Acts 23
King James Version
23 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest?
5 Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
10 And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
13 And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.
14 And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.
15 Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.
16 And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.
17 Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.
18 So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.
19 Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?
20 And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly.
21 But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.
22 So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me.
23 And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night;
24 And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.
25 And he wrote a letter after this manner:
26 Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting.
27 This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.
28 And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council:
29 Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
30 And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.
31 Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.
32 On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:
33 Who, when they came to Caesarea and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
34 And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia;
35 I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.
Gevurot 23
Orthodox Jewish Bible
23 And as he gazed at the Sanhedrin, Rav Sha’ul said, “Anashim, Achim, I have lived before Hashem until this day with a lev tahor.”
2 And the Kohen Gadol Chananyah ordered the ones standing by Rav Sha’ul to strike his mouth.
3 Then Rav Sha’ul said to him, “Hashem is about to strike you, you white-washed wall! You sit judging me according to Torah and yet in violation of the Torah you command me to be struck?” [Lv 19:15; Dt 25:1,2]
4 And the ones standing by said, “Do you revile the Kohen Gadol of Hashem?”
5 And Rav Sha’ul said, “I was without da’as, Achim, that he is the Kohen Gadol, for it has been written, NASI V’AMMECHA LO TA’OR (“A ruler of your people you will not speak evil of, curse,” Ex 22:27(28)
6 And Rav Sha’ul, having da’as that one kat is of Tzedukim (Sadducees) and the other of Perushim (Pharisees), was crying out in the Sanhedrin, “Anashim, Achim, I am a Parush ben Parush and it is for the tikvah of the Techiyas HaMesim that I am being judged.”
7 Now when Rav Sha’ul said this, there came about a machlochet (controversy) between the Perushim and Tzedukim, and the multitude was divided.
8 Loit (according to) the Tzedukim, there is no Techiyas HaMesim nor a malach nor ruchot, but Perushim acknowledge all these things.
9 And there was a kol gadol and some of the Sofrim of the kat of the Perushim were arguing vigorously, saying, “Nothing rah do we find keneged this ish, and what if a ruach did speak to him or a malach?”
10 And fearing much more machloket was coming, the Roman tribune ordered the troops to go down to take Rav Sha’ul away from the midst of them and to bring him into the barracks lest he be torn to pieces by them.
11 And on the following lailah, HaAdon stood by Rav Sha’ul and said, “Chazak! For as you gave solemn edut about me in Yerushalayim, thus it is necessary for you also to bear solemn eidus in Rome.”
12 In the boker, the Judeans joined in a kesher and bound themselves with a shevu’ah that none of them would eat or drink until they had carried out their plot of retzichah b’seter of Rav Sha’ul.
13 Now there were more than arba’im anashim (forty men) who joined in this kesher.
14 After they approached the Rashei HaKohanim (Chief Priests) and the Zekenim (Elders), they said, "We have bound ourselves with a shevu’ah (oath) to eat nothing until we have killed Rav Sha’ul.
15 "Now, therefore, you with the Sanhedrin notify the tribune so that he may bring Rav Sha’ul down to you as if intending to determine more accurately the things concerning him, and, before he draws near, we are ready to kill him."
16 Now when Rav Sha’ul’s achyon (nephew) heard about the ma’arav (ambush), he went and gained entrance into the barracks and reported this to Rav Sha’ul.
17 And Rav Sha’ul summoned one of the centurions and said, "Bring this bochur to the tribune for he has something to report to him."
18 So the centurion took the bochur and brought him to the tribune and says, "The prisoner Rav Sha’ul has summoned me and asked me to bring this bochur to you; he has something to say to you."
19 The tribune grasped the bochur’s hand and drew him aside privately, inquiring, "What is it you have to report to me?"
20 And the bochur said, "The Judeans agreed to ask you to bring Rav Sha’ul down machar (tomorrow) to the Sanhedrin as if intending to inquire something more accurate concerning him.
