Acts 23
23
1Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, #Acts 24:16; 1 Cor. 4:4; 2 Cor. 1:12; 4:2; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 13:18I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” 2And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him #1 Kin. 22:24; Jer. 20:2; John 18:22to strike him on the mouth. 3Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and #Lev. 19:35; Deut. 25:1, 2; John 7:51do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”
4And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”
5Then Paul said, #Lev. 5:17, 18“I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, #Ex. 22:28; Eccl. 10:20; 2 Pet. 2:10‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”
6But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, #Acts 26:5; Phil. 3:5I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; #Acts 24:15, 21; 26:6; 28:20concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”
7And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. 8#Matt. 22:23; Mark 12:18; Luke 20:27For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. 9Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, #Acts 25:25; 26:31“We find no evil in this man; but #John 12:29; Acts 22:6, 7, 17, 18if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, #Acts 5:39let us not fight against God.”
10Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.
The Plot Against Paul
11But #Acts 18:9; 27:23, 24the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in #Acts 21:18, 19; 22:1–21Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at #Acts 28:16, 17, 23Rome.”
12And when it was day, #Acts 23:21, 30; 25:3some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had #Acts 9:23, 24; 25:3; 26:21; 27:42; 1 Thess. 2:15killed Paul. 13Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy. 14They came to the chief priests and #Acts 4:5, 23; 6:12; 22:5; 24:1; 25:15elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. 15Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
16So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.” 18So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.”
19Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”
20And he said, #Acts 23:12“The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully about him. 21But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.”
22So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”
Sent to Felix
23And he called for two centurions, saying, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to #Acts 8:40; 23:33Caesarea at the third hour of the night; 24and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25He wrote a letter in the following manner:
26Claudius Lysias,
To the most excellent governor Felix:
Greetings.
27#Acts 21:30, 33; 24:7This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. 28#Acts 22:30And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council. 29I found out that he was accused #Acts 18:15; 25:19concerning questions of their law, #Acts 25:25; 26:31but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains. 30And #Acts 23:20when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and #Acts 24:8; 25:6also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him.
Farewell.
31Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him, and returned to the barracks. 33When they came to #Acts 8:40Caesarea and had delivered the #Acts 23:26–30letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from #Acts 6:9; 21:39Cilicia, 35he said, #Acts 24:1, 10; 25:16“I will hear you when your accusers also have come.” And he commanded him to be kept in #Matt. 27:27Herod’s Praetorium.
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Acts 23: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Acts 23
23
1Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin. “My brothers,” he said, “I have always done my duty to God. To this day I feel that I have done nothing wrong.” 2Ananias the high priest heard this. So he ordered the men standing near Paul to hit him on the mouth. 3Then Paul said to him, “You pretender! God will hit you! You sit there and judge me by the law. But you yourself broke the law when you commanded them to hit me!”
4Those who were standing near Paul spoke to him. They said, “How dare you talk like that to God’s high priest!”
5Paul replied, “Brothers, I didn’t realize he was the high priest. It is written, ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ ” (Exodus 22:28)
6Paul knew that some of them were Sadducees and the others were Pharisees. So he called out to the members of the Sanhedrin. “My brothers,” he said, “I am a Pharisee. I come from a family of Pharisees. I believe that people will rise from the dead. That’s why I am on trial.” 7When he said this, the Pharisees and the Sadducees started to argue. They began to take sides. 8The Sadducees say that people will not rise from the dead. They don’t believe there are angels or spirits either. But the Pharisees believe all these things.
9People were causing trouble and making a lot of noise. Some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up. They argued strongly. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10The people arguing were getting out of control. The commanding officer was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them. So he ordered the soldiers to go down and take him away from them by force. The officer had told them to bring Paul into the fort.
11The next night the Lord stood near Paul. He said, “Be brave! You have told people about me in Jerusalem. You must do the same in Rome.”
The Plan to Kill Paul
12The next morning some Jews gathered secretly to make plans against Paul. They made a promise to themselves. They promised that they would not eat or drink anything until they killed him. 13More than 40 men took part in this plan. 14They went to the chief priests and the elders. They said, “We have made a special promise to God. We will not eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15Now then, you and the Sanhedrin must make an appeal to the commanding officer. Ask him to bring Paul to you. Pretend you want more facts about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”
16But Paul’s nephew heard about this plan. So he went into the fort and told Paul.
17Then Paul called one of the commanders. He said to him, “Take this young man to the commanding officer. He has something to tell him.” 18So the commander took Paul’s nephew to the officer.
The commander said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me. He asked me to bring this young man to you. The young man has something to tell you.”
19The commanding officer took the young man by the hand. He spoke to him in private. “What do you want to tell me?” the officer asked.
20He said, “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow. They will pretend they want more facts about him. 21Don’t give in to them. More than 40 of them are waiting in hiding to attack him. They have promised that they will not eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now. All they need is for you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin.”
22The commanding officer let the young man go. But he gave him a warning. “Don’t tell anyone you have reported this to me,” he said.
Paul Is Taken to Caesarea
23Then the commanding officer called for two of his commanders. He ordered them, “Gather a company of 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen and 200 men armed with spears. Get them ready to go to Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. 24Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”
25Here is the letter the officer wrote.
26I, Claudius Lysias, am writing this letter.
I am sending it to His Excellency, Governor Felix.
Greetings.
27The Jews grabbed Paul. They were about to kill him. But I came with my soldiers and saved him. I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28I wanted to know why they were bringing charges against him. So I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29I found out that the charge against him was based on questions about their law. But there was no charge against him worthy of death or prison. 30Then I was told about a plan against the man. So I sent him to you at once. I also ordered those bringing charges against him to present their case to you.
31The soldiers followed their orders. During the night they took Paul with them. They brought him as far as Antipatris. 32The next day they let the horsemen go on with him. The soldiers returned to the fort. 33The horsemen arrived in Caesarea. They gave the letter to the governor. Then they handed Paul over to him. 34The governor read the letter. He asked Paul where he was from. He learned that Paul was from Cilicia. 35So he said, “I will hear your case when those bringing charges against you get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.
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