Paul’s Roman Protection

²² They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!” ^(A)

²³ As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air,^{(B) 24} the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?” ^(C)

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes,” he said.

²⁸ The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul said.

²⁹ So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.^(D)

Paul before the Sanhedrin

³⁰ The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him^[a] and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene.^(E) He brought Paul down and placed him before them.

23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience^(A) to this day.” ² The high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth.^{(B) 3} Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?” ^(C)

⁴ Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare revile God’s high priest?”

⁵ “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”^{[a](D) 6} When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees.^(E) I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!” ^{(F) 7} When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection,^(G) and neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all.

⁹ The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’^(H) party got up and argued vehemently, “We find nothing evil in this man.^(I) What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ^[b](J)

¹⁰ When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, take him away from them, and bring him into the barracks.^{(K) 11} The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.”^(L)