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Acts Chapter 23 (NIV)

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undefined Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”
undefined At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.
undefined Then 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!”
undefined Those who were standing near Paul said, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?”
undefined Paul 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.’”
undefined Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.”
undefined When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.
undefined (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)
undefined There 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?”
undefined The 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.
undefined The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
undefined The Plot to Kill PaulThe next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
undefined More than forty men were involved in this plot.
undefined They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.
undefined Now 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.”
undefined But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.
undefined Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.”
undefined So 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.”
undefined The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”
undefined He said: “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.
undefined Don’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.”
undefined The commander dismissed the young man and cautioned him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”
undefined Paul Transferred to CaesareaThen 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.
undefined Provide mounts for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”
undefined He wrote a letter as follows:
undefined Claudius Lysias,To His Excellency, Governor Felix:Greetings.
undefined This 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.
undefined I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin.
undefined I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment.
undefined When 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.
undefined So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris.
undefined The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks.
undefined When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.
undefined The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,
undefined he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

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