Acts 23

23 ¹Paul stared at the council: "Brothers, I have lived my life before our Father in all good conscience until today."

²The high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike Paul on the mouth.

³Paul said to him, "Our Father will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me by the law, yet you break the law by ordering me struck?"

⁴Those standing nearby said, "Do you dare to insult our Father's high priest?"

⁵Paul said, "Brothers, I didn't know he was high priest; for Scripture says, 'Don't speak evil of your people's ruler.'"

⁶Paul, knowing some were Sadducees, others Pharisees, cried out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, son of Pharisees. I am on trial over the hope and resurrection of the dead!"

⁷When he said this, a dispute arose between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split. ⁸For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, and neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹A loud uproar broke out. Some scribes from the Pharisees' side stood and argued sharply: "We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?" ¹⁰As the dispute grew violent, the commander, fearing Paul would be torn apart by them, ordered the soldiers to go down, seize him from among them, and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹The next night our Lord Jesus stood beside him and said, "Take courage! As you testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify in Rome too."

A Plot Against Paul's Life

¹²At daybreak the Jews conspired and swore not to eat or drink until they killed Paul. ¹³There were more than forty who had joined in this plot. ¹⁴They went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we kill Paul. ¹⁵So now, you and the council, ask the commander to bring him down to you, as if to examine his case more closely. We're ready to kill him before he arrives."

¹⁶But Paul's sister's son, hearing of the ambush, went and entered the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷Paul called a centurion and said, "Take this young man to the commander—he has something to report."

¹⁸So he took him to the commander and said, "The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you; he has something to tell you."

¹⁹The commander took his hand, led him aside privately, and asked, "What do you have to tell me?"

²⁰He said, "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, pretending to inquire more precisely about him. ²¹Don't listen to them—more than forty of their men are waiting in ambush for him. They've bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they kill him, and now they're ready, waiting for your agreement."

²²The commander sent the young man off, ordering him, "Tell no one you reported this to me."

The Father Protects His Witness

²³Then he called two centurions: "Ready 200 soldiers for Caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and 200 spearmen, by nine tonight." ²⁴He told them to provide mounts for Paul, to bring him safely to Governor Felix. ²⁵And he wrote a letter that read as follows:"

²⁶"Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency Governor Felix: Greetings.

²⁷The Jews seized this man and were about to kill him when I came with my troops and rescued him, having learned he was a Roman citizen. ²⁸Wanting to know the charge they were bringing against him, I brought him down to their council. ²⁹I found him accused over questions of their law, with no charge deserving death or imprisonment. ³⁰Told of a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their case against him before you."

³¹So the soldiers, following their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³²The next day they let the horsemen go on with him while they returned to the barracks. ³³The horsemen reached Caesarea, delivered the letter to the governor, and presented Paul to him. ³⁴After reading it, the governor asked what province he was from, and learned he was from Cilicia, ³⁵"I'll hear you," he said, "once your accusers arrive." He ordered him held under guard in Herod's headquarters.