Acts 23

Before the Council

1 Paul looked straight at the council and said, “Listen, I have lived with a clear conscience before God up to this very day.”

2 The high priest, Ananias, ordered the dudes standing near Paul to slap him in the mouth.

3 Paul fired back, “God is going to slap you, you hypocrite! You sitting here judging me by the law, but you break it by ordering me hit!”

4 The people nearby said, “You are going to talk like that to God’s high priest?”

5 Paul replied, “Oh, my bad! I did not know he was the high priest. The Scriptures say not to disrespect a leader of your people.”

6 Paul realized the council was split between Sadducees and Pharisees, so he played his card: “I am a Pharisee, you all. My dad was one too. I am on trial because I believe in the resurrection of the dead!”

7 That statement got the Pharisees and Sadducees beefing.

8 See, the Sadducees do not believe in resurrection, angels, or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all that.

9 The room got wild. Some Pharisees stood up, saying, “We do not see anything wrong with this guy. Maybe a spirit or an angel really spoke to him.”

10 The argument got so heated that the commander thought Paul was about to get torn apart. So he ordered the soldiers to snatch him out and take him to the barracks.

11 That night, the Lord stood by Paul and said, “Keep your head up, Paul. Just like you have been repping me in Jerusalem, you are going to do the same in Rome.”

The Plot to Kill Paul

12 The next morning, a group of Jews got together and made a blood oath: they would not eat or drink until they killed Paul.

13 More than 40 of them joined this conspiracy.

14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We swore not to eat or drink until we take Paul out.

15 So tell the commander to bring Paul to the council again, pretending like you want to investigate further. We will ambush and kill him on the way.”

16 But Paul’s nephew heard about the plot, so he went to the barracks and told Paul.

17 Paul called a centurion and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has got something important to tell him.”

18 The centurion brought him to the commander and said, “Paul asked me to bring this guy to you. He has got something to say.”

19 The commander took the young man aside and asked, “What is up, What do you need to tell me?”

20 He said, “The Jews are planning to ask you to bring Paul to the council tomorrow, but it is a setup.

21 Over 40 of them are lying in wait to ambush him. They have sworn not to eat or drink until they kill him. Do not let them fool you.”

22 The commander told him, “Thanks for the heads-up. Do not tell anyone you told me this.”

Paul Sent to Felix

23 The commander called two centurions and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen ready to go to Caesarea tonight at 9 PM.

24 Prepare horses for Paul so he can be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

25 He wrote a letter that went like this:

26 “From Claudius Lysias, to the Most Excellent Governor Felix: Greetings.

27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. I came with soldiers and rescued him because I found out he is a Roman citizen.

28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their council.

29 I discovered the accusations were about their laws, but nothing deserving death or imprisonment.

30 When I was told of a plot against him, I sent him to you immediately and told his accusers to state their case against him before you.”

31 The soldiers followed orders, taking Paul during the night to Antipatris.

32 The next day, the horsemen continued with Paul while the others returned to the barracks.

33 When the horsemen got to Caesarea, they handed the letter to Felix and presented Paul to him.

34 After reading the letter, Felix asked Paul where he was from. When he found out Paul was from Cilicia,

35 He said, “I will hear your case when your accusers show up.” Then he ordered Paul to be kept in Herod’s palace under guard.