Acts 23:1-35 NIV
1Paul
looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to GOD in all good
conscience to this day.”
3Then Paul said
to him, “GOD Will Strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to
judge me according to the Law, yet you yourself violate
the Law by commanding that I be
struck!”
5Paul
replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is
written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ ”
6Then
Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called
out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees.
I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” 7When he said
this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the
assembly was divided. 8(The
Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels
nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)
9There
was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the Law who
were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this
man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10The dispute
became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by
them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and
bring him into the barracks.
“Take
courage! As you have testified about ME
in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
The Plot to Kill Paul
12The
next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath
not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13More than
forty men were involved in this plot. 14They
went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath
not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.15Now then, you
and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext
of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him
before he gets here.”
17Then
Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the
commander; he has something to tell him.” 18So
he took him to the commander.
The centurion said, “Paul, the
prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he
has something to tell you.”
19The
commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it
you want to tell me?”
20He
said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin
tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. 21Don’t give in
to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They
have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are
ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”
22The
commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that
you have reported this to me.”
Paul Transferred to Caesarea
23Then he
called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two
hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24Provide
horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”
To His Excellency, Governor Felix:
Greetings.
27This man was seized by the Jews and
they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I
had learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28I
wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29I found that
the accusation had to do with questions about their Law, but there was no
charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment.30When I was
informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at
once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.
31So the
soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and
brought him as far as Antipatris. 32The
next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the
barracks.
33When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. 34The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,
35he
said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that
Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.