Acts 23:1-11

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, "Brothers, ¹I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day."

2 And the high priest ²Ananias commanded those who stood by him ³to strike him on the mouth.

3 Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you ⁴whitewashed ⁵wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ⁶contrary to the law you ⁷order me to be struck?"

4 Those who stood by said, "Would you revile ⁸God's high priest?

5 And Paul said, ⁹"I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ¹⁰'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'"

6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were ¹¹Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Brothers, ¹²I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is ¹³with respect to the ¹⁴hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial."

7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

8 For the Sadducees ¹⁵say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of ¹⁶the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, ¹⁷"We find nothing wrong in this man. What ¹⁸if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?"

10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into ¹⁹the barracks.

11 ²⁰The following night ²¹the Lord stood by him and said, ²²"Take courage, for ²³as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ²⁴testify also in Rome."