Acts 21-23 (Amplified Bible)

Acts 21

 ¹AND WHEN we had torn ourselves away from them and withdrawn, we set sail and made a straight run to Cos, and on the following [day came] to Rhodes and from there to Patara.

    ²There we found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia; so we went aboard and sailed away.

    ³After we had sighted Cyprus, leaving it on our left we sailed on to Syria and put in at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

    ⁴And having looked up the disciples there, we remained with them for seven days. Prompted by the [Holy] Spirit, they kept telling Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem.

    ⁵But when our time there was ended, we left and proceeded on our journey; and all of them with their wives and children accompanied us on our way till we were outside the city. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed.

    ⁶Then when we had told one another farewell, we went on board the ship, and they returned to their own homes.

    ⁷When we had completed the voyage from Tyre, we landed at Ptolemais, where we paid our respects to the brethren and remained with them for one day.

    ⁸On the morrow we left there and came to Caesarea; and we went into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven [first deacons], and stayed with him.^(A)

    ⁹And he had four maiden daughters who had the gift of prophecy.

    ¹⁰While we were remaining there for some time, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

    ¹¹And coming to [see] us, he took Paul's belt and with it bound his own feet and hands and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit: The Jews at Jerusalem shall bind like this the man who owns this belt, and they shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles (heathen).

    ¹²When we heard this, both we and the residents of that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

    ¹³Then Paul replied, What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart like this? For I hold myself in readiness not only to be arrested and bound and imprisoned at Jerusalem, but also [even] to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.

    ¹⁴And when he would not yield to [our] persuading, we stopped [urging and imploring him], saying, The Lord's will be done!

    ¹⁵After these days we packed our baggage and went up to Jerusalem.

    ¹⁶And some of the disciples from Caesarea came with us, conducting us to the house of Mnason, a man from Cyprus, one of the disciples of long standing, with whom we were to lodge.

    ¹⁷When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received and welcomed us gladly.

    ¹⁸On the next day Paul went in with us to [see] James, and all the elders of the church were present [also].

    ¹⁹After saluting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

    ²⁰And upon hearing it, they adored and exalted and praised and thanked God. And they said to [Paul], You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and all of them are enthusiastic upholders of the [Mosaic] Law.

    ²¹Now they have been informed about you that you continually teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn back from and forsake Moses, advising them not to circumcise their children or pay any attention to the observance of the [Mosaic] customs.

    ²²What then [is best that] should be done? A multitude will come together, for they will surely hear that you have arrived.

    ²³Therefore do just what we tell you. With us are four men who have taken a vow upon themselves.

    ²⁴Take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses [for the temple offering], so that they may have their heads shaved. Thus everybody will know that there is no truth in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself walk in observance of the Law.

    ²⁵But with regard to the Gentiles who have believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ), we have sent them a letter with our decision that they should keep themselves free from anything that has been sacrificed to idols and from [tasting] blood and [eating the meat of animals] which have been strangled and from all impurity and sexual immorality.

    ²⁶Then Paul took the [four] men with him and the following day [he went through the rites of] purifying himself along with them. And they entered the temple to give notice when the days of purification (the ending of each vow) would be fulfilled and the usual offering could be presented on behalf of each of them.

    ²⁷When the seven days were drawing to a close, some of the Jews from [the province of] Asia, who had caught sight of Paul in the temple, incited all the rabble and laid hands on him,

    ²⁸Shouting, Men of Israel, help! [Help!] This is the man who is teaching everybody everywhere against the people and the Law and this place! Moreover, he has also [actually] brought Greeks into the temple; he has desecrated and polluted this holy place!

    ²⁹For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and they supposed that he had brought the man into the temple [into the inner court forbidden to Gentiles].

    ³⁰Then the whole city was aroused and thrown into confusion, and the people rushed together; they laid hands on Paul and dragged him outside the temple, and immediately the gates were closed.

    ³¹Now while they were trying to kill him, word came to the commandant of the regular Roman garrison that the whole of Jerusalem was in a state of ferment.

    ³²So immediately he took soldiers and centurions and hurried down among them; and when the people saw the commandant and the troops, they stopped beating Paul.

    ³³Then the commandant approached and arrested Paul and ordered that he be secured with two chains. He then inquired who he was and what he had done.

    ³⁴Some in the crowd kept shouting back one thing and others something else, and since he could not ascertain the facts because of the furor, he ordered that Paul be removed to the barracks.

    ³⁵And when [Paul] came to mount the steps, he was actually being carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob;

    ³⁶For the mass of the people kept following them, shouting, Away with him! [Kill him!]

