16 Then Paul came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a certain woman who was a Jewess who believed, but whose father was a Greek.

² He was well reported of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.

³ Him Paul wanted to have go forth with him, and took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those quarters, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴ And as they went through the cities, they delivered unto them the decrees to keep, that had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.

⁵ And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

⁶ Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia.

⁷ After they had come to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered permit not.

⁸ And passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: there stood a man of Macedonia beseeching him, saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰ And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Gospel unto them.

¹¹ Therefore casting loose from Troas we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day Neapolis,

¹² and from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony. And we stayed in that city a number of days.

¹³ And on the Sabbath, we went out of the city by a riverside where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down and spoke unto the women who resorted thither.

¹⁴ And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God, heard us; and the Lord opened her heart to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul.

¹⁵ And when she was baptized with her household, she besought us, saying, “If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there.” And she constrained us.

¹⁶ And it came to pass as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed by a spirit of divination met us. She had brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.

¹⁷ The same followed Paul and us, crying out and saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who show unto us the way of salvation.”

¹⁸ And this she did many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, “I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that same hour.

¹⁹ And when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

²⁰ and brought them to the magistrates, saying, “These men, being Jews, trouble our city exceedingly,

²¹ and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive nor to observe, being Romans.”

²² And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates rent off their clothes and commanded that they be beaten.

²³ And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely.

²⁴ He, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.

²⁵ And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them.

²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s bands were loosed.

²⁷ And the keeper of the prison, awakening out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had fled.

²⁸ But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do thyself no harm, for we are all here!”

²⁹ Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas,

³⁰ and brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

³² And they spoke unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all who were in his house.

³³ And he took them that same hour of the night and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

³⁴ And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

³⁵ And when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, “Let those men go.”

³⁶ And the keeper of the prison told these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore depart and go in peace.”

³⁷ But Paul said unto them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison. And now do they thrust us out privily? Nay verily! Let them come themselves and fetch us out.”

³⁸ And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates, and they feared when they heard that they were Romans.

³⁹ And they came and besought them and brought them out, and entreated them to depart out of the city.

⁴⁰ And they went out of the prison and entered into the house of Lydia. And when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them and departed.

19 And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus; and finding certain disciples,

² he said unto them, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost, having believed?” And they said unto him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is any Holy Ghost.”

³ And he said unto them, “Unto what then were ye baptized?” And they said, “Unto John’s baptism.”

⁴ Then said Paul, “John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe in Him who should come after him, that is, in Christ Jesus.”

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶ And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

⁷ And there were about twelve men in all.

⁸ And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading about the things concerning the Kingdom of God.

⁹ But when divers ones were hardened and believed not, but spoke evil of that Way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.

¹⁰ And this continued for the space of two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the Word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹ And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul,

¹² so that handkerchiefs or aprons from his body were brought unto the sick, and the diseases departed from them and the evil spirits went out of them.

¹³ Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took it upon themselves to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.”

¹⁴ And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew and chief of the priests, who did so.

¹⁵ And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?”

¹⁶ And the man in whom the evil spirit dwelt leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷ And this became known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling in Ephesus, and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

¹⁸ And many who believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds.

¹⁹ Many of those also who used occult arts brought their books together and burned them before all men; and they counted up the price of them, and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰ So the Word of God grew mightily and prevailed.

²¹ After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

²² So he sent into Macedonia two of those who had ministered unto him, Timothy and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.

²³ And the same time, there arose no small stir about that Way.

²⁴ For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen.

²⁵ These he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, “Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.

²⁶ Moreover, ye see and hear that, not alone at Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands,

²⁷ so that not only this our craft is in danger of being set at nought, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth.”

²⁸ And when they heard these things, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

²⁹ And the whole city was filled with confusion and, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia who were Paul’s companions in his travel, they rushed with one accord into the theater.

³⁰ And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.

³¹ And certain of the Asian chiefs, who were his friends, sent unto him, urging that he would not venture into the theater.

³² Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the greater part knew not why they had come together.

³³ And they drew Alexander out from the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with his hand, and would have made his defense unto the people;

³⁴ but when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice for about the space of two hours cried out, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ And when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, “Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

³⁶ Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly;

³⁷ for ye have brought hither these men who are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.

³⁸ Therefore if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a matter against any man, the law is open and there are deputies. Let them implead one another.

³⁹ But if ye inquire of anything concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.

⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we can give an account of this concourse.”

⁴¹ And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

20 And after the uproar had ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed to go into Macedonia.

² And when he had gone through those parts and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece.

³ And there he abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail for Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.

⁴ And there accompanied him into Asia, Sopater of Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and from Asia, Tychichus and Trophimus.

⁵ These, going ahead, tarried for us at Troas.

⁶ And we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread and came unto them in five days at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

⁷ And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continued his speech until midnight.

⁸ And there were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together.

⁹ And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, having fallen into a deep sleep; and as Paul was long in preaching, he sank down with sleep and fell down from the third floor and was taken up dead.

¹⁰ And Paul went down and fell on him and, embracing him, said, “Trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him.”

