In and out of Prison

¹⁷ Then the high priest rose up. He and all who were with him, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.^{(A) 18} So they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.^{(B) 19} But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out, and said,^{(C) 20} “Go and stand in the temple, and tell the people all about this life.”^{(D) 21} Hearing this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

The Apostles on Trial Again

When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full council of the Israelites—and sent orders to the jail to have them brought.^{(E) 22} But when the servants^[a] got there, they did not find them in the jail; so they returned and reported, ²³ “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing in front of the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” ²⁴ As^[b] the captain of the temple police and the chief priests heard these things, they were baffled about them, wondering what would come of this.

²⁵ Someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” ²⁶ Then the commander went with the servants and brought them in without force, because they were afraid the people might stone them.^(F)