Paul is Brought before the Jewish Council

³⁰ The next day, since the tribune^[a] wanted to find out exactly what Paul^[b] was being accused of by the Jews, he released him and ordered the high priests and the entire Council^[c] to meet. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.

Paul Defends Himself

23 Paul looked straight at the Council^[d] and said, “Brothers, with a clear conscience I have done my duty before God up to this very day.”

² Then the high priest Ananias ordered the men standing near him to strike him on the mouth. ³ At this Paul told him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!^[e] How can you sit there and judge me according to the Law, and yet in violation of the Law order me to be struck?”

⁴ The men standing near him asked, “Do you mean to insult God’s high priest?”

⁵ Paul answered, “I didn’t realize, brothers, that he is the high priest. After all, it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’”^[f]

⁶ When Paul saw that some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted in the Council,^[g] “Brothers, I’m a Pharisee and a descendant^[h] of Pharisees. I’m on trial concerning the hope that the dead will be resurrected.”

⁷ After he said that, an angry quarrel broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided, ⁸ because the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection and that there is no such thing as an angel or spirit, but the Pharisees believe in all those things.

⁹ There was a great deal of shouting until some of the scribes who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and argued forcefully, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

¹⁰ The quarrel was becoming violent, and the tribune was afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces. So he ordered the soldiers to go down, take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks. ¹¹ That night the Lord stood near Paul^[i] and said, “Have courage! For just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, you must testify in Rome, too.”