Acts 21:31-24:22

Young's Literal Translation

³¹ and they seeking to kill him, a rumour came to the chief captain of the band that all Jerusalem hath been thrown into confusion,

³² who, at once, having taken soldiers and centurions, ran down upon them, and they having seen the chief captain and the soldiers, did leave off beating Paul.

³³ Then the chief captain, having come nigh, took him, and commanded [him] to be bound with two chains, and was inquiring who he may be, and what it is he hath been doing,

³⁴ and some were crying out one thing, and some another, among the multitude, and not being able to know the certainty because of the tumult, he commanded him to be carried to the castle,

³⁵ and when he came upon the steps, it happened he was borne by the soldiers, because of the violence of the multitude,

³⁶ for the crowd of the people was following after, crying, `Away with him.'

³⁷ And Paul being about to be led into the castle, saith to the chief captain, `Is it permitted to me to say anything unto thee?' and he said, `Greek dost thou know?

³⁸ art not thou, then, the Egyptian who before these days made an uprising, and did lead into the desert the four thousand men of the assassins?'

³⁹ And Paul said, `I, indeed, am a man, a Jew, of Tarsus of Cilicia, of no mean city a citizen; and I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.'

⁴⁰ And he having given him leave, Paul having stood upon the stairs, did beckon with the hand to the people, and there having been a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew dialect, saying:

22 `Men, brethren, and fathers, hear my defence now unto you;' --

² and they having heard that in the Hebrew dialect he was speaking to them, gave the more silence, and he saith, --

³ `I, indeed, am a man, a Jew, having been born in Tarsus of Cilicia, and brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, having been taught according to the exactitude of a law of the fathers, being zealous of God, as all ye are to-day.

⁴ `And this way I persecuted unto death, binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women,

⁵ as also the chief priest doth testify to me, and all the eldership; from whom also having received letters unto the brethren, to Damascus, I was going on, to bring also those there bound to Jerusalem that they might be punished,

⁶ and it came to pass, in my going on and coming nigh to Damascus, about noon, suddenly out of the heaven there shone a great light round about me,

⁷ I fell also to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?

⁸ `And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? and he said unto me, I am Jesus the Nazarene whom thou dost persecute --

⁹ and they who are with me the light did see, and became afraid, and the voice they heard not of him who is speaking to me --

¹⁰ and I said, What shall I do, Lord? and the Lord said unto me, Having risen, go on to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee concerning all things that have been appointed for thee to do.

¹¹ `And when I did not see from the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who are with me, I came to Damascus,

¹² and a certain one, Ananias, a pious man according to the law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling [there],

¹³ having come unto me and stood by [me], said to me, Saul, brother, look up; and I the same hour did look up to him;

¹⁴ and he said, The God of our fathers did choose thee beforehand to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice out of his mouth,

¹⁵ because thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard;

¹⁶ and now, why tarriest thou? having risen, baptize thyself, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.

¹⁷ `And it came to pass when I returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, I came into a trance,

¹⁸ and I saw him saying to me, Haste and go forth in haste out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive thy testimony concerning me;

¹⁹ and I said, Lord, they -- they know that I was imprisoning and was scourging in every synagogue those believing on thee;

²⁰ and when the blood of thy witness Stephen was being poured forth, I also was standing by and assenting to his death, and keeping the garments of those putting him to death;

²¹ and he said unto me, Go, because to nations far off I will send thee.'

²² And they were hearing him unto this word, and they lifted up their voice, saying, `Away from the earth with such an one; for it is not fit for him to live.'

²³ And they crying out and casting up their garments, and throwing dust into the air,

²⁴ the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, saying, `By scourges let him be examined;' that he might know for what cause they were crying so against him.

²⁵ And as he was stretching him with the thongs, Paul said unto the centurion who was standing by, `A man, a Roman, uncondemned -- is it lawful to you to scourge;'

²⁶ and the centurion having heard, having gone near to the chief captain, told, saying, `Take heed what thou art about to do, for this man is a Roman;'

²⁷ and the chief captain having come near, said to him, `Tell me, art thou a Roman?' and he said, `Yes;'

²⁸ and the chief captain answered, `I, with a great sum, did obtain this citizenship;' but Paul said, `But I have been even born [so].'

²⁹ Immediately, therefore, they departed from him who are about to examine him, and the chief captain also was afraid, having learned that he is a Roman, and because he had bound him,

³⁰ and on the morrow, intending to know the certainty wherefore he is accused by the Jews, he did loose him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their sanhedrim to come, and having brought down Paul, he set [him] before them.

23 And Paul having earnestly beheld the sanhedrim, said, `Men, brethren, I in all good conscience have lived to God unto this day;'

² and the chief priest Ananias commanded those standing by him to smite him on the mouth,

³ then Paul said unto him, `God is about to smite thee, thou whitewashed wall, and thou -- thou dost sit judging me according to the law, and, violating law, dost order me to be smitten!'

⁴ And those who stood by said, `The chief priest of God dost thou revile?'

⁵ and Paul said, `I did not know, brethren, that he is chief priest: for it hath been written, Of the ruler of thy people thou shalt not speak evil;'

⁶ and Paul having known that the one part are Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, cried out in the sanhedrim, `Men, brethren, I am a Pharisee -- son of a Pharisee -- concerning hope and rising again of dead men I am judged.'

⁷ And he having spoken this, there came a dissension of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, and the crowd was divided,

⁸ for Sadducees, indeed, say there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, but Pharisees confess both.