    ³⁷Just as Paul was about to be taken into the barracks, he asked the commandant, May I say something to you? And the man replied, Can you speak Greek?

    ³⁸Are you not then [as I supposed] the Egyptian who not long ago stirred up a rebellion and led those 4,000 men who were cutthroats out into the wilderness (desert)?

    ³⁹Paul answered, I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant or undistinguished city. I beg you, allow me to address the people.

    ⁴⁰And when the man had granted him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, gestured with his hand to the people; and there was a great hush. Then he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, saying:

   

Acts 22

 ¹BRETHREN AND fathers, listen to the defense which I now make in your presence.

    ²And when they heard that he addressed them in the Hebrew tongue, they were all the more quiet. And he continued,

    ³I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but reared in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated according to the strictest care in the Law of our fathers, being ardent [even a zealot] for God, as all of you are today.

    ⁴[Yes] I harassed (troubled, molested, and persecuted) this Way [of the Lord] to the death, putting in chains and committing to prison both men and women,

    ⁵As the high priest and whole council of elders (Sanhedrin) can testify; for from them indeed I received letters with which I was on my way to the brethren in Damascus in order to take also those [believers] who were there, and bring them in chains to Jerusalem that they might be punished.

    ⁶But as I was on my journey and approached Damascus, about noon a great blaze of light flashed suddenly from heaven and shone about me.

    ⁷And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me [harass and trouble and molest Me]?

    ⁸And I replied, Who are You, Lord? And He said to me, I am Jesus the Nazarene, Whom you are persecuting.

    ⁹Now the men who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear [^[a]the sound of the uttered words of] the voice of the One Who was speaking to me [so that they could ^[b]understand it].

    ¹⁰And I asked, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord answered me, Get up and go into Damascus, and there it will be told you all that it is destined and appointed for you to do.

    ¹¹And since I could not see because [of the dazzlingly glorious intensity] of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and [thus] I arrived in Damascus.

    ¹²And one Ananias, a devout man according to the Law, well spoken of by all the Jews who resided there,

    ¹³Came to see me, and standing by my side said to me, Brother Saul, ^[c]look up and receive back your sight. And in that very ^[d]instant I [recovered my sight and] looking up saw him.

    ¹⁴And he said, The God of our forefathers has destined and appointed you to come progressively to know His will [to perceive, to recognize more strongly and clearly, and to become better and more intimately acquainted with His will], and to see the Righteous One (Jesus Christ, the Messiah), and to hear a voice from His [own] mouth and a message from His [own] lips;

    ¹⁵For you will be His witness unto all men of everything that you have seen and heard.

    ¹⁶And now, why do you delay? Rise and be baptized, and ^[e]by calling upon His name, wash away your sins.

    ¹⁷Then when I had come back to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple [^[f]enclosure], I fell into a trance (an ecstasy);

    ¹⁸And I saw Him as He said to me, Hurry, get quickly out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive your testimony about Me.

    ¹⁹And I said, Lord, they themselves well know that throughout all the synagogues I cast into prison and flogged those who believed on (adhered to and trusted in and relied on) You.

    ²⁰And when the blood of Your witness (martyr) Stephen was shed, I also was personally standing by and consenting and approving and guarding the garments of those who slew him.

    ²¹And the Lord said to me, Go, for I will send you far away unto the Gentiles (nations).

    ²²Up to the moment that Paul made this last statement, the people listened to him; but now they raised their voices and shouted, Away with such a fellow from the earth! He is not fit to live!

    ²³And as they were shouting and tossing and waving their garments and throwing dust into the air,

    ²⁴The commandant ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks, and that he be examined by scourging in order that [the commandant] might learn why the people cried out thus against him.

    ²⁵But when they had stretched him out with the thongs (leather straps), Paul asked the centurion who was standing by, Is it legal for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned [without a trial]?

    ²⁶When the centurion heard that, he went to the commandant and said to him, What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen!

    ²⁷So the commandant came and said to [Paul], Tell me, are you a Roman citizen? And he said, Yes [indeed]!

    ²⁸The commandant replied, I purchased this citizenship [as a capital investment] for a big price. Paul said, But I was born [Roman]!

    ²⁹Instantly those who were about to examine and flog him withdrew from him; and the commandant also was frightened, for he realized that [Paul] was a Roman citizen and he had put him in chains.

    ³⁰But the next day, desiring to know the real cause for which the Jews accused him, he unbound him and ordered the chief priests and all the council (Sanhedrin) to assemble; and he brought Paul down and placed him before them.

