Acts 23:1-15

Holman Christian Standard Bible

23 ¹ Paul looked intently at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience^(A) until this day.” ² But the high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth.^{(B) 3} Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?”^(C)

⁴ And those standing nearby said, “Do you dare revile God’s high priest?”

⁵ “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”^{(D)[a] 6} When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees!^(E) I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!”^{(F) 7} When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection,^(G) and no angel or spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all.

⁹ The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’^(H) party got up and argued vehemently: “We find nothing evil in this man.^(I) What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”^{[b](J) 10} When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, rescue him from them, and bring him into the barracks.^(K)

The Plot against Paul

¹¹ The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”^(L)

¹² When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse: neither to eat nor to drink until they had killed Paul.^{(M) 13} There were more than 40 who had formed this plot. ¹⁴ These men went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse that we won’t eat anything until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, make a request to the commander that he bring him down to you^[c] as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. However, before he gets near, we are ready to kill him.”^(N)