Acts 22:22-23:6

New International Version

Paul the Roman Citizen

²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him!^(A) He’s not fit to live!”^(B)

²³ As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks^(C) and flinging dust into the air,^{(D) 24} the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.^(E) He directed^(F) that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”^(G)

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹ Those who were about to interrogate him^(H) withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen,^(I) in chains.^(J)

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

³⁰ The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews.^(K) So the next day he released him^(L) and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin^(M) to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin^(N) and said, “My brothers,^(O) I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience^(P) to this day.” ² At this the high priest Ananias^(Q) ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.^{(R) 3} Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!^(S) You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”^(T)

⁴ Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”

⁵ Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’^[a]”^(U)

⁶ Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees^(V) and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers,^(W) I am a Pharisee,^(X) descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”^(Y)