¹⁰ And then seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”

²⁸ “You must not dishonor God or curse any of your rulers.

¹¹ So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.”

¹⁵ Say to the people of Israel: Those who curse their God will be punished for their sin. ¹⁶ Anyone who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel. Any native-born Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be put to death.

¹⁵ “You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

¹³ that scoundrels among you are leading their fellow citizens astray by saying, ‘Let us go worship other gods’—gods you have not known before.

¹³ The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses.

³³ They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

⁵⁹ Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council^[a] were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus, so they could put him to death. ⁶⁰ But even though they found many who agreed to give false witness, they could not use anyone’s testimony. Finally, two men came forward ⁶¹ who declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

⁶² Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” ⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴ Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand^[b] and coming on the clouds of heaven.”^[c]

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What is your verdict?”

“Guilty!” they shouted. “He deserves to die!”

²² While they were enjoying themselves, a crowd of troublemakers from the town surrounded the house. They began beating at the door and shouting to the old man, “Bring out the man who is staying with you so we can have sex with him.”