Acts 23:7-17

7 As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

8 For ¹the 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 uproar; and some of ²the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, "³We find nothing wrong with this man; ⁴suppose * a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"

10 And as a great dissension was developing, the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into ⁵the barracks.

11 But on ⁶the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, "⁷Take courage; for ⁸as you have ⁹solemnly witnessed to My cause * at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also."

A Conspiracy to Kill Paul

12 When it was day, ¹⁰the Jews formed a conspiracy and ¹¹bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

13 There were more than forty who formed this plot.

14 They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, "We have ¹²bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul

15 "Now therefore, you and ¹³the Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case * by a more thorough investigation; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near the place."

16 But the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, and he came and entered ¹⁴the barracks and told Paul.

17 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."

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18; Luke 20:27
• 2. Mark 2:16; Luke 5:30
• 3. Acts 23:29
• 4. John 12:29; Acts 22:6f
• 5. Acts 21:34; Acts 23:16, 32
• 6. Acts 18:9
• 7. Matthew 9:2
• 8. Acts 19:21
• 9. Luke 16:28; Acts 28:23
• 10. Acts 9:23; Acts 23:30; 1 Thessalonians 2:16
• 11. Acts 23:14, 21
• 12. Acts 23:12, 21
• 13. Acts 22:30; Acts 23:1, 6, 20, 28
• 14. Acts 21:34; Acts 23:10, 32

Footnotes

• [a] I.e. chiliarch, in command of one thousand troops
• [b] Or "mob"
• [c] Lit "with"
• [d] Or "Sanhedrin"
• [e] V 10, note 1
• [f] Or "having been present" with them, "and he entered"
• [g] V 10, note 1