Paul was ordered struck before any charge was proven, by the very man who was supposed to judge him by the law. His question exposes the contradiction: a judge sitting "after the law" while breaking it. Barnes says Ananias gave the order "To stop him from speaking; to express their indignation at what he had said." Gill suggests the anger may have come because Paul "did not directly address him, and give him such flattering titles as he expected." Matthew Henry says Paul "did not speak this in any sinful heat or passion, but in a holy zeal against the high priest's abuse of his power."

Ananias' reply is not recorded. Instead, those standing by challenged Paul with their own question: "Revilest thou God's high priest?" (Acts 23:4). Paul answered, "I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest," and quoted the law: "Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people" (Acts 23:5; Exodus 22:28). Then he turned the hearing by crying out that he was a Pharisee on trial for "the hope and resurrection of the dead" (Acts 23:6).

"Whited wall" translates kekoniamene, a word meaning plastered or whitewashed. It appears in only one other New Testament verse, where Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees "whited sepulchres" (Matthew 23:27). Matthew Henry explains the picture: a hypocrite is "a mud-wall, trash and dirt and rubbish underneath, but plastered over." The phrase "contrary to the law" is one Greek word, paranomon, "to break the law," found only here.

Barnes points to Leviticus 19:35, "Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment." Gill points to John 7:51: "Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him?" On Ananias himself, Barnes says he was "doubtless" the son of Nebedaeus known from Josephus; Gill says he "is more generally thought to be Ananias the son of Nebedaeus," though he weighs other candidates. Barnes adds that Ananias was later slain during an uprising in Jerusalem.

Paul's words "God shall smite thee" put the matter in God's hands. Barnes reads them not as an angry curse but as a prediction, a strong conviction that God would judge such injustice. Henry speaks of "something of a prophetic spirit." Gill allows that it could be either a prophecy or a curse. Whatever the tone, Paul's point is that God sees when the law is twisted by those who are supposed to uphold it.

Paul's next words matter too. When rebuked, he did not defend his sharpness. He submitted to Scripture: "Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people" (Acts 23:5). Commentators differ on what "I wist not" means. Henry takes it as "I did not just then think of the dignity of his place"; Barnes thinks Ananias was presiding without truly holding the office. Either way, Paul let God's word govern his own speech even while he protested injustice.