New Testament in a Year
23 Paul looked directly[a] at the council[b] and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience[c] before God to this day.” 2 At that[d] the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near[e] Paul[f] to strike[g] him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall![h] Do[i] you sit there judging me according to the law,[j] and in violation of the law[k] you order me to be struck?” 4 Those standing near him[l] said, “Do you dare insult[m] God’s high priest?” 5 Paul replied,[n] “I did not realize,[o] brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’”[p]
6 Then when Paul noticed[q] that part of them were Sadducees[r] and the others Pharisees,[s] he shouted out in the council,[t] “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection[u] of the dead!” 7 When he said this,[v] an argument[w] began[x] between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)[y] 9 There was a great commotion,[z] and some experts in the law[aa] from the party of the Pharisees stood up[ab] and protested strongly,[ac] “We find nothing wrong[ad] with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 When the argument became[ae] so great the commanding officer[af] feared that they would tear Paul to pieces,[ag] he ordered the detachment[ah] to go down, take him away from them by force,[ai] and bring him into the barracks.[aj]
11 The following night the Lord[ak] stood near[al] Paul[am] and said, “Have courage,[an] for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”[ao]
The Plot to Kill Paul
12 When morning came,[ap] the Jews formed[aq] a conspiracy[ar] and bound themselves with an oath[as] not to eat or drink anything[at] until they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy.[au] 14 They[av] went[aw] to the chief priests[ax] and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath[ay] not to partake[az] of anything until we have killed Paul. 15 So now you and the council[ba] request the commanding officer[bb] to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine[bc] his case[bd] by conducting a more thorough inquiry.[be] We are ready to kill him[bf] before he comes near this place.”[bg]
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