Acts 22:30–23:22

PAUL BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN

³⁰The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him^A and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene.^c He brought Paul down and placed him before them. 23Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience^d to this day.” ²The high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth.^{e 3}Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?”^f

⁴Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare revile God’s high priest?”

⁵“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”^{Bg 6}When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees.^h I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!”^{i 7}When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection,^j and neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all.

⁹The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’^k party got up and argued vehemently, “We find nothing evil in this man.^l What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”^Cm

¹⁰When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, take him away from them, and bring him into the barracks.^{n 11}The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.”^o

THE PLOT AGAINST PAUL

¹²When it was morning, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.^{p 13}There were more than forty who had formed this plot. ¹⁴These men went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse that we won’t eat anything until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, make a request to the commander that he bring him down to you^A as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. But, before he gets near, we are ready to kill him.”^q

¹⁶But the son of Paul’s sister, hearing about their ambush, came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul. ¹⁷Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander, because he has something to report to him.”

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

¹⁹The commander took him by the hand, led him aside, and inquired privately, “What is it you have to report to me?”

²⁰“The Jews,” he said, “have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they are going to hold a somewhat more careful inquiry about him. ²¹Don’t let them persuade you, because there are more than forty of them lying in ambush—men who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, waiting for your consent.”^r

²²So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have informed me about this.”