Parallel Bible results for "acts 23"

Acts 23

Third Millennium Bible TMB

1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God to this day."

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

3 Then said Paul unto him, "God shall smite thee, thou whited wall! For sittest thou to judge me according to the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?"

4 And those who stood by said, "Revilest thou God's high priest?

5 Then said Paul, "I knew not, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written: `Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.'"

6 But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out to the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: for the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called into question!"

7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the multitude was divided.

8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.

9 And there arose a great cry, and the scribes who were on the Pharisees' side arose and strove, saying, "We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God."

10 And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.

11 And that night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified for Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."

12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together and 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 entered into this conspiracy.

14 And they came to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul

15 Now, therefore, ye, of the council, ask the chief captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though ye would inquire somewhat more thoroughly concerning him; and we, even before he comes near, are ready to kill him."

16 But when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle and told Paul.

17 Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him and said, "Bring this young man unto the chief captain, for he hath a certain thing to tell him."

18 So he took him and brought him to the chief captain and said, "Paul, the prisoner, called me unto him and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, as he hath something to say unto thee."

19 Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and going aside with him privately, asked him, "What is it that thou hast to tell me?

20 And he said, "The Jews have agreed to request thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul tomorrow into the council, as though they wished to inquire of him somewhat more thoroughly.

21 But do not thou yield unto them, for there lie in wait for him more than forty of their men, who have bound themselves with an oath that they will neither eat nor drink until they have killed him. And now they are ready, looking for consent from thee.

22 So the chief captain then let the young man depart and charged him, "See thou tell no man that thou hast revealed these things to me."

23 And he called unto him two centurions, saying, "Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and threescore and ten horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, at the third hour of the night;

24 and provide them with beasts that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor."

25 And he wrote a letter in this manner:

26 "Claudius Lysias, unto the most excellent governor Felix, sendeth greeting:

27 This man was taken by the Jews, and was about to be killed by them. Then came I with an army and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.

28 And desiring to know the cause whereof they accused him, I brought him forth into their council.

29 I perceived him to be accused about questions of their law, but there was nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.

30 And when it was told me how the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him straightway to thee, and gave a command to his accusers also to speak before thee what they have against him. Farewell."

31 Then the soldiers took Paul, as it was commanded them, and brought him by night to Antipatris.

32 On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him and returned to the castle,

33 who, when they had come to Caesarea and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.

34 And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province Paul was. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia,

35 he said, "I will hear thee when thine accusers have also come." And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 Paul stared at the Jewish council and said, "Brothers, my relationship with God has always given me a perfectly clear conscience."

2 The chief priest Ananias ordered the men standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.

3 Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you hypocrite! You sit there and judge me by Moses' Teachings and yet you break those teachings by ordering these men to strike me!"

4 The men standing near Paul said to him, "You're insulting God's chief priest!"

5 Paul answered, "Brothers, I didn't know that he is the chief priest. After all, Scripture says, 'Don't speak evil about a ruler of your people.'"

6 When Paul saw that some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted in the council, "Brothers, I'm a Pharisee and a descendant of Pharisees. I'm on trial because I expect that the dead will come back to life."

7 After Paul said that, the Pharisees and Sadducees began to quarrel, and the men in the meeting were divided.

8 (The Sadducees say that the dead won't come back to life and that angels and spirits don't exist. The Pharisees believe in all these things.)

9 The shouting became very loud. Some of the scribes were Pharisees who argued their position forcefully. They said, "We don't find anything wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an angel actually spoke to him!"

10 The quarrel was becoming violent, and the officer was afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces. So the officer ordered his soldiers to drag Paul back to the barracks.

11 The Lord stood near Paul the next night and said to him, "Don't lose your courage! You've told the truth about me in Jerusalem. Now you must tell the truth about me in Rome."

12 In the morning the Jews formed a conspiracy. They asked God to curse them if they ate or drank anything before they had killed Paul.

13 More than forty men took part in this plot.

14 They went to the chief priests and leaders [of the people] and said, "We've asked God to curse us if we taste any food before we've killed Paul.

15 Here's our plan: You and the council must go to the Roman officer on the pretext that you need more information from Paul. You have to make it look as though you want to get more accurate information about him. We'll be ready to kill him before he gets to you."

16 But Paul's nephew heard about the ambush. He entered the barracks and told Paul.

17 Then Paul called one of the sergeants and told him, "Take this young man to the officer. He has something to tell him."

18 The sergeant took the young man to the officer and said, "The prisoner Paul called me. He asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you."

19 The officer took the young man by the arm, went where they could be alone, and asked him, "What do you have to tell me?"

20 The young man answered, "The Jews have planned to ask you to bring Paul to the Jewish council tomorrow. They're going to make it look as though they want more accurate information about him.

21 Don't let them persuade you to do this. More than forty of them are planning to ambush him. They have asked God to curse them if they eat or drink anything before they have murdered him. They are ready now and are expecting you to promise [that you will bring Paul]."

22 The officer dismissed the young man and ordered him not to tell this information to anyone else.

23 Then the officer summoned two of his sergeants and told them, "I want 200 infantrymen, 70 soldiers on horseback, and 200 soldiers with spears. Have them ready to go to Caesarea at nine o'clock tonight.

24 Provide an animal for Paul to ride, and take him safely to Governor Felix."

25 The officer wrote a letter to the governor with the following message:

26 Claudius Lysias sends greetings to Your Excellency, Governor Felix:

27 The Jews had seized this man and were going to murder him. When I found out that he was a Roman citizen, I went with my soldiers to rescue him.

28 I wanted to know what they had against him. So I took him to their Jewish council

29 and found their accusations had to do with disputes about Jewish teachings. He wasn't accused of anything for which he deserved to die or to be put into prison.

30 Since I was informed that there was a plot against this man, I immediately sent him to you. I have also ordered his accusers to state their case against him in front of you.

31 So the infantrymen did as they had been ordered. They took Paul to the city of Antipatris during the night.

32 They returned to their barracks the next day and let the soldiers on horseback travel with Paul.

33 When the soldiers arrived in the city of Caesarea with Paul, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.

34 After the governor had read the letter, he asked Paul which province he was from. When he found out that Paul was from the province of Cilicia,

35 he said, "I'll hear your case when your accusers arrive." Then the governor gave orders to keep Paul under guard in Herod's palace.