Acts 23
23
1And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. 2And the high priest Anani´as commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. 3#Matt 23.27,28. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? 4And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? 5#Exod 22.28. Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
6 #
Acts 26.5; Phil 3.5. But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. 7And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. 8#Matt 22.23; Mark 12.18; Luke 20.27. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both. 9And 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. 10And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
11And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
The Plot against Paul's Life
12And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. 14And 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. 15Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though ye would inquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.
16And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul. 17Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him. 18So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee. 19Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me? 20And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul tomorrow into the council, as though they would inquire somewhat of him more perfectly. 21But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee. 22So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast showed these things to me.
Paul Sent to Felix the Governor
23And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesare´a, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; 24and provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor. 25And he wrote a letter after this manner:
26Claudius Lys´i-as unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting. 27This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. 28And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council: 29whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. 30And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.
31Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antip´atris. 32On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle: 33who, when they came to Caesare´a, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him. 34And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cili´cia; 35I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.
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Acts 23: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Acts of the Apostles 23
23
1Paul stared at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with an altogether clear conscience right up to this very day.” 2The high priest Ananias ordered those standing beside Paul to strike him in the mouth. 3Then Paul said to him, “God is about to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit and judge me according to the Law, yet disobey the Law by ordering that I be struck.”
4Those standing near him asked, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?”
5Paul replied, “Brothers, I wasn’t aware that he was the high priest. It is written, “You will not speak evil about a ruler of your people”.”#23.5 Exod 22:28
6Knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, Paul exclaimed in the council, “Brothers, I’m a Pharisee and a descendant of Pharisees. I am on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead!”
7These words aroused a dispute between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8This is because Sadducees say that there’s no resurrection, angel, or spirit, but Pharisees affirm them all. 9Council members were shouting loudly. Some Pharisees who were legal experts stood up and insisted forcefully, “We find nothing wrong with this man! What if a spirit or angel has spoken to him?” 10The dispute became so heated that the commander feared they might tear Paul to pieces. He ordered soldiers to go down and remove him by force from their midst. Then they took him back to the military headquarters.
11The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Be encouraged! Just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so too you must testify in Rome.”
A murder plot discovered
12The next morning some Jewish leaders formulated a plot and solemnly promised that they wouldn’t eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13More than forty people were involved in the conspiracy. 14They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have solemnly promised to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. 15You and the council must explain to the commander that you need Paul brought down to you. Pretend that you want to examine his case more closely. We’re prepared to kill him before he arrives.”
16Paul’s sister had a son who heard about the ambush and he came to the military headquarters and reported it to Paul. 17Paul called for one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander because he has something to report to him.”
18He took him to the commander and said, “The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”
19The commander took him by the hand and withdrew to a place where they could speak privately. He asked, “What do you have to report to me?”
20He replied, “The Jewish leaders have conspired to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow. They will pretend that they want to investigate his case more closely. 21Don’t fall for it! More than forty of them are waiting to ambush him. They have solemnly promised not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, awaiting your consent.”
22The commander dismissed the young man, ordering him, “Don’t tell anyone that you brought this to my attention.”
23The commander called two centurions and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. 24Have horses ready for Paul to ride, so they may take him safely to Governor Felix.” 25He wrote the following letter:
26Claudius Lysias, to the most honorable Governor Felix: Greetings. 27This man was seized by the Jews and was almost killed by them. I was nearby with a unit of soldiers, and I rescued him when I discovered that he was a Roman citizen. 28I wanted to find out why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their council. 29I discovered that they were accusing him about questions related to their Law. I found no charge deserving of death or imprisonment. 30When I was informed of a conspiracy against his life, I sent him to you at once and ordered his accusers to bring their case against him before you.
31Following their orders, the soldiers took Paul during the night and brought him to Antipatris. 32The following day they let the horsemen continue on with Paul while they returned to the military headquarters in Jerusalem. 33The horsemen entered Caesarea, delivered the letter to the governor, and brought Paul before him. 34After he read the letter, he asked Paul about his home province. When he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35the governor said, “I will hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept in custody in Herod’s palace.
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