Acts 23
23
1And Paul having earnestly beheld the sanhedrim, said, ‘Men, brethren, I in all good conscience have lived to God unto this day;’
2and the chief priest Ananias commanded those standing by him to smite him on the mouth,
3then Paul said unto him, ‘God is about to smite thee, thou whitewashed wall, and thou — thou dost sit judging me according to the law, and, violating law, dost order me to be smitten!’
4And those who stood by said, ‘The chief priest of God dost thou revile?’
5and Paul said, ‘I did not know, brethren, that he is chief priest: for it hath been written, Of the ruler of thy people thou shalt not speak evil;’
6and Paul having known that the one part are Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, cried out in the sanhedrim, ‘Men, brethren, I am a Pharisee — son of a Pharisee — concerning hope and rising again of dead men I am judged.’
7And he having spoken this, there came a dissension of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, and the crowd was divided,
8for Sadducees, indeed, say there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, but Pharisees confess both.
9And there came a great cry, and the scribes of the Pharisees' part having arisen, were striving, saying, ‘No evil do we find in this man; and if a spirit spake to him, or a messenger, we may not fight against God;’
10and a great dissension having come, the chief captain having been afraid lest Paul may be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiery, having gone down, to take him by force out of the midst of them, and to bring [him] to the castle.
11And on the following night, the Lord having stood by him, said, ‘Take courage, Paul, for as thou didst fully testify the things concerning me at Jerusalem, so it behoveth thee also at Rome to testify.’
12And day having come, certain of the Jews having made a concourse, did anathematize themselves, saying neither to eat nor to drink till they may kill Paul;
13and they were more than forty who made this conspiracy by oath,
14who 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;
15now, therefore, ye, signify ye to the chief captain, with the sanhedrim, that to-morrow he may bring him down unto you, as being about to know more exactly the things concerning him; and we, before his coming nigh, are ready to put him to death.’
16And the son of Paul's sister having heard of the lying in wait, having gone and entered into the castle, told Paul,
17and Paul having called near one of the centurions, said, ‘This young man lead unto the chief captain, for he hath something to tell him.’
18He indeed, then, having taken him, brought him unto the chief captain, and saith, ‘The prisoner Paul, having called me near, asked [me] this young man to bring unto thee, having something to say to thee.’
19And the chief captain having taken him by the hand, and having withdrawn by themselves, inquired, ‘What is that which thou hast to tell me?’
20and he said — ‘The Jews agreed to request thee, that to-morrow to the sanhedrim thou mayest bring down Paul, as being about to enquire something more exactly concerning him;
21thou, therefore, mayest thou not yield to them, for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who did anathematize themselves — not to eat nor to drink till they kill him, and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from thee.’
22The chief captain, then, indeed, let the young man go, having charged [him] to tell no one, ‘that these things thou didst shew unto me;’
23and having called near a certain two of the centurions, he said, ‘Make ready soldiers two hundred, that they may go on unto Caesarea, and horsemen seventy, and spearmen two hundred, from the third hour of the night;
24beasts also provide, that, having set Paul on, they may bring him safe unto Felix the governor;’
25he having written a letter after this description:
26‘Claudius Lysias, to the most noble governor Felix, hail:
27This man having been taken by the Jews, and being about to be killed by them — having come with the soldiery, I rescued him, having learned that he is a Roman;
28and, intending to know the cause for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their sanhedrim,
29whom I found accused concerning questions of their law, and having no accusation worthy of death or bonds;
30and a plot having been intimated to me against this man — about to be of the Jews — at once I sent unto thee, having given command also to the accusers to say the things against him before thee; be strong.’
31Then, indeed, the soldiers according to that directed them, having taken up Paul, brought him through the night to Antipatris,
32and on the morrow, having suffered the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the castle;
33those having entered into Caesarea, and delivered the letter to the governor, did present also Paul to him.
34And the governor having read [it], and inquired of what province he is, and understood that [he is] from Cilicia;
35‘I will hear thee — said he — when thine accusers also may have come;’ he also commanded him to be kept in the praetorium of Herod.
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Acts 23: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
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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