Acts 21-23 (New American Standard Bible)

Acts 21

Paul Sails from Miletus

 ¹When ^(A)we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran ^(B)a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara;

 ²and having found a ship crossing over to ^(C)Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

 ³When we came in sight of ^(D)Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to ^(E)Syria and landed at ^(F)Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo.

 ⁴After looking up ^(G)the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul ^(H)through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.

 ⁵When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, ^(I)escorted us until we were out of the city After ^(J)kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another.

 ⁶Then we went on board the ship, and they returned ^(K)home again.

 ⁷When we had finished the voyage from ^(L)Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting ^(M)the brethren, we stayed with them for a day.

 ⁸On the next day we left and came to ^(N)Caesarea, and entering the house of ^(O)Philip the ^(P)evangelist, who was ^(Q)one of the seven, we stayed with him.

 ⁹Now this man had four virgin daughters who were ^(R)prophetesses.

 ¹⁰As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named ^(S)Agabus came down from Judea.

 ¹¹And coming to us, he ^(T)took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, "This ^(U)is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will ^(V)bind the man who owns this belt and ^(W)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'"

 ¹²When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him ^(X)not to go up to Jerusalem.

 ¹³Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For ^(Y)I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for ^(Z)the name of the Lord Jesus."

 ¹⁴And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, "^(AA)The will of the Lord be done!"

Paul at Jerusalem

 ¹⁵After these days we got ready and ^(AB)started on our way up to Jerusalem.

 ¹⁶Some of ^(AC)the disciples from ^(AD)Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of ^(AE)Cyprus, a ^(AF)disciple of long standing with whom we were to lodge.

 ¹⁷After we arrived in Jerusalem, ^(AG)the brethren received us gladly.

 ¹⁸And the following day Paul went in with us to ^(AH)James, and all ^(AI)the elders were present.

 ¹⁹After he had greeted them, he ^(AJ)began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ^(AK)ministry.

 ²⁰And when they heard it they began ^(AL)glorifying God; and they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all ^(AM)zealous for the Law;

 ²¹and they have been told about you, that you are ^(AN)teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them ^(AO)not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to ^(AP)the customs.

 ²²"What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

 ²³"Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who ^(AQ)are under a vow;

 ²⁴take them and ^(AR)purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may ^(AS)shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.

 ²⁵"But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, ^(AT)having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication."

 ²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, ^(AU)purifying himself along with them, ^(AV)went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

Paul Seized in the Temple

 ²⁷When ^(AW)the seven days were almost over, ^(AX)the Jews from ^(AY)Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him,

 ²⁸crying out, "Men of Israel, come to our aid! ^(AZ)This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has ^(BA)defiled this holy place."

 ²⁹For they had previously seen ^(BB)Trophimus the ^(BC)Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

 ³⁰Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they ^(BD)dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

 ³¹While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the ^[a]commander of the ^(BE)Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

 ³²At once he ^(BF)took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

 ³³Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be ^(BG)bound with ^(BH)two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done.

 ³⁴But among the crowd ^(BI)some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ^(BJ)the barracks.

 ³⁵When he got to ^(BK)the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob;

 ³⁶for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, "^(BL)Away with him!"

 ³⁷As Paul was about to be brought into ^(BM)the barracks, he said to the commander, "May I say something to you?" And he said, "Do you know Greek?

 ³⁸"Then you are not ^(BN)the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^(BO)into the wilderness?"

 ³⁹But Paul said, "^(BP)I am a Jew of Tarsus in ^(BQ)Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people."

 ⁴⁰When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on ^(BR)the stairs, ^(BS)motioned to the people with his hand; and when there was a great hush, he spoke to them in the ^(BT)Hebrew dialect, saying,

Acts 22

Paul's Defense before the Jews

 ¹"^(BU)Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you."

 ²And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^(BV)Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he said,

 ³"^(BW)I am ^(BX)a Jew, born in ^(BY)Tarsus of ^(BZ)Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under ^(CA)Gamaliel, ^(CB)strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^(CC)you all are today.

 ⁴"^(CD)I persecuted this ^(CE)Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons,

 ⁵as also ^(CF)the high priest and all ^(CG)the Council of the elders can testify From them I also ^(CH)received letters to ^(CI)the brethren, and started off for ^(CJ)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished.

 ⁶"^(CK)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,

 ⁷and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'

 ⁸"And I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am ^(CL)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.'

 ⁹"And those who were with me ^(CM)saw the light, to be sure, but ^(CN)did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

 ¹⁰"And I said, '^(CO)What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.'

 ¹¹"But since I ^(CP)could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

 ¹²"A certain ^(CQ)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and ^(CR)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

 ¹³came to me, and standing near said to me, '^(CS)Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And ^(CT)at that very time I looked up at him.

 ¹⁴"And he said, '^(CU)The God of our fathers has ^(CV)appointed you to know His will and to ^(CW)see the ^(CX)Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth.

