Acts 23:11–22

The Plot Against Paul

¹¹But ^lthe following night the Lord stood by him and said, ²“Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in ^mJerusalem, so you must also bear witness at ⁿRome.”

¹²And when it was day, ^osome of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had ^pkilled Paul. ¹³Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy. ¹⁴They came to the chief priests and ^qelders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you ³tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

¹⁶So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.” ¹⁸So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.”

¹⁹Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”

²⁰And he said, ^r“The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully about him. ²¹But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.”

²²So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”