And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.

Who came to the chief priests and the ancients, and said: We have bound ourselves under a great curse that we will eat nothing till we have slain Paul.

and they went to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have cursed ourselves with a curse to taste nothing until we kill Paul.

who having come near to the chief priests and to the elders said, 'With an anathema we did anathematize ourselves, to taste nothing till we have killed Paul;

They went to the High Priests and Elders and said to them, "We have bound ourselves under a heavy curse to take no food till we have killed Paul.

And they came to the chief priests and the rulers and said, We have taken a great oath to take no food till we have put Paul to death

And they approached the leaders of the priests, and the elders, and they said: "We have sworn ourselves by an oath, so that we will taste nothing, until we have killed Paul.

and they went to the chief priests and the elders, and said, "We have taken a solemn oath not to touch food until we have killed Paul.

They came to the chief priests. Seeing that the priests agree to such a wicked and ungodly conspiracy, by this they prove that there was in them neither any fear of God, neither yet any humanity. They do not only allow [approve] that which is brought before them concerning the murdering of the man by laying wait, but also they are ready to be partners in the murder, that they may deliver him into the hands of the murderers, whom they would have made away some way, they pass not how. For what other thing was it to take a man out of the hands of the judge and to slay him, than like murderers to rage even in the very place of judgment? The priests surely would never have allowed [approved] such a wicked purpose if there had been in them any drop of godly and right affection, or of humane feeling. Moreover, they did what they could to bring destruction upon all the people and themselves also. But the Lord did by this means disclose their wicked impiety, which lay hid under a color of honor.

And they came - Probably by a deputation.
To the chief priests and elders - The members of the Great Council, or Sanhedrin. It is probable that the application was made to the party of the Sadducees, as the Pharisees had shown their determination to defend Paul. They would have had no prospect of success had they attacked the castle, and they therefore devised this mode of obtaining access to Paul, where they might easily despatch him.
Under a great curse - Greek: "We have anathematized ourselves with an anathema." We have made the vow as solemn as possible.

And they came to the chief priests, and elders,.... Who were members of the sanhedrim, to acquaint them with their designs:
and said, we have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul: these chief priests and elders, had they acted according to the character they bore, on such an information, would have taken up those men, and punished them, at least would have dissuaded them from so vile an action; but they knew the men to whom they applied, and very likely they were all of them of the sect of the Sadducees, whom Paul had so much offended the day before; and therefore were pleased with what they had done, approved of their scheme, and readily fell in with the following proposal.