New Testament in a Year

Chapter 23

¹ Paul looked intently at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brethren, to this very day, I have conducted myself before God with a perfectly clear conscience.” ² At this, the high priest Ananias^[a] ordered his attendants to strike him on the mouth.

³ Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! How can you sit there to judge me according to the Law and then in defiance of the Law order me to be struck?” ⁴ The attendants said, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?” ⁵ Paul replied, “Brethren, I did not realize that he was the high priest. It is clearly written: ‘You shall not curse the ruler of your people.’ ”

⁶ Well aware that some of them were Sadducees and the others were Pharisees, Paul called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning our hope in the resurrection of the dead.” ⁷ When he said this, a dispute ensued between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees hold that there is no resurrection and that there are no angels or spirits, while the Pharisees believe in all three.

⁹ Then a great uproar arose, and some of the scribes belonging to the party of the Pharisees stood up and forcefully stated, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has really spoken to him?” ¹⁰ When a violent dissension arose, the commander was fearful that Paul would be torn to pieces. He ordered the soldiers to go down, seize him from their midst, and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹ On the following night, the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Keep up your courage! For just as you have borne witness to me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.”

¹² A Plot To Kill Paul.^[b] When morning came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves by an oath^[c] not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty who entered this pact. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and told them, “We have bound ourselves by a solemn oath not to consume any food until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ You and the Sanhedrin should make an official request to the commander to bring him down to you on the pretext that you want to investigate his case more thoroughly. We on our part have arranged to kill him before he arrives.”