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 23
23
1Paul looked intently at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have conducted myself with a perfectly clear conscience before God to this day.”#24:16. 2The high priest Ananias#The high priest Ananias: Ananias, son of Nedebaeus, was high priest from A.D. 47 to 59. ordered his attendants to strike his mouth. 3Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you,#God will strike you: Josephus reports that Ananias was later assassinated in A.D. 66 at the beginning of the First Revolt. you whitewashed wall. Do you indeed sit in judgment upon me according to the law and yet in violation of the law order me to be struck?”#Ez 13:10–15; Mt 23:27. 4The attendants said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” 5Paul answered, “Brothers, I did not realize he was the high priest. For it is written,#Ex 22:27. ‘You shall not curse a ruler of your people.’”#Luke portrays Paul as a model of one who is obedient to the Mosaic law. Paul, because of his reverence for the law (Ex 22:27), withdraws his accusation of hypocrisy, “whitewashed wall” (cf. Mt 23:27), when he is told Ananias is the high priest.
6Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees, so he called out before the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; [I] am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”#24:15, 21; 26:5; Phil 3:5. 7When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the group became divided. 8For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.#Mt 22:23; Lk 20:27. 9A great uproar occurred, and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party stood up and sharply argued, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10The dispute was so serious that the commander, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered his troops to go down and rescue him from their midst and take him into the compound. 11#The occurrence of the vision of Christ consoling Paul and assuring him that he will be his witness in Rome prepares the reader for the final section of Acts: the journey of Paul and the word he preaches to Rome under the protection of the Romans. #19:21. The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.”
Transfer to Caesarea. 12When day came, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13There were more than forty who formed this conspiracy. 14They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves by a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. 15You, together with the Sanhedrin, must now make an official request to the commander to have him bring him down to you, as though you meant to investigate his case more thoroughly. We on our part are prepared to kill him before he arrives.” 16The son of Paul’s sister, however, heard about the ambush; so he went and entered the compound and reported it to Paul. 17Paul then called one of the centurions#Centurions: a centurion was a military officer in charge of one hundred soldiers. and requested, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to report to him.” 18So he took him and brought him to the commander and explained, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked that I bring this young man to you; he has something to say to you.” 19The commander took him by the hand, drew him aside, and asked him privately, “What is it you have to report to me?” 20He replied, “The Jews have conspired to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they meant to inquire about him more thoroughly, 21but do not believe them. More than forty of them are lying in wait for him; they have bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are now ready and only wait for your consent.” 22As the commander dismissed the young man he directed him, “Tell no one that you gave me this information.”
23Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready to go to Caesarea by nine o’clock tonight,#By nine o’clock tonight: literally, “by the third hour of the night.” The night hours began at 6 p.m. Two hundred auxiliaries: the meaning of the Greek is not certain. It seems to refer to spearmen from the local police force and not from the cohort of soldiers, which would have numbered only 500–1000 men. along with seventy horsemen and two hundred auxiliaries. 24Provide mounts for Paul to ride and give him safe conduct to Felix the governor.” 25Then he wrote a letter with this content: 26#The letter emphasizes the fact that Paul is a Roman citizen and asserts the lack of evidence that he is guilty of a crime against the empire. The tone of the letter implies that the commander became initially involved in Paul’s case because of his Roman citizenship, but this is not an exact description of what really happened (see Acts 21:31–33; 22:25–29). “Claudius Lysias to his excellency the governor Felix, greetings.#M. Antonius Felix was procurator of Judea from A.D. 52 to 60. His procuratorship was marked by cruelty toward and oppression of his Jewish subjects. 27This man, seized by the Jews and about to be murdered by them, I rescued after intervening with my troops when I learned that he was a Roman citizen.#21:30–34; 22:27. 28I wanted to learn the reason for their accusations against him so I brought him down to their Sanhedrin. 29I discovered that he was accused in matters of controversial questions of their law and not of any charge deserving death or imprisonment.#18:14–15; 25:18–19. 30Since it was brought to my attention that there will be a plot against the man, I am sending him to you at once, and have also notified his accusers to state [their case] against him before you.”
31So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and escorted him by night to Antipatris. 32The next day they returned to the compound, leaving the horsemen to complete the journey with him. 33When they arrived in Caesarea they delivered the letter to the governor and presented Paul to him. 34When he had read it and asked to what province he belonged, and learned that he was from Cilicia, 35he said, “I shall hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that he be held in custody in Herod’s praetorium.
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