Acts 23
23
1 Then Paul, gazing intently at the council, said, "Noble brothers, I have spoken with all good conscience before God, even to this present day."
2 And the high priest, Ananias, instructed those who were standing nearby to strike him on the mouth.
3 Then Paul said to him: "God shall strike you, you whitewashed wall! For would you sit and judge me according to the law, when, contrary to the law, you order me to be struck?"
4 And those who were standing nearby said, "Are you speaking evil about the high priest of God?"
5 And Paul said: "I did not know, brothers, that he is the high priest. For it is written: 'You shall not speak evil of the leader of your people.' "
6 Now Paul, knowing that one group were Sadducees and the other were Pharisees, exclaimed in the council: "Noble brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees! It is over the hope and resurrection of the dead that I am being judged."
7 And when he had said this, a dissension occurred between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And the multitude was divided.
8 For the Sadducees claim that there is no resurrection, and neither angels, nor spirits. But the Pharisees confess both of these.
9 Then there occurred a great clamor. And some of the Pharisees, rising up, were fighting, saying: "We find nothing evil in this man. What if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?"
10 And since a great dissension had been made, the tribune, fearing that Paul might be torn apart by them, ordered the soldiers to descend and to seize him from their midst, and to bring him into the fortress.
11 Then, on the following night, the Lord stood near him and said: "Be constant. For just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so also it is necessary for you to testify at Rome."
12 And when daylight arrived, some of the Jews gathered together and bound themselves with an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.
13 Now there were more than forty men who had taken this oath together.
14 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.
15 Therefore, with the council, you should now give notice to the tribune, so that he may bring him to you, as if you intended to determine something else about him. But before he approaches, we have made preparations to put him to death."
16 But when Paul's sister's son had heard of this, about their treachery, he went and entered into the fortress, and he reported it to Paul.
17 And Paul, calling to him one of the centurions, said: "Lead this young man to the tribune. For he has something to tell him."
18 And indeed, he took him and led him to the tribune, and he said, "Paul, the prisoner, asked me to lead this young man to you, since he has something to say to you."
19 Then the tribune, taking him by the hand, withdrew with him by themselves, and he asked him: "What is it that you have to tell me?"
20 Then he said: "The Jews have met to ask you to bring Paul tomorrow to the council, as if they intended to question him about something else.
21 But truly, you should not believe them, for they would ambush him with more than forty men from among them, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat, nor to drink, until they have put him to death. And they are now prepared, hoping for an affirmation from you."
22 And then the tribune dismissed the young man, instructing him not to tell anyone that he had made known these things to him.
23 Then, having called two centurions, he said to them: "Prepare two hundred soldiers, so that they may go as far as Caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, for the third hour of the night.
24 And prepare beasts of burden to carry Paul, so that they may lead him safely to Felix, the governor."
25 For he was afraid, lest perhaps the Jews might seize him and kill him, and that afterwards he would be falsely accused, as if he had accepted a bribe. And so he wrote a letter containing the following:
26 "Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent governor, Felix: greetings.
27 This man, having been apprehended by the Jews and being about to be put to death by them, I rescued, overwhelming them with soldiers, since I realized that he is a Roman.
28 And wanting to know the reason that they objected to him, I brought him into their council.
29 And I discovered him to be accused about questions of their law. Yet truly, nothing deserving of death or imprisonment was within the accusation.
30 And when I had been given news of ambushes, which they had prepared against him, I sent him to you, notifying his accusers also, so that they may plead their accusations before you. Farewell."
31 Therefore the soldiers, taking Paul according to their orders, brought him by night to Antipatris.
32 And the next day, sending the horsemen to go with him, they returned to the fortress.
33 And when they had arrived at Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul before him.
34 And when he had read it and had asked which province he was from, realizing that he was from Cilicia, he said:
35 "I will hear you, when your accusers have arrived." And he ordered him to be kept in the praetorium of Herod.
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Acts 23: CPDV
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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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