⁹ And there came a great cry, and the scribes of the Pharisees' part having arisen, were striving, saying, `No evil do we find in this man; and if a spirit spake to him, or a messenger, we may not fight against God;'

¹⁰ and a great dissension having come, the chief captain having been afraid lest Paul may be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiery, having gone down, to take him by force out of the midst of them, and to bring [him] to the castle.

¹¹ And on the following night, the Lord having stood by him, said, `Take courage, Paul, for as thou didst fully testify the things concerning me at Jerusalem, so it behoveth thee also at Rome to testify.'

¹² And day having come, certain of the Jews having made a concourse, did anathematize themselves, saying neither to eat nor to drink till they may kill Paul;

¹³ and they were more than forty who made this conspiracy by oath,

¹⁴ who having come near to the chief priests and to the elders said, `With an anathema we did anathematize ourselves -- to taste nothing till we have killed Paul;

¹⁵ now, therefore, ye, signify ye to the chief captain, with the sanhedrim, that to-morrow he may bring him down unto you, as being about to know more exactly the things concerning him; and we, before his coming nigh, are ready to put him to death.'

¹⁶ And the son of Paul's sister having heard of the lying in wait, having gone and entered into the castle, told Paul,

¹⁷ and Paul having called near one of the centurions, said, `This young man lead unto the chief captain, for he hath something to tell him.'

¹⁸ He indeed, then, having taken him, brought him unto the chief captain, and saith, `The prisoner Paul, having called me near, asked [me] this young man to bring unto thee, having something to say to thee.'

¹⁹ And the chief captain having taken him by the hand, and having withdrawn by themselves, inquired, `What is that which thou hast to tell me?'

²⁰ and he said -- `The Jews agreed to request thee, that to-morrow to the sanhedrim thou mayest bring down Paul, as being about to enquire something more exactly concerning him;

²¹ thou, therefore, mayest thou not yield to them, for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who did anathematize themselves -- not to eat nor to drink till they kill him, and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from thee.'

²² The chief captain, then, indeed, let the young man go, having charged [him] to tell no one, `that these things thou didst shew unto me;'

²³ and having called near a certain two of the centurions, he said, `Make ready soldiers two hundred, that they may go on unto Caesarea, and horsemen seventy, and spearmen two hundred, from the third hour of the night;

²⁴ beasts also provide, that, having set Paul on, they may bring him safe unto Felix the governor;'

²⁵ he having written a letter after this description:

²⁶ `Claudius Lysias, to the most noble governor Felix, hail:

²⁷ This man having been taken by the Jews, and being about to be killed by them -- having come with the soldiery, I rescued him, having learned that he is a Roman;

²⁸ and, intending to know the cause for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their sanhedrim,

²⁹ whom I found accused concerning questions of their law, and having no accusation worthy of death or bonds;

³⁰ and a plot having been intimated to me against this man -- about to be of the Jews -- at once I sent unto thee, having given command also to the accusers to say the things against him before thee; be strong.'

³¹ Then, indeed, the soldiers according to that directed them, having taken up Paul, brought him through the night to Antipatris,

³² and on the morrow, having suffered the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the castle;

³³ those having entered into Caesarea, and delivered the letter to the governor, did present also Paul to him.

³⁴ And the governor having read [it], and inquired of what province he is, and understood that [he is] from Cilicia;

³⁵ `I will hear thee -- said he -- when thine accusers also may have come;' he also commanded him to be kept in the praetorium of Herod.

24 And after five days came down the chief priest Ananias, with the elders, and a certain orator -- Tertullus, and they made manifest to the governor [the things] against Paul;

² and he having been called, Tertullus began to accuse [him], saying, `Much peace enjoying through thee, and worthy deeds being done to this nation through thy forethought,

³ always, also, and everywhere we receive it, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness;

⁴ and that I may not be further tedious to thee, I pray thee to hear us concisely in thy gentleness;

⁵ for having found this man a pestilence, and moving a dissension to all the Jews through the world -- a ringleader also of the sect of the Nazarenes --

⁶ who also the temple did try to profane, whom also we took, and according to our law did wish to judge,

⁷ and Lysias the chief captain having come near, with much violence, out of our hands did take away,

⁸ having commanded his accusers to come to thee, from whom thou mayest be able, thyself having examined, to know concerning all these things of which we accuse him;'

⁹ and the Jews also agreed, professing these things to be so.

¹⁰ And Paul answered -- the governor having beckoned to him to speak -- `Knowing [that] for many years thou hast been a judge to this nation, the more cheerfully the things concerning myself I do answer;

¹¹ thou being able to know that it is not more than twelve days to me since I went up to worship in Jerusalem,

¹² and neither in the temple did they find me reasoning with any one, or making a dissension of the multitude, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city;

¹³ nor are they able to prove against me the things concerning which they now accuse me.

¹⁴ `And I confess this to thee, that, according to the way that they call a sect, so serve I the God of the fathers, believing all things that in the law and the prophets have been written,

¹⁵ having hope toward God, which they themselves also wait for, [that] there is about to be a rising again of the dead, both of righteous and unrighteous;

¹⁶ and in this I do exercise myself, to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men always.

¹⁷ `And after many years I came, about to do kind acts to my nation, and offerings,

¹⁸ in which certain Jews from Asia did find me purified in the temple, not with multitude, nor with tumult,

¹⁹ whom it behoveth to be present before thee, and to accuse, if they had anything against me,

²⁰ or let these same say if they found any unrighteousness in me in my standing before the sanhedrim,

²¹ except concerning this one voice, in which I cried, standing among them -- Concerning a rising again of the dead I am judged to-day by you.'

²² And having heard these things, Felix delayed them -- having known more exactly of the things concerning the way -- saying, `When Lysias the chief captain may come down, I will know fully the things concerning you;'