⁹ So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees jumped up and began to argue forcefully. “We see nothing wrong with him,” they shouted. “Perhaps a spirit or an angel spoke to him.”

¹⁷ “After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance. ¹⁸ I saw a vision of Jesus^[a] saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’

⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

²⁹ When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.

³¹ As they went out, they talked it over and agreed, “This man hasn’t done anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”

²⁵ But in my opinion he has done nothing deserving death. However, since he appealed his case to the emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome.

¹⁶ But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees^[a] saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?^[b]”

²² What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is?

²³ For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me,