Beginning

Paul Sets Out for Jerusalem

21 Now when ^(A)we had parted from them and had set sail, we came by ^(B)a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara; ² and having found a ship crossing over to ^(C)Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ And when we came in sight of ^(D)Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to ^(E)Syria and landed at ^(F)Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ And after looking up ^(G)the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul ^(H)through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. ⁵ And when ^[a]our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, ^(I)escorted us until we were out of the city. After ^(J)kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. ⁶ Then we went on board the ship, and they returned ^(K)home again.

⁷ And when we had finished the voyage from ^(L)Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting ^(M)the brothers, we stayed with them for a day. ⁸ And on the next day we left and came to ^(N)Caesarea, and entering the house of ^(O)Philip the ^(P)evangelist, who was ^(Q)one of the seven, we stayed with him. ⁹ Now this man had four virgin daughters who ^(R)prophesied. ¹⁰ And as we were staying there for some days, a prophet named ^(S)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ And coming to us, he ^(T)took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This ^(U)is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will ^(V)bind the man who owns this belt and ^(W)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” ¹² And when we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him ^(X)not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, crying and breaking my heart? For ^(Y)I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for ^(Z)the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, saying, “^(AA)The will of the Lord be done!”

¹⁵ Now after these days we got ready and ^(AB)started on our way up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And some of ^(AC)the disciples from ^(AD)Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of ^(AE)Cyprus, an ^(AF)early disciple with whom we were to lodge.

In Jerusalem

¹⁷ And after we arrived in Jerusalem, ^(AG)the brothers welcomed us gladly. ¹⁸ And the following day Paul went in with us to ^(AH)James, and all ^(AI)the elders were present. ¹⁹ And after he had greeted them, he ^(AJ)began to relate one by one the things which God did among the Gentiles through his ^(AK)ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it they began ^(AL)glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many ^[b]thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all ^(AM)zealous for the Law; ²¹ and they have been told about you, that you are ^(AN)teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them ^(AO)not to circumcise their children nor to ^[c]walk according to ^(AP)the customs. ²² What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who ^[d](AQ)are under a vow; ²⁴ take them and ^(AR)purify yourself along with them, and ^[e]pay their expenses so that they may ^(AS)shave their ^[f]heads. Then all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. ²⁵ But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, ^(AT)having decided that they should keep from ^[g]meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from sexual immorality.” ²⁶ Then Paul ^[h]took the men, and the next day, ^(AU)purifying himself along with them, ^(AV)went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

Paul Is Arrested

²⁷ Now when ^(AW)the seven days were almost over, ^(AX)the Jews from ^[i](AY)Asia, upon noticing him in the temple, began to throw all the crowd into confusion and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! ^(AZ)This is the man who teaches to everyone everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has ^(BA)defiled this holy place.” ²⁹ For they had previously seen ^(BB)Trophimus the ^(BC)Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then all the city was stirred, and ^[j]the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they ^(BD)dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. ³¹ While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the ^[k]commander of the ^(BE)Roman ^[l]cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ³² At once he ^(BF)took along soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be ^(BG)bound with ^(BH)two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ But among the crowd ^(BI)some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the ^[m]facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ^(BJ)the barracks. ³⁵ And when he got to ^(BK)the stairs, he actually was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd; ³⁶ for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, “^(BL)Away with him!”

Paul’s Defense Before the Jews

³⁷ As Paul was about to be brought into ^(BM)the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he *said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Then you are not ^(BN)the Egyptian who some ^[n]time ago raised a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^(BO)into the wilderness?” ³⁹ But Paul said, “^(BP)I am a Jew of Tarsus in ^(BQ)Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on ^(BR)the stairs, ^(BS)motioned to the people with his hand; and when there ^[o]was a great hush, he spoke to them in the ^(BT)Hebrew language, saying,

22 “^(BU)Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

² And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^(BV)Hebrew language, they became even quieter; and he *said,

³ “^(BW)I am ^(BX)a Jew, born in ^(BY)Tarsus of ^(BZ)Cilicia, but having been brought up in this city, having been instructed at the feet of ^(CA)Gamaliel according to the ^(CB)strictness of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^(CC)you all are today, ^4 (CD)I persecuted this ^(CE)Way to the death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons, ⁵ as also ^(CF)the high priest and all ^(CG)the Council of the elders ^[p]can testify. From them I also ^(CH)received letters to ^(CI)the brothers, and started off for ^(CJ)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ^[q]as prisoners to be punished.

