB: Nå ble det da et stort skrik, og noen skriftlærde av fariseernes flokk sto opp og stred skarpt og sa: Vi finner intet ondt hos dette menneske; om det nå var en ånd som talte til ham, eller en engel?
OTB: Det oppsto et stort oppstyr, og noen av de skriftlærde fra fariseernes parti reiste seg og argumenterte heftig, og sa: «Vi finner ikke noe galt hos denne mannen. Tenk om en ånd eller en engel har talt til ham?»
B1930: Nu blev det da et stort skrik, og nogen skriftlærde av fariseernes flokk stod op og stred skarpt og sa: Vi finner intet ondt hos dette menneske; om det nu var en ånd som talte til ham, eller en engel?

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Acts 22:7
I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’
Read in context
Acts 22:17–18
Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
Read in context
John 12:29
The crowd standing there heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to Him.
Read in context
Acts 25:25
But I found he had done nothing worthy of death, and since he has now appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.
Read in context
Proverbs 16:7
When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.
Read in context
Mark 2:16
When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Read in context
Acts 26:31
On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”
Read in context
Acts 23:29
I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.
Read in context