Book of Common Prayer

³⁰ The officer wanted to know the real reason why the Jewish leaders were angry with Paul. So the next day he had Paul untied. He called the chief priests and the leaders to hold a court meeting. Then he took Paul down and brought him in before them.

23 Paul looked at the members of the court and said, `My brothers, I have done what I thought God wanted me to do, right up to this day.'

² Ananias, the high priest, said to those who were standing near Paul, `Hit his mouth!'

³ Paul said, `God will hit you down, you dirty wall painted white! You sit there to judge me by the law and you break the law by telling them to hit me.'

⁴ The people who stood near Paul said, `Do you say a wrong thing like that to God's high priest?'

⁵ Paul said, `I did not know that he is a high priest. The holy writings say, "You shall not say anything wrong about a ruler of your people." '

⁶ Paul knew that some of the men were from the Sadducee group and some of them were from the Pharisee group. So he called out in the court, `My brothers, I am a Pharisee. My fathers were Pharisees. I am being judged because I believe that the dead will be raised to life again.'

⁷ When he had said that, the Pharisees and the Sadducees began to talk back and forth. The men in the court were divided.

⁸ The Sadducees say the dead will not be raised again. They say there is no angel or spirit. But the Pharisees believe in all these three things.

⁹ There was much shouting. Some of the clever men who were Pharisees got up. They said, `We do not think this man has done wrong. Perhaps some angel or spirit really did speak to him.'

¹⁰ The people started fighting. The commanding officer was afraid they would tear Paul into pieces. So he told the soldiers to take Paul and bring him into the army house.

¹¹ The next night the Lord stood beside Paul. He said, `Be glad, Paul. You have told people about me in Jerusalem. You must also talk about me in Rome.'

³⁹ Jesus also told the people a story. He said, `A blind man cannot lead a blind man. They will both fall into a hole.

⁴⁰ The one who learns is not better than his teacher. But every one who learns will be like his teacher when his teacher has finished teaching him.

⁴¹ `Why do you look at the small piece of dust in your brother's eye? And you do not see the big stick in your own eye.

⁴² How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me take the dust out of your eye"? But you do not see the stick in your own eye. You are not true to yourselves! First take the stick out of your own eye. Then you will be able to see to take the dust out of your brother's eye.'

⁴³ `A good tree does not have bad fruit. And also, a bad tree does not have good fruit.

⁴⁴ Every kind of tree is known by its fruit. People do not pick fruit like figs from thorn trees. And they do not pick grapes from bramble bushes.

⁴⁵ A good man has stored up good things in his heart, so he says good things. A bad man has stored up wrong things in his heart, so he will say wrong things. The mouth will say what is in the heart.'

⁴⁶ `Why do you call me "Lord, Lord," but you do not do what I tell you?

⁴⁷ `A person comes to me. He hears what I say and obeys me. I will show you who he is like.

⁴⁸ He is like a man who built a house. He dug down deep in the ground and made it stand on a rock. The water in the river came up high. The water beat hard against the house. But the house did not move, because it was built on a rock.

⁴⁹ A man hears what I say but does not obey me. He is like a man who built his house on top of the ground. He did not dig down deep. The water beat hard against it and it fell with a loud noise!'