   

Acts 23

 ¹THEN PAUL, gazing earnestly at the council (Sanhedrin), said, Brethren, I have lived before God, doing my duty with a perfectly good conscience until this very day [^[g]as a citizen, a true and loyal Jew].

    ²At this the high priest Ananias ordered those who stood near him to strike him on the mouth.

    ³Then Paul said to him, God is about to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit as a judge to try me in accordance with the Law, and yet in defiance of the Law you order me to be struck?

    ⁴Those who stood near exclaimed, Do you rail at and insult the high priest of God?

    ⁵And Paul said, I was not conscious, brethren, that he was a high priest; for the Scripture says, You shall not speak ill of a ruler of your people.^(B)

    ⁶But Paul, when he perceived that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part Pharisees, cried out to the council (Sanhedrin), Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; it is with regard to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am indicted and being judged.

    ⁷So when he had said this, an angry dispute arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the whole [crowded] assemblage was divided [into two factions].

    ⁸For the Sadducees hold that there is no resurrection, nor angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees declare openly and speak out freely, acknowledging [their belief in] them both.

    ⁹Then a great uproar ensued, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and thoroughly fought the case, [contending fiercely] and declaring, We find nothing evil or wrong in this man. But if a spirit or an angel [really] spoke to him--? Let us not fight against God!

    ¹⁰And when the strife became more and more tense and violent, the commandant, fearing that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, ordered the troops to go down and take him forcibly from among them and conduct him back into the barracks.

    ¹¹And [that same] following night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, Take courage, Paul, for as you have borne faithful witness concerning Me at Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.

    ¹²Now when daylight came, the Jews formed a plot and bound themselves by an oath and under a curse neither to eat nor drink till they had done away with Paul.

    ¹³There were more than forty [men of them], who formed this conspiracy [swearing together this oath and curse].

    ¹⁴And they went to the chief priests and elders, saying, We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath and under a curse not to taste any food until we have slain Paul.

    ¹⁵So now you, along with the council (Sanhedrin), give notice to the commandant to bring [Paul] down to you, as if you were going to investigate his case more accurately. But we [ourselves] are ready to slay him before he comes near.

    ¹⁶But the son of Paul's sister heard of their intended attack, and he went and got into the barracks and told Paul.

    ¹⁷Then Paul, calling in one of the centurions, said, Take this young man to the commandant, for he has something to report to him.

    ¹⁸So he took him and conducted him to the commandant and said, Paul the prisoner called me to him and requested me to conduct this young man to you, for he has something to report to you.

    ¹⁹The commandant took him by the hand, and going aside with him, asked privately, What is it that you have to report to me?

    ²⁰And he replied, The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council (Sanhedrin) tomorrow, as if [they were] intending to examine him more exactly.

    ²¹But do not yield to their persuasion, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush waiting for him, having bound themselves by an oath and under a curse neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him; and even now they are all ready, [just] waiting for your promise.

    ²²So the commandant sent the youth away, charging him, Do not disclose to anyone that you have given me this information.

    ²³Then summoning two of the centurions, he said, Have two hundred footmen ready by the third hour of the night (about 9:00 p.m.) to go as far as Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen.

    ²⁴Also provide beasts for mounts for Paul to ride, and bring him in safety to Felix the governor.

    ²⁵And he wrote a letter having this message:

    ²⁶Claudius Lysias sends greetings to His Excellency Felix the governor.

    ²⁷This man was seized [as prisoner] by the Jews, and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the troops and rescued him, because I learned that he is a Roman citizen.

    ²⁸And wishing to know the exact accusation which they were making against him, I brought him down before their council (Sanhedrin),

    ²⁹[Where] I found that he was charged in regard to questions of their own law, but he was accused of nothing that would call for death or [even] for imprisonment.

    ³⁰[However] when it was pointed out to me that there would be a conspiracy against the man, I sent him to you immediately, directing his accusers also to present before you their charge against him.

    ³¹So the soldiers, in compliance with their instructions, took Paul and conducted him during the night to Antipatris.

    ³²And the next day they returned to the barracks, leaving the mounted men to proceed with him.

    ³³When these came to Caesarea and gave the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul before him.

    ³⁴Having read the letter, he asked to what province [Paul] belonged. When he discovered that he was from Cilicia [an imperial province],

    ³⁵He said, I will hear your case ^[h]fully when your accusers also have come. And he ordered that an eye be kept on him in Herod's palace (the Praetorium).