 ¹⁵'For you will be ^(CY)a witness for Him to all men of ^(CZ)what you have seen and heard.

 ¹⁶'Now why do you delay? ^(DA)Get up and be baptized, and ^(DB)wash away your sins, ^(DC)calling on His name.'

 ¹⁷"It happened when I ^(DD)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^(DE)fell into a trance,

 ¹⁸and I saw Him saying to me, '^(DF)Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.'

 ¹⁹"And I said, 'Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^(DG)I used to imprison and ^(DH)beat those who believed in You.

 ²⁰'And ^(DI)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.'

 ²¹"And He said to me, 'Go! For I will send you far away ^(DJ)to the Gentiles.'"

 ²²They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, "^(DK)Away with such a fellow from the earth, for ^(DL)he should not be allowed to live!"

 ²³And as they were crying out and ^(DM)throwing off their cloaks and ^(DN)tossing dust into the air,

 ²⁴the ^[b]commander ordered him to be brought into ^(DO)the barracks, stating that he should be ^(DP)examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

 ²⁵But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge ^(DQ)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"

 ²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman."

 ²⁷The commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."

 ²⁸The commander answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." And Paul said, "But I was actually born a citizen."

 ²⁹Therefore those who were about to ^(DR)examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also ^(DS)was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had ^(DT)put him in chains.

 ³⁰But on the next day, ^(DU)wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he ^(DV)released him and ordered the chief priests and all ^(DW)the Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

Acts 23

Paul before the Council

 ¹Paul, looking intently at ^(DX)the Council, said, "^(DY)Brethren, ^(DZ)I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day."

 ²The high priest ^(EA)Ananias commanded those standing beside him ^(EB)to strike him on the mouth.

 ³Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, ^(EC)you whitewashed wall! Do you ^(ED)sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?"

 ⁴But the bystanders said, "Do you revile God's high priest?"

 ⁵And Paul said, "I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest; for it is written, '^(EE)YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK EVIL OF A RULER OF YOUR PEOPLE.'"

 ⁶But perceiving that one group were ^(EF)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in ^(EG)the Council, "^(EH)Brethren, ^(EI)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for ^(EJ)the hope and resurrection of the dead!"

 ⁷As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

 ⁸For ^(EK)the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

 ⁹And there occurred a great uproar; and some of ^(EL)the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, "^(EM)We find nothing wrong with this man; ^(EN)suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"

 ¹⁰And as a great dissension was developing, the ^[c]commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into ^(EO)the barracks.

 ¹¹But on ^(EP)the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, "^(EQ)Take courage; for ^(ER)as you have ^(ES)solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also."

A Conspiracy to Kill Paul

 ¹²When it was day, ^(ET)the Jews formed a conspiracy and ^(EU)bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

 ¹³There were more than forty who formed this plot.

 ¹⁴They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, "We have ^(EV)bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.

 ¹⁵"Now therefore, you and ^(EW)the Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case by a more thorough investigation; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near the place."

 ¹⁶But the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, and he came and entered ^(EX)the barracks and told Paul.

 ¹⁷Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, "Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him."

 ¹⁸So he took him and led him to the commander and said, "Paul ^(EY)the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you."

 ¹⁹The commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, "What is it that you have to report to me?"

 ²⁰And he said, "^(EZ)The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to ^(FA)the Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him.

 ²¹"So do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are ^(FB)lying in wait for him who have ^(FC)bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you."

 ²²So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, "Tell no one that you have notified me of these things."

Paul Moved to Caesarea

 ²³And he called to him two of the centurions and said, "Get two hundred soldiers ready by ^[d]the third hour of the night to proceed to ^(FD)Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen."

 ²⁴They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to ^(FE)Felix the governor.

 ²⁵And he wrote a letter having this form:

 ²⁶"Claudius Lysias, to the ^(FF)most excellent governor Felix, ^(FG)greetings.

 ²⁷"When this man was arrested by the Jews and was about to be slain by them, ^(FH)I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, ^(FI)having learned that he was a Roman.

 ²⁸"And ^(FJ)wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I ^(FK)brought him down to their ^(FL)Council;

 ²⁹and I found him to be accused over ^(FM)questions about their Law, but under ^(FN)no accusation deserving death or imprisonment.

 ³⁰"When I was ^(FO)informed that there would be ^(FP)a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing ^(FQ)his accusers to bring charges against him before you."

 ³¹So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

 ³²But the next day, leaving ^(FR)the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to ^(FS)the barracks.

 ³³When these had come to ^(FT)Caesarea and delivered the letter to ^(FU)the governor, they also presented Paul to him.

 ³⁴When he had read it, he asked from what ^(FV)province he was, and when he learned that ^(FW)he was from Cilicia,

 ³⁵he said, "I will give you a hearing after your ^(FX)accusers arrive also," giving orders for him to be ^(FY)kept in Herod's ^[e]Praetorium.