Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

35 God said to Ya‘akov, “Get up, go up to Beit-El and live there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled ‘Esav your brother.” ² Then Ya‘akov said to his household and all the others with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that you have with you, purify yourselves, and put on fresh clothes. ³ We’re going to move on and go up to Beit-El. There I will build an altar to God, who answered me when I was in such distress and stayed with me wherever I went.” ⁴ They gave Ya‘akov all the foreign gods in their possession and the earrings they were wearing, and Ya‘akov buried them under the pistachio tree near Sh’khem.

¹⁷ But the cohen hagadol and his associates, who were members of the party of the Tz’dukim, were filled with jealousy. ¹⁸ They arrested the emissaries and put them in the public jail. ¹⁹ But during the night, an angel of Adonai opened the doors of the prison, led them out and said, ²⁰ “Go, stand in the Temple court and keep telling the people all about this new life!” ²¹ After hearing that, they entered the Temple area about dawn and began to teach.

Now the cohen hagadol and his associates came and called a meeting of the Sanhedrin (that is, of Isra’el’s whole assembly of elders) and sent to the jail to have them brought. ²² But the officers who went did not find them in the prison. So they returned and reported, ²³ “We found the jail securely locked and the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened it, we found no one inside!” ²⁴ When the captain of the Temple police and the head cohanim heard these things, they were puzzled and wondered what would happen next.

²⁵ Then someone came and reported to them, “Listen! The men you ordered put in prison are standing in the Temple court, teaching the people!” ²⁶ The captain and his officers went and brought them, but not with force; because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.