23Acts 23

1Paul looked straight at the council members and said, “My friends, to this day I have served God with a clear conscience!”Select Acts 23:1

2Then Ananias the high priest ordered the men standing beside Paul to hit him on the mouth.Select Acts 23:2

3Paul turned to the high priest and said, “You whitewashed wall! God will hit you. You sit there to judge me by the Law of Moses. But at the same time you order men to break the Law by hitting me.”Select Acts 23:3

4The men standing beside Paul asked, “Don't you know you are insulting God's high priest?”Select Acts 23:4

5Paul replied, “Oh! I didn't know he was the high priest. The Scriptures do tell us not to speak evil about a leader of our people.”Select Acts 23:5

6When Paul saw that some of the council members were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted, “My friends, I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. I am on trial simply because I believe that the dead will be raised to life.”Select Acts 23:6

7As soon as Paul said this, the Pharisees and the Sadducees got into a big argument, and the council members started taking sides.Select Acts 23:7

8The Sadducees do not believe in angels or spirits or that the dead will rise to life. But the Pharisees believe in all of these,Select Acts 23:8

9and so there was a lot of shouting. Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees. Finally, they became angry and said, “We don't find anything wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an angel really did speak to him.”Select Acts 23:9

10The argument became fierce, and the commander was afraid that Paul would be pulled apart. So he ordered the soldiers to go in and rescue Paul. Then they took him back into the fortress.Select Acts 23:10

11That night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, “Don't worry! Just as you have told others about me in Jerusalem, you must also tell about me in Rome.”Select Acts 23:11

A Plot To Kill Paul

13The next morning more than 40 Jewish men got together and vowed that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul.Select Acts 23:13

14Then some of them went to the chief priests and the nation's leaders and said, “We have promised God that we would not eat a thing until we have killed Paul.Select Acts 23:14

15You and everyone in the council must go to the commander and pretend that you want to find out more about the charges against Paul. Ask for him to be brought before your court. Meanwhile, we will be waiting to kill him before he gets there.”Select Acts 23:15

16When Paul's nephew heard about the plot, he went to the fortress and told Paul about it.Select Acts 23:16

17So Paul said to one of the army officers, “Take this young man to the commander. He has something to tell him.”Select Acts 23:17

18The officer took him to the commander and said, “The prisoner named Paul asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.”Select Acts 23:18

19The commander took the young man aside and asked him in private, “What do you want to tell me?”Select Acts 23:19

20He answered, “Some men are planning to ask you to bring Paul down to the Jewish council tomorrow. They will claim they want to find out more about him.Select Acts 23:20

21But please don't do what they say. More than 40 men are going to attack Paul. They have made a vow not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. Even now they are waiting to hear what you decide.”Select Acts 23:21

22The commander sent the young man away after saying to him, “Don't let anyone know you told me this.”Select Acts 23:22

Paul Is Sent to Felix the Governor

23The commander called in two of his officers and told them, “By nine o'clock tonight have 200 soldiers ready to go to Caesarea. Take along 70 men on horseback and 200 foot soldiers with spears.Select Acts 23:23

24Get a horse ready for Paul and make sure he gets safely through to Felix the governor.”Select Acts 23:24

25The commander wrote a letter that said:Select Acts 23:25

26Greetings from Claudius Lysias to the Honorable Governor Felix:Select Acts 23:26

27Some Jews grabbed this man and were about to kill him. But when I found out that he was a Roman citizen, I took some soldiers and rescued him.Select Acts 23:27

28I wanted to find out what they had against him. So I brought him before their councilSelect Acts 23:28

29and learned that the charges concern only their religious laws. This man isn't guilty of anything for which he should die or even be put in jail.Select Acts 23:29

30As soon as I learned that there was a plot against him, I sent him to you and told their leaders to bring charges against him in your court.Select Acts 23:30

31The soldiers obeyed the commander's orders, and that same night they took Paul to the city of Antipatris.Select Acts 23:31

32The next day the foot soldiers returned to the fortress and let the soldiers on horseback take him the rest of the way.Select Acts 23:32

33When they came to Caesarea, they gave the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.Select Acts 23:33

34The governor read the letter. Then he asked Paul and found out that he was from Cilicia.Select Acts 23:34

35The governor said, “I will listen to your case as soon as the people come to bring their charges against you.” After saying this, he gave orders for Paul to be kept as a prisoner in Herod's palace.Select Acts 23:35