Acts 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 Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.

3Then 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?

5Then 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.

6But 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.

8For 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.

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 to morrow, as though ye would enquire 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 to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire 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 shewed these things to me.

23And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Cæsarea, 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 Lysias 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 Antipatris.

32On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:

33Who, when they came to Cæsarea, 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 Cilicia;

35I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.

Paul before the Sanhedrin

1Paul looked directly at the Sanhedrinfootnote a and said, “Brothers, I have conducted myself before God in all good conscience to this day.”

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

3Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck.”

4But those standing nearby said, “How dare you insult the high priest of God!”

5“Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’footnote b”

6Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”

7As soon as he had said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8For the Sadducees say that there is neither a resurrection nor angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

9A great clamor arose, and some scribes from the party of the Pharisees got up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10The dispute grew so violent that the commander was afraid they would tear Paul to pieces. He ordered the soldiers to go down and remove him by force and bring him into the barracks.

11The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”

The Plot to Kill Paul

12When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13More than forty of them were involved in this plot. 14They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him down to you on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. We are ready to kill him on the way.”

16But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the plot,footnote c he went into the barracks and told Paul. 17Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.”

18So the centurion took him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner sent and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”

19The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside, and asked, “What do you need to tell me?”

20He answered, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of acquiring more information about him. 21Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are ready now, awaiting your consent.”

22So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Do not tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

Paul Sent to Felix

23Then he called two of his centurions and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea in the third hour of the night.footnote d 24Provide mounts for Paul to take him safely to Governor Felix.” 25And he wrote the following letter:

26Claudius Lysias,
To His Excellency, Governor Felix:
Greetings.

27This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him when I came with my troops to rescue him. For I had learned that he is a Roman citizen, 28and since I wanted to understand their charges against him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin. 29I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.

30When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also instructed his accusers to present their case against him before you.

31So the soldiers followed their orders and brought Paul by night to Antipatris. 32The next day they returned to the barracks and let the horsemen go on with him. 33When the horsemen arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and presented Paul to him.

34The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, 35he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s Praetorium.