⁶ “^(CK)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, ⁷ and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ⁸ And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am ^(CL)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹ And those who were with me ^(CM)beheld the light, to be sure, but ^(CN)did not ^[r]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ‘^(CO)What should I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been determined for you to do.’ ¹¹ But since I ^(CP)could not see because of the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹² “Now a certain ^(CQ)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and ^(CR)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ¹³ came to me, and standing near, said to me, ‘^(CS)Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ And ^[s](CT)at that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ And he said, ‘^(CU)The God of our fathers has ^(CV)appointed you to know His will and to ^(CW)see the ^(CX)Righteous One and to hear a ^[t]voice from His mouth. ¹⁵ For you will be ^(CY)a witness for Him to all men of ^(CZ)what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ Now why do you delay? ^(DA)Rise up and be baptized, and ^(DB)wash away your sins, ^(DC)calling on His name.’

¹⁷ “Now it happened when I ^(DD)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^(DE)fell into a trance, ¹⁸ and I saw Him saying to me, ‘^(DF)Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness about Me.’ ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^(DG)I used to imprison and ^(DH)beat those who believed in You. ²⁰ And ^(DI)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and guarding the garments of those who were slaying him.’ ²¹ And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away ^(DJ)to the Gentiles.’”

Paul, a Citizen of Rome

²² And they were listening to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “^(DK)Away with such a fellow from the earth, for ^(DL)he should not be allowed to live!” ²³ And as they were crying out and ^(DM)throwing off their garments and ^(DN)tossing dust into the air, ²⁴ the ^[u]commander ordered him to be brought into ^(DO)the barracks, stating that he should be ^(DP)examined by flogging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. ²⁵ But when they stretched him out ^[v]with leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it ^[w]lawful for you to flog ^(DQ)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” ²⁶ And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported to him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” ²⁷ And the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” ²⁸ And the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I have been born a citizen.” ²⁹ Therefore those who were about to ^(DR)examine him immediately withdrew from him; and the commander also ^(DS)was afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he had ^(DT)bound him.

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

³⁰ But on the next day, ^(DU)wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he ^(DV)released him and ordered the chief priests and all ^(DW)the Sanhedrin to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

23 Now Paul, looking intently at ^(DX)the Sanhedrin, said, “^(DY)Brothers, ^(DZ)I have ^[x]lived my life in all good conscience before God up to this day.” ² And the high priest ^(EA)Ananias commanded those standing beside him ^(EB)to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, ^(EC)you whitewashed wall! Do you ^(ED)sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?” ⁴ But those standing nearby said, “Do you revile the high priest of God?” ⁵ And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘^(EE)You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶ But knowing that one group were ^(EF)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in ^(EG)the Sanhedrin, “^(EH)Brothers, ^(EI)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for ^(EJ)the hope and resurrection of the dead!” ⁷ As he said this, there was dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For ^(EK)the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ And there occurred a great outcry; and some of ^(EL)the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, “^(EM)We find nothing wrong with this man. ^(EN)Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰ And as a great dissension was developing, because the ^[y]commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them, he ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into ^(EO)the barracks.

¹¹ But on ^(EP)that very night, the Lord stood at his side and said, “^(EQ)Take courage; for ^(ER)as you have ^(ES)solemnly borne witness to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness at Rome also.”

A Plot to Kill Paul

¹² Now when it was day, ^(ET)the Jews formed a ^[z]conspiracy and ^(EU)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 formed this scheme. ¹⁴ They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have ^(EV)bound ourselves under a curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ So now you, along with ^(EW)the Sanhedrin, notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more carefully; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near.”

¹⁶ But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, ^[aa]he came and entered ^(EX)the barracks and reported it to Paul. ¹⁷ And Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and led him to the ^[ab]commander and *said, “Paul ^(EY)the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you.” ¹⁹ And the ^[ac]commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?” ²⁰ And he said, “^(EZ)The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to ^(FA)the Sanhedrin, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more carefully about him. ²¹ So do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of them—who have ^(FB)bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him—are ^(FC)lying in wait for him and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.” ²² So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”

Paul Is Brought to Caesarea

²³ And when he called to him two of the centurions, he said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers, ^[ad]seventy horsemen, and two hundred ^[ae]spearmen to proceed to ^(FD)Caesarea by the ^[af]third hour of the night, ²⁴ and provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to ^(FE)Felix the governor.” ²⁵ And he wrote a letter having this form:

³¹ So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³² But the next day, leaving ^(FR)the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to ^(FS)the barracks. ³³ When these had come to ^(FT)Caesarea and delivered the letter to ^(FU)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. ³⁴ And when he had read it, he asked from what ^(FV)province he was, and when he learned that ^(FW)he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing after your ^(FX)accusers arrive also,” giving orders for him to be ^(FY)kept in Herod’s ^[ai]Praetorium.