¹¹ When he therefore had come up again, and had broken bread and eaten and talked for a long while, even until break of day, he departed.

¹² And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

¹³ And we went ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, there intending to take aboard Paul; for so had he arranged, intending himself to go on foot.

¹⁴ And when he met with us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene.

¹⁵ And we sailed thence and arrived the next day off Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.

¹⁶ For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia; for he was in haste, that it might be possible for him to be at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷ And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called for the elders of the church.

¹⁸ And when they had come to him, he said unto them, “Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, in what manner I have been with you in all seasons,

¹⁹ serving the Lord in all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations which befell me through the lying in wait of the Jews;

²⁰ and how I kept back nothing that was profitable for you, but have shown you and have taught you publicly and from house to house,

²¹ testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

²² And now behold, bound by the Spirit, I go unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there,

²³ save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.

²⁴ But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God.

²⁵ “And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.

²⁶ Therefore I attest to you this day that I am pure from the blood of all men,

²⁷ for I have not shrunk from declaring unto you all the counsel of God.

²⁸ “Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which He hath purchased with His own blood.

²⁹ For I know this: that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

³⁰ Also from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them.

³¹ Therefore watch, and remember that for the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears.

³² “And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

³³ I have coveted no man’s silver or gold or apparel.

³⁴ Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my own necessities, and also to those who were with me.

³⁵ I have shown you all things, how that by so laboring ye ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all.

³⁷ And they all wept sorely and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him,

³⁸ sorrowing most of all because of the words which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.

21 And it came to pass that after we had parted from them and had launched, we came on a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara.

² And finding a ship sailing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard and set forth.

³ Now when we had sighted Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her burden.

⁴ And having found disciples, we tarried there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem.

⁵ And when those days there had been accomplished, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, until we were out of the city. And we kneeled down on the shore and prayed.

⁶ And when we had taken our leave one of another, we boarded ship, and they returned home again.

⁷ And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais and saluted the brethren, and stayed with them one day.

⁸ The next day, we who were in Paul’s company departed and came unto Caesarea, and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and lodged with him.

⁹ And this man had four daughters, virgins, who prophesied.

¹⁰ And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet named Agabus.

¹¹ And when he had come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle and bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus saith the Holy Ghost, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”

¹² And when we heard these things, both we and those at that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³ Then Paul answered, “What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? For I am not only ready to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴ And when he would not be dissuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵ And after those days we took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, who brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we were to lodge.

¹⁷ And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

¹⁸ And the day following, Paul went with us unto James, and all the elders were present.

¹⁹ And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

²⁰ And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord and said unto him, “Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who believe, and they are all zealous for the law.

²¹ And they are informed about thee, that thou teachest all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, nor walk according to the customs.

²² What is therefore to be done? The multitude must surely come together, for they will hear that thou art come.

²³ Do therefore this which we say to thee: We have four men who have taken a vow upon themselves.

²⁴ Take them and purify thyself with them, and bear their charges with them, that they may shave their heads; and all may know that those things of which they have been informed concerning thee are nothing, butthat thou thyself also walkest orderly and keepest the law.

²⁵ And as to the Gentiles who believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication.”

²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself with them, he entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until an offering should be offered for every one of them.

²⁷ And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews who were from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people and laid hands on him,

²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teacheth all men everywhere against the people and the law and this place, and furthermore brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.”

²⁹ (For they had seen previously with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

³⁰ And all the city was moved and the people ran together, and they took Paul and dragged him out of the temple; and forthwith the doors were shut.

³¹ And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar,

³² who immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down unto them; and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left off beating Paul.

³³ Then the chief captain came near, and took him and commanded that he be bound with two chains, and demanded who he was and what he had done.

³⁴ And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude. And when he could learn nothing with certainty because of the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.

³⁵ And when Paul came upon the stairs, so it was that he had to be borne by the soldiers because of the violence of the people.

³⁶ For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, “Away with him!”

³⁷ And as Paul was about to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, “May I speak unto thee?” And he said, “Canst thou speak Greek?

³⁸ Art not thou that Egyptian who prior to these days madest an uproar and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men who were murderers?”

³⁹ But Paul said, “I am a man who am a Jew of Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.”

⁴⁰ And when he had given him leave, Paul stood on the stairs and beckoned with his hand unto the people. And when there fell a great silence, he spoke unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying:

22 “Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you.”

² (And when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue to them, they were the more silent.) And he said,

³ “I am verily a man who am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taughtaccording to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

⁴ And I persecuted this Way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,

⁵ as also the high priest doth bear me witness and all the council of the elders. From them I also received letters unto the brethren, and I went to Damascus to bring those who were there bound unto Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “And it came to pass that, as I made my journey and had come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

⁷ And I fell unto the ground and heard a voice saying unto me, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?’

⁸ And I answered, ‘Who art Thou, Lord?’ And He said unto me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.’

⁹ And those who were with me saw indeed the light and were afraid, but they heard not the voice of Him that spoke to me.

¹⁰ And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said unto me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all the things which are appointed for thee to do.’

