The Apostles Are Treated Badly

¹⁷ The high priest and all his companions were Sadducees. They were very jealous of the apostles. ¹⁸ So they arrested them and put them in the public jail. ¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord came. He opened the doors of the jail and brought the apostles out. ²⁰ “Go! Stand in the temple courtyard,” the angel said. “Tell the people all about this new life.”

²¹ Early the next day they did as they had been told. They entered the temple courtyard. There they began to teach the people.

The high priest and his companions arrived. They called the Sanhedrin together. The Sanhedrin was a gathering of all the elders of Israel. They sent for the apostles who were in jail. ²² The officers arrived at the jail. But they didn’t find the apostles there. So they went back and reported it. ²³ “We found the jail locked up tight,” they said. “The guards were standing at the doors. But when we opened the doors, we didn’t find anyone inside.” ²⁴ When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report, they were bewildered. They wondered what would happen next.

²⁵ Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courtyard. They are teaching the people.” ²⁶ So the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles back. But they didn’t use force. They were afraid the people would kill them by throwing stones at them.