Paul
Before The Sanhedrin
Paul
looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said,
'MY
BROTHERS I HAVE FULLFILLED MY DUTY TO GOD
IN
ALL GOOD CONSCIENCE TO THIS DAY.'
2
At this the High Priest Ananias
Ordered
those standing near Paul
to
Strike him on the mouth.
3
Then Paul said to him,
'GOD
WILL STRIKE YOU, YOU WHITEWASHED WALL!
YOU
SIT THERE TO JUDGE ME ACCORDING TO THE LAW,
YET
YOU YOURSELF VIOLATE THE LAW
BY
COMMANDING THAT I BE STRUCK!'
4
Those who were standing hear Paul said,
'YOU
DARE TO INSULT GOD'S HIGH PRIEST?'
5
Paul replied,
'BORTHERS,
I DID NOT REALIZE THAT HE WAS THE HIGH PRIEST;
FOR
IT IS WRITTEN:
'DO
NOT SPEAK EVIL ABOUT THE RULER OF YOUR PEOPLE.'
6Then
Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees
And
the others Pharisees,
Called
out in the Sanhedrin,
'MY
BROTHERS, I AM A PHARISEE, THE SON OF A PHARISEE.
I
STAND ON TRIAL BECAUSE OF MY HOPE
IN
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD.'
7
When he said this,
A
Dispute broke out between the pharisees and the Sadducees,
AND
THE ASSEMBLY WAS DIVIDED.
8
(THE SADDUCEES SAY THAT THERE IS NO RESURRECTION,
AND
THAT THERE ARE NEITHER ANGELS NOR SPIRITS,
BUT
THE PHARISEES ACKNOWLEDGE THEM ALL.)
9
There was a Great Uproar,
And
some of the Teachers of the Law who were Pharisees
Stood
up and argued Vigorously.
'WE
FIND NOTHNG WRONG WITH THIS MAN,' they said
'WHAT
IF A SPIRIT OR AN ANGEL HAS SPOKEN TO HIM?'
10
The Dispute became so Violent
That
the Commander was afraid
Paul
would be torn to pieces by them.
He
ordered the Troops to go down
And
take him away from them by force
And
bring him into the Barracks.
11
The following night
The
Lord stood near Paul and said,
'TAKE
COURAGE!
AS
YOU HAVE TESTIFIED ABOUT ME IN JERUSALEM,
SO
YOU MUST ALSO TESTIFY IN ROME.'
The
Plot To Kill Paul
12
The next morning
The
Jews formed a Conspiracy
And
bound themselves with and Oath
Not
to eat or drink until they had Killed Paul.
13
More than forty men were involved in this Plot.
14
They went to the Chief Priests and Elders
And
said,
'WE
HAVE TAKEN A SOLEMN OATH
NOT
TO EAT ANYTHING UNTIL WE HAVE KILLED PAUL.
15
Now then,
You
and the Sanhedrin Petition the Commander
To
bring him before you on the Pretext
Of
wanting more accurate information about his case.
WE
ARE READY TO KILL HIM BEFORE HE GETS HERE.'
16
But when the son of Paul's sister heard of this Plot,
He
went into the Barracks and told Paul.
17
Then Paul called one of the Centurions and said,
'Take
this young man to the Commander;
He
has something to tell him.'
18
So he took him to the Commander.
The
Centurion said,
'Paul,
the Prisoner, sent for me
And
asked me to bring this young man to you
Because
he has something to tell you.'
19
The Commander took the yung man by the hand,
Drew
him aside and asked,
'What
is it you want to tell me?'
20
He said:
'THE
JEWS HAVE AGREED TO ASK YOU
TO
BRING PAUL BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN TOMORROW
ON
THE PRETEXT
OF
WANTING MORE ACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT HIM.
21
DON'T GIVE IN TO THEM,
BECAUSE
MORE THAN FORTY OF THEM
ARE
WAITING IN AMBUSH FOR HIM.
THEY
HAVE TAKEN AN OATH NOT TO EAT OR DRINK
UNTIL
THEY HAVE KILLED HIM.
They
are ready now,
Waiting
for your consent to their request.'
22
The Commander dismissed the young man
And
cautioned him,
'Don't
tell anyone that you have reported this to me.'
Paul
Transferred To Caesarea
23
Then he called two of his Centurions
And
ordered them,
'Get
ready a Detachment of Two Hundred soldiers,
Seventy
horsemen and Two Hundred Spearmen
To
go to Caesarea at nine tonight.
24
Provide mounts for Paul
So
that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.'
25
He wrote a letter as follows:
26
Claudius Lysias,
To
his Excellency, Governor Felix:
Greetings.
27
This man was seized by the Jews
And
they were about to Kill him,
But
I came with my Troops and Rescued him,
For
I had learned that he is a Roman Citizen.
28
I wanted to know why they were accusing him,
So
I brought him to their Sanhedrin.
29
I found that the Accusation
Had
to do with questions about their Law,
But
there was No Charge against him
That
deserved Death or Imprisonment.
30
When I was informed of a Plot
To
be carried out against the man,
I
sent him to you at once.
I
also ordered his Accusers
To
Present to you their case against him.
31
So the soldiers, carrying out their orders,
Took
Paul with them during the night
And
brought him as far as Antipatris.
32
The next day they let the Cavalry go on with him,
While
they returned to the Barracks.
33
When the Cavalry arrived in Caesarea,
They
delivered the letter to the Governor
And
handed Paul over to him.
34
The Governor read the letter
And
asked what Province he was from.
Learning
that he was from Cilicia,
35
He said,
'I
will hear your case when your Accusers get here.'
Then
he ordered that Paul be kept under guard
In
Herod's Palace.
(Acts
23)
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