Acts 23–25

23And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, ^xI have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” ²And the high priest ^yAnanias commanded those who stood by him ^zto strike him on the mouth. ³Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you ^awhitewashed ^bwall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ^ccontrary to the law you ^corder me to be struck?” ⁴Those who stood by said, “Would you revile ^dGod’s high priest?” ⁵And Paul said, ^e“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ^f‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

⁶Now when Paul perceived that one part were ^gSadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, ^hI am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is ⁱwith respect to the ^jhope 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 the Sadducees ^ksay that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹Then a great clamor arose, and some of ^lthe scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, ^m“We find nothing wrong in this man. What ⁿif a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” ¹⁰And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into ^othe barracks.

^11pThe following night ^qthe Lord stood by him and said, ^r“Take courage, for ^sas you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ^ttestify also in Rome.”

A Plot to Kill Paul

¹²When it was day, ^uthe Jews made a plot and ^vbound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. ¹³There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. ¹⁴They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. ¹⁵Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

¹⁶Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered ^wthe barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” ¹⁸So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul ^xthe prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” ¹⁹The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” ²⁰And he said, ^y“The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. ²¹But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who ^zhave bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” ²²So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

Paul Sent to Felix the Governor

²³Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night.^{1 24}Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to ^aFelix ^bthe governor.” ²⁵And he wrote a letter to this effect:

²⁶“Claudius Lysias, to ^chis Excellency the governor Felix, ^dgreetings. ^27eThis man was seized by the Jews and ^fwas about to be killed by them ^fwhen I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, ^ghaving learned that he was a Roman citizen. ²⁸And ^hdesiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. ²⁹I found that he was being accused ⁱabout questions of their law, but ^jcharged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. ^30kAnd when it was disclosed to me ^lthat there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ^mordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”

³¹So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³²And on the next day they returned to ⁿthe barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. ³³When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. ³⁴On reading the letter, he asked what ^oprovince he was from. And when he learned ^pthat he was from Cilicia, ³⁵he said, “I will give you a hearing ^qwhen your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s ^rpraetorium.

Paul Before Felix at Caesarea

24And ^safter five days the high priest ^tAnanias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before ^uthe governor their case against Paul. ²And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:

“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, ^vmost excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, ³in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. ⁴But, to detain¹ you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. ⁵For we have found this man a plague, ^wone who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of ^xthe sect of the Nazarenes. ^6yHe even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.^{2 8}By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”

⁹The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

¹⁰And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. ¹¹You can verify that ^zit is not more than twelve days since I ^awent up ^bto worship in Jerusalem, ¹²and ^cthey did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. ^13dNeither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. ¹⁴But this I confess to you, that according to ^ethe Way, which they call ^fa sect, ^gI worship ^hthe God of our fathers, believing everything ⁱlaid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, ^15jhaving ^ka hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be ^la resurrection ^mof both the just and the unjust. ¹⁶So I always ⁿtake pains to have a ^oclear conscience toward both God and man. ¹⁷Now ^pafter several years ^qI came to bring alms to ^rmy nation and to present ^sofferings. ¹⁸While I was doing this, they found me ^tpurified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But ^usome Jews from Asia— ^19vthey ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. ²⁰Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, ²¹other than this one thing ^wthat I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’ ”

Paul Kept in Custody

²²But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of ^xthe Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³Then he gave orders to the centurion that he ^yshould be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that ^znone of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

²⁴After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about ^afaith ^bin Christ Jesus. ²⁵And as he reasoned ^cabout righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. ^dWhen I get an opportunity I will summon you.” ²⁶At the same time he hoped ^ethat money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. ²⁷When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius ^fFestus. And ^gdesiring to do the Jews a favor, ^hFelix left Paul in prison.

Paul Appeals to Caesar

25Now three days after Festus had arrived in ⁱthe province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. ²And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews ^jlaid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, ³asking as a favor against Paul¹ that he summon him to Jerusalem—because ^kthey were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. ⁴Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. ⁵“So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”

⁶After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on ^lthe tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. ⁷When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him ^mthat they could not prove. ⁸Paul argued in his defense, “Neither ⁿagainst ^othe law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor ^pagainst Caesar have I committed any offense.” ⁹But Festus, ^qwishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” ¹⁰But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s ^rtribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. ^sI appeal to Caesar.” ¹²Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”

Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice

¹³Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at…