¹¹ And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹² “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, of good report among all the Jews who dwelt there,

¹³ came unto me and stood and said unto me, ‘Brother Saul, receive thy sight!’ And that same hour I looked up upon him.

¹⁴ And he said, ‘The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth.

¹⁵ For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.

¹⁶ And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

¹⁷ “And it came to pass that when I had come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance

¹⁸ and saw Him saying unto me, ‘Make haste and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning Me.’

¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in Thee.

²⁰ And when the blood of Thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting unto his death and kept the raiment of those who slew him.’

²¹ And He said unto me, ‘Depart, for I will send thee far hence, unto the Gentiles.’”

²² And the crowd gave him an audience up to this word; and then they lifted up their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live!”

²³ And as they cried out and cast off their clothes and threw dust into the air,

²⁴ the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging, so that he might find out why they cried so against him.

²⁵ And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?”

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went and told the chief captain, saying, “Take heed what thou doest, for this man is a Roman.”

²⁷ Then the chief captain came and said unto him, “Tell me, art thou a Roman?” And he said, “Yea.”

²⁸ And the chief captain answered, “With a great sum I obtained this freedom.” And Paul said, “But I was free born.”

²⁹ Then straightway those who should have examined him departed from him, and the chief captain also was afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

³⁰ On the morrow, because he would know with certainty why he was accused by the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

23 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God to this day.”

² And the high priest Ananias commanded those who 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 according to the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?”

⁴ And those who stood by said, “Revilest thou God’s high priest?”

⁵ Then said Paul, “I knew 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 one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out to the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: for the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called into 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 who were on the Pharisees’ side arose and strove, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or 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 be torn to pieces by 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 that night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified for 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 until they had killed Paul.

¹³ And there were more than forty who entered into 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, of the council, ask the chief captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though ye would inquire somewhat more thoroughly concerning him; and we, even before he comes near, are ready to kill him.”

¹⁶ But 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, as he hath something to say unto thee.”

¹⁹ Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and going aside with him privately, asked him, “What is it that thou hast to tell me?”

²⁰ And he said, “The Jews have agreed to request thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul tomorrow into the council, as though they wished to inquire of him somewhat more thoroughly.

²¹ But do not thou yield unto them, for there lie in wait for him more than forty of their men, who have bound themselves with an oath that they will neither eat nor drink until they have killed him. And now they are ready, looking for consent from thee.”

²² So the chief captain then let the young man depart and charged him, “See thou tell no man that thou hast revealed these things to me.”

²³ And he called unto him two centurions, saying, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and threescore and ten horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, at the third hour of the night;

²⁴ and provide them with beasts that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.”

²⁵ And he wrote a letter in this manner:

²⁶ “Claudius Lysias, unto the most excellent governor Felix, sendeth greeting:

²⁷ This man was taken by the Jews, and was about to be killed by them. Then came I with an army and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.

²⁸ And desiring to know the cause whereof they accused him, I brought him forth into their council.

²⁹ I perceived him to be accused about questions of their law, but there was nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.

³⁰ And when it was told me how the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him straightway to thee, and gave a command to his accusers also to speak before thee what they have against him. Farewell.”

³¹ Then the soldiers took Paul, as it was commanded them, 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 had come 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 Paul was. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia,

³⁵ he said, “I will hear thee when thine accusers have also come.” And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.

24 And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders and with him a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul.

² And when Paul was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, “Seeing that by thee we enjoy much quietness, most noble Felix, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence,

³ we accept it always and in all places with all thankfulness.

⁴ Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear from us in thy clemency a few words.

⁵ For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,

⁶ who also hath gone about profaning the temple. Him we took and would have judged according to our law.

⁷ But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,

⁸ commanding his accusers to come unto thee, so that by examining him thyself, thou mayest have knowledge of all of these things whereof we accuse him.”

⁹ And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so.

¹⁰ Then Paul, after the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered: “Inasmuch as I know that thou hast been for many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself.

¹¹ For thou mayest understand that there have been yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹² And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither stirring up the people, neither in the synagogues nor in the city.

¹³ Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.

¹⁴ But this I confess unto thee, that according to the Way, which they call heresy, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.

¹⁵ And I have hope in God, which they themselves also hold, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

¹⁶ And herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men.

¹⁷ “Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings,

¹⁸ whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, with neither crowd nor tumult.

¹⁹ These ought to have been here before thee to object if they had aught against me;

²⁰ or else let these same say here if they have found any evildoing in me when I stood before the council,

²¹ unless it be for this one utterance that I cried out standing among them: ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am called into question by you this day.’”

²² And when Felix heard these things, having a more complete knowledge of that Way, he deferred the hearing and said, “When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter.”

²³ And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, but to let him have some liberties, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintances to minister or come unto him.

²⁴ And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jew, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

²⁵ And as Paul reasoned about righteousness, temperance, and the Judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered, “Go thy way for this time. When I have a convenient occasion I will call for thee.”

²⁶ He hoped also that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him the oftener and communed with him.

²⁷ But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’s position; and Felix, wanting to show the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.