23 Paul stared at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with an altogether clear conscience right up to this very day.” ² The high priest Ananias ordered those standing beside Paul to strike him in the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is about to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit and judge me according to the Law, yet disobey the Law by ordering that I be struck.”

⁴ Those standing near him asked, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?”

⁵ Paul replied, “Brothers, I wasn’t aware that he was the high priest. It is written, You will not speak evil about a ruler of your people.”^[a]

⁶ Knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, Paul exclaimed in the council, “Brothers, I’m a Pharisee and a descendant of Pharisees. I am on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead!”

⁷ These words aroused a dispute between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ This is because Sadducees say that there’s no resurrection, angel, or spirit, but Pharisees affirm them all. ⁹ Council members were shouting loudly. Some Pharisees who were legal experts stood up and insisted forcefully, “We find nothing wrong with this man! What if a spirit or angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰ The dispute became so heated that the commander feared they might tear Paul to pieces. He ordered soldiers to go down and remove him by force from their midst. Then they took him back to the military headquarters.

¹¹ The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Be encouraged! Just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so too you must testify in Rome.”

A murder plot discovered

¹² The next morning some Jewish leaders formulated a plot and solemnly promised that they wouldn’t eat or drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ More than forty people were involved in the conspiracy. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have solemnly promised to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ You and the council must explain to the commander that you need Paul brought down to you. Pretend that you want to examine his case more closely. We’re prepared to kill him before he arrives.”

¹⁶ Paul’s sister had a son who heard about the ambush and he came to the military headquarters and reported it to Paul. ¹⁷ Paul called for one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander because he has something to report to him.”

¹⁸ He took him to the commander and said, “The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”

¹⁹ The commander took him by the hand and withdrew to a place where they could speak privately. He asked, “What do you have to report to me?”

²⁰ He replied, “The Jewish leaders have conspired to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow. They will pretend that they want to investigate his case more closely. ²¹ Don’t fall for it! More than forty of them are waiting to ambush him. They have solemnly promised not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, awaiting your consent.”

²² The commander dismissed the young man, ordering him, “Don’t tell anyone that you brought this to my attention.”

²³ The commander called two centurions and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. ²⁴ Have horses ready for Paul to ride, so they may take him safely to Governor Felix.” ²⁵ He wrote the following letter:

³¹ Following their orders, the soldiers took Paul during the night and brought him to Antipatris. ³² The following day they let the horsemen continue on with Paul while they returned to the military headquarters in Jerusalem. ³³ The horsemen entered Caesarea, delivered the letter to the governor, and brought Paul before him. ³⁴ After he read the letter, he asked Paul about his home province. When he learned that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ the governor said, “I will hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept in custody in Herod’s palace.