Acts 23
International Children’s Bible
23 Paul looked at the Jewish council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life in a good way before God up to this day.” 2 Ananias,[a] the high priest, heard this and told the men who were standing near Paul to hit him on his mouth. 3 Paul said to Ananias, “God will hit you too! You are like a wall that has been painted white! You sit there and judge me, using the law of Moses. But you are telling them to hit me, and that is against the law.”
4 The men standing near Paul said to him, “You cannot talk like that to God’s high priest! You are insulting him!”
5 Paul said, “Brothers, I did not know this man was the high priest. It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must not curse a leader of your people.’”[b]
6 Some of the men in the meeting were Sadducees, and others were Pharisees. So Paul shouted to them, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee and my father was a Pharisee! I am on trial here because I hope that people will rise from death!”
7 When Paul said this, there was an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The group was divided. 8 (The Sadducees believe that after people die, they cannot live again. The Sadducees also teach that there are no angels or spirits. But the Pharisees believe in them all.) 9 So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of the law, who were Pharisees, stood up and argued, “We find nothing wrong with this man! Maybe an angel or a spirit did speak to him.”
10 The argument was beginning to turn into a fight. The commander was afraid that the Jews would tear Paul to pieces. So the commander told the soldiers to go down and take Paul away and put him in the army building.
11 The next night the Lord came and stood by Paul. He said, “Be brave! You have told people in Jerusalem about me. You must do the same in Rome also.”
12 In the morning some of the Jews made a plan to kill Paul. They made a promise that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed him. 13 There were more than 40 Jews who made this plan. 14 They went and talked to the leading priests and the Jewish elders. They said, “We have made a promise to ourselves that we will not eat or drink until we have killed Paul! 15 So this is what we want you to do: Send a message to the commander to bring Paul out to you. Tell him you want to ask Paul more questions. We will be waiting to kill him while he is on the way here.”
16 But Paul’s nephew heard about this plan. He went to the army building and told Paul about it. 17 Then Paul called one of the officers and said, “Take this young man to the commander. He has a message for him.”
18 So the officer brought Paul’s nephew to the commander. The officer said, “The prisoner, Paul, asked me to bring this young man to you. He wants to tell you something.”
19 The commander led the young man to a place where they could be alone. The commander asked, “What do you want to tell me?”
20 The young man said, “The Jews have decided to ask you to bring Paul down to their council meeting tomorrow. They want you to think that they are going to ask him more questions. 21 But don’t believe them! There are more than 40 men who are hiding and waiting to kill Paul. They have all made a promise not to eat or drink until they have killed him! Now they are waiting for you to agree.”
22 The commander sent the young man away. He said to him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have told me about their plan.”
Paul Is Sent to Caesarea
23 Then the commander called two officers. He said to them, “I need some men to go to Caesarea. Get 200 soldiers ready. Also, get 70 horsemen and 200 men with spears. Be ready to leave at nine o’clock tonight. 24 Get some horses for Paul to ride. He must be taken to Governor Felix safely.” 25 And he wrote a letter that said:
26 From Claudius Lysias.
To the Most Excellent Governor Felix:
Greetings.
27 The Jews had taken this man, and they planned to kill him. But I learned that he is a Roman citizen, so I went with my soldiers and saved him. 28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him. So I brought him before their council meeting. 29 I learned that the Jews said Paul did some things that were wrong. But these charges were about their own laws. And no charge was worthy of jail or death. 30 I was told that some of the Jews were planning to kill Paul. So I sent him to you at once. I also told those Jews to tell you what they have against him.
31 So the soldiers did what they were told. They took Paul and brought him to the city of Antipatris that night. 32 The next day the horsemen went with Paul to Caesarea. But the other soldiers went back to the army building in Jerusalem. 33 The horsemen came to Caesarea and gave the letter to the governor. Then they turned Paul over to him. 34 The governor read the letter. Then he asked Paul, “What area are you from?” He learned that Paul was from Cilicia. 35 He said, “I will hear your case when those who are against you come here too.” Then the governor gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in the palace. (This building had been built by Herod.)
Footnotes
- 23:2 Ananias This is not the same man named Ananias in Acts 22:12.
- 23:5 ‘You . . . people.’ Quotation from Exodus 22:28.
Acts 23
International Standard Version
Paul Defends Himself
23 Paul looked straight at the Council[a] 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![b] 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.’”[c]
6 When Paul saw that some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted in the Council,[d] “Brothers, I’m a Pharisee and a descendant[e] 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[f] and said, “Have courage! For just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, you must testify in Rome, too.”
Some Jews Plot to Kill Paul
12 In the morning, the Jewish leaders[g] formed a conspiracy and took an oath not to eat or drink anything before they had killed Paul. 13 More than 40 men formed this conspiracy. 14 They went to the high priests and elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to taste any food before we have killed Paul. 15 Now then, you and the Council[h] must notify the tribune to bring him down to you on the pretext that you want to look into his case more carefully, but before he arrives we’ll be ready to kill him.”
16 But the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, so he came and got into the barracks and told Paul. 17 Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, because he has something to tell him.”
18 So the centurion[i] took him, brought him to the tribune, and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”
19 The tribune took him by the hand, stepped aside to be alone with him, and asked, “What have you got to tell me?”
20 He answered, “The Jewish leaders[j] have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Council[k] tomorrow as though they were going to examine his case more carefully. 21 Don’t believe them, because more than 40 of them are planning to ambush him. They’ve taken an oath not to eat or drink before they’ve killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent.”
22 The tribune dismissed the young man and ordered him not to tell anyone that he had notified him. 23 Then he summoned two centurions and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight,[l] along with 70 mounted soldiers and 200 soldiers with spears. 24 Provide a mount for Paul to ride, and take him safely to Governor Felix.” 25 He wrote a letter with this message:
26 “From:[m] Claudius Lysias
To: Governor Felix
Greetings, Your Excellency:
27 This man had been seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I went with the guard and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 I wanted to know the exact charge they were making against him, so I had him brought before their Council.[n] 29 I found that, although he was charged with questions about their Law, there was no charge against him deserving death or imprisonment. 30 Since a plot against the man has been reported to me, I’m sending him to you at once, and I’ve also ordered his accusers to present their charges against him before you.”
31 So the soldiers, in keeping with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 The next day, they let the horsemen ride with Paul[o] while they returned to their barracks. 33 When these men[p] came to Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. 34 After reading the letter, the governor[q] asked which province Paul[r] was from. On learning that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered Paul[s] to be kept in custody in Herod’s palace.[t]
Footnotes
- Acts 23:1 Or Sanhedrin
- Acts 23:3 I.e. hypocrite
- Acts 23:5 Cf. Exod 22:28
- Acts 23:6 Or Sanhedrin
- Acts 23:6 Or son
- Acts 23:11 Lit. him
- Acts 23:12 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- Acts 23:15 Or Sanhedrin
- Acts 23:18 Lit. So he
- Acts 23:20 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- Acts 23:20 Or Sanhedrin
- Acts 23:23 Lit. from the third hour of the night
- Acts 23:26 The Gk. lacks From
- Acts 23:28 Or Sanhedrin
- Acts 23:32 Lit. him
- Acts 23:33 The Gk. lacks men
- Acts 23:34 Lit. letter, he
- Acts 23:34 Lit. Paul
- Acts 23:35 Lit. Paul
- Acts 23:35 Lit. praetorium
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