21 "Therefore, you should not be persuaded by them, for more than arba’im anashim are lying in wait for him and these took a shevu’ah upon themselves neither to eat nor to drink until they have assassinated him, and now they are ready, waiting for your consent."
22 Therefore, the tribune dismissed the bochur, ordering him, "Tell no one that you reported these things to me."
23 And having summoned two of the centurions, the tribune said, "Prepare to leave for Caesarea by nine o’clock tonight the following: two hundred chaiyalim, seventy horsemen, and two hundred bowmen.
24 "And also provide mounts for Rav Sha’ul to ride, that he may be given safe passage to Felix the Moshel."
25 Then the tribune wrote an iggeret to this effect:
26 "Claudius Lysias to the most excellent Moshel, Felix. Greetings.
27 "This man was seized by the Judeans and was about to be killed by them, but when I learned that he is a Roman citizen, I came with the chaiyalim and rescued him.
28 "Desiring to have da’as of the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin.
29 "I found he was being accused about issues of their Torah and the charge was nothing worthy of mavet or of imprisonment.
30 "And when I received information of a kesher (plot) keneged (against) the man, I sent him immediately to you, having given orders also to his accusers to state their case against Rav Sha’ul before your excellency."
31 Therefore, as they were ordered, the chaiyalim took Rav Sha’ul along and brought him under cover of lailah to Antipatris.
32 And on the next day, having allowed the horsemen to go on with Rav Sha’ul, they returned to the barracks.
33 When the horsemen entered into Caesarea, they delivered the iggeret to the Moshel and also presented Rav Sha’ul to him.
34 And having read it, and having asked from what province Rav Sha’ul hailed, the Moshel learned that he was from Cilicia.
35 "I will give you a hearing," Felix said, "when also your accusers arrive." Then the Moshel commanded Rav Sha’ul to be watched by shomrim in the Praetorium of Herod.
Acts 23
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
23 1 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 realised 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)
The Plot against Paul
12 When it was morning, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.(M) 13 There were more than forty who had formed this plot. 14 These men went to the chief priests and elders and said, ‘We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse that we won’t eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, make a request to the commander that he bring him down to you[c] as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. But, before he gets near, we are ready to kill him.’(N)
16 But the son of Paul’s sister, hearing about their ambush, came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, ‘Take this young man to the commander, because he has something to report to him.’
18 So he took him, brought him to the commander, and said, ‘The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.’
19 The commander took him by the hand, led him aside, and enquired privately, ‘What is it you have to report to me? ’
20 ‘The Jews,’ he said, ‘have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they are going to hold a somewhat more careful enquiry about him. 21 Don’t let them persuade you, because there are more than forty of them lying in ambush – men who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, waiting for your consent.’(O)
22 So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, ‘Don’t tell anyone that you have informed me about this.’
To Caesarea by Night
23 He summoned two of his centurions and said, ‘Get two hundred soldiers ready with seventy cavalry and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.[d](P) 24 Also provide mounts to ride so that Paul may be brought safely to Felix the governor.’
25 He wrote the following letter:[e]
26 Claudius Lysias,
To the most excellent governor Felix:
Greetings.(Q)
27 When this man had been seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, I arrived with my troops and rescued him because I learned that he is a Roman citizen.(R) 28 Wanting to know the charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down before their Sanhedrin. 29 I found out that the accusations were concerning questions of their law,(S) and that there was no charge that merited death or imprisonment.(T) 30 When I was informed that there was a plot against the man,[f](U) I sent him to you straight away. I also ordered his accusers(V) to state their case against him in your presence.[g]
31 So the soldiers took Paul during the night and brought him to Antipatris as they were ordered. 32 The next day, they returned to the barracks, allowing the cavalry to go on with him. 33 When these men entered Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.(W) 34 After he[h] read it, he asked what province he was from. When he learned he was from Cilicia,(X) 35 he said, ‘I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers also get here.’ He ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.[i](Y)
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