Acts 23

¹And Paul, looking intently at the council, said, 'Men, brothers, I have lived before God in all good conscience until this day.'

²And the high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth.

³Then Paul said to him, 'God is about to strike you, you whitewashed wall! And do you sit judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?'

⁴And those standing by said, 'Do you insult God's high priest?'

⁵And Paul said, 'I did not know, brothers, that he is the high priest; for it is written, You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'

⁶But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, 'Men, brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! It is concerning the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!'

⁷And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

⁸For Sadducees say there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but Pharisees acknowledge both.

⁹And a great outcry arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended strongly, saying, 'We find nothing bad in this man! But if a spirit or an angel spoke to him—we must not fight against God!'

¹⁰And when the dissension became great, the commander, fearing that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered the troop to go down and take him by force from their midst and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹And on the following night the Lord stood beside him and said, 'Take courage, Paul! For just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.'

¹²And when day came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³And there were more than forty who made this conspiracy.

¹⁴These men came to the chief priests and the elders and said, 'We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵Now therefore you, together with the council, make a report to the commanding officer, so that he may bring him down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to examine his case more thoroughly; and we are ready to kill him before he gets here.'

¹⁶But the son of Paul's sister heard of the ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul.

¹⁷Paul then called one of the centurions and said, 'Take this young man to the commanding officer; for he has something to report to him.'

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

¹⁹The commanding officer took him by the hand and withdrawing in private inquired, 'What is it that you have to report to me?'

²⁰He said, 'The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Council tomorrow, as if they were about to inquire more precisely concerning him.

²¹So do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty men among them are lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves with an oath to eat nothing or drink anything until they have killed him — and now they are ready, awaiting your promise.

²²So the commanding officer dismissed the young man, ordering him to tell no one that you have reported these things to me.'

²³Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, 'Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night.'

²⁴Also provide mounts so that they might set Paul on them and bring him safely to Felix the governor.

²⁵And he wrote a letter having the following form:

²⁶Claudius Lysias to the most excellent governor Felix, greetings.

²⁷This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, when I came with the troop and rescued him, having learned that he is a Roman.

²⁸And wishing to know the charge on account of which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council.

²⁹I found him accused concerning questions of their law, but having no accusation worthy of death or chains.

³⁰And when a plot against the man was disclosed to me, I sent him to you at once, ordering the accusers also to state the charges against him before you. Farewell.

³¹So the soldiers, according to the orders given to them, took Paul and brought him through the night to Antipatris.

³²And on the next day, they let the horsemen go on with him and returned to the barracks.

³³They, entering Caesarea and delivering the letter to the governor, also presented Paul to him.

³⁴And when the governor had read the letter, he asked from what province he was, and learning that he was from Cilicia,

³⁵'I will give you a hearing,' he said, 'when your accusers also arrive.' Then he commanded him to be kept in Herod's praetorium.