¹⁰The quarrel was becoming violent, and the officer was afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces. So the officer ordered his soldiers to drag Paul back to the barracks.

¹¹The Lord stood near Paul the next night and said to him, “Don’t lose your courage! You’ve told the truth about me in Jerusalem. Now you must tell the truth about me in Rome.”

Some Jews Plot to Kill Paul

¹²In the morning the Jews formed a conspiracy. They asked God to curse them if they ate or drank anything before they had killed Paul. ¹³More than forty men took part in this plot.

¹⁴They went to the chief priests and leaders ⸤of the people⸥ and said, “We’ve asked God to curse us if we taste any food before we’ve killed Paul. ¹⁵Here’s our plan: You and the council must go to the Roman officer on the pretext that you need more information from Paul. You have to make it look as though you want to get more accurate information about him. We’ll be ready to kill him before he gets to you.”

¹⁶But Paul’s nephew heard about the ambush. He entered the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷Then Paul called one of the sergeants and told him, “Take this young man to the officer. He has something to tell him.”

¹⁸The sergeant took the young man to the officer and said, “The prisoner Paul called me. He asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹The officer took the young man by the arm, went where they could be alone, and asked him, “What do you have to tell me?”

²⁰The young man answered, “The Jews have planned to ask you to bring Paul to the Jewish council tomorrow. They’re going to make it look as though they want more accurate information about him. ²¹Don’t let them persuade you to do this. More than forty of them are planning to ambush him. They have asked God to curse them if they eat or drink anything before they have murdered him. They are ready now and are expecting you to promise ⸤that you will bring Paul⸥.”

²²The officer dismissed the young man and ordered him not to tell this information to anyone else.

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