Act 21:17-23:35 | ESV | STEP | When we had come to Jerusalem , the brothers received us gladly .

17 When we had come to Jerusalem, ^athe brothers received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to ^bJames, and all ^cthe elders were present. 19 After greeting them, ^dhe related one by one ^ethe things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ^fministry. 20 And when they heard it, they ^gglorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all ^hzealous for the law, 21 and they have been told about you that you teach all ⁱthe Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, ^jtelling them ^knot to circumcise their children or ^lwalk according to ^mour customs. 22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men ⁿwho are under a vow; 24 take these men and ^opurify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ^pso that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. 25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, ^qwe have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit and from what has been strangled} and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day ^she purified himself along with them and ^twent into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and ^uthe offering presented for each one of them.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

27 When ^vthe seven days were almost completed, ^wthe Jews from Asia, ^xseeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who ^yis teaching everyone everywhere against the people and ^zthe law and ^aathis place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and ^abhas defiled ^acthis holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen ^adTrophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and ^aedragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 ^afAnd as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of ^agthe cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 ^ahHe at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him ^aito be bound ^ajwith two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. 34 ^akSome in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ^althe barracks. 35 And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mob of the people followed, crying out, ^am“Away with him!”

Paul Speaks to the People

37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not ^anthe Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^aointo the wilderness?” 39 Paul replied, ^ap“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, ^aqmotioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in ^arthe Hebrew language, ^{▼▼Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic)} saying:

Acts 22

1 ^at“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”

2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in ^authe Hebrew language, ^{▼▼Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic)} they became even more quiet. And he said:

3 ^aw“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^axat the feet of ^ayGamaliel ^{▼▼Or city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated} ^baaccording to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, ^bbbeing zealous for God ^bcas all of you are this day. 4 ^bdI persecuted ^bethis Way ^bfto the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as ^bgthe high priest and ^bhthe whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to ^bithe brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

6 ^bj“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am ^bkJesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 ^blNow those who were with me saw the light but did not understand ^{▼▼Or hear with understanding} the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ^bn‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

12 “And ^boone Ananias, a devout man ^bpaccording to the law, ^bqwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 ^brcame to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And ^bsat that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ^bt‘The God of our fathers ^buappointed you to know his will, ^bvto see ^bwthe Righteous One and ^bxto hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for ^byyou will be a witness for him to everyone of what ^bzyou have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? ^caRise and be baptized and ^cbwash away your sins, ^cccalling on his name.’

17 ^cd“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ^cewas praying in the temple, I fell into ^cfa trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ^cg‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another ^chI imprisoned and ^cibeat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen ^cjyour witness was being shed, ^ckI myself was standing by and ^clapproving and ^cmwatching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you ^cnfar away to the Gentiles.’”

Paul and the Roman Tribune

22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, ^co“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For ^cphe should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into ^cqthe barracks, saying that he should be ^crexamined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, ^{▼▼Or when they had tied him up with leather strips} Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog ^cta man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about ^cuto examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also ^cvwas afraid, ^cwfor he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that ^cxhe had bound him.

Paul Before the Council

30 But on the next day, ^cydesiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.

Acts 23

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, ^czI have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest ^daAnanias commanded those who stood by him ^dbto strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you ^dcwhitewashed ^ddwall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ^decontrary to the law you ^dforder me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile ^dgGod’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, ^dh“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ^di‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were ^djSadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, ^dkI am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is ^dlwith respect to the ^dmhope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees ^dnsay that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of ^dothe scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, ^dp“We find nothing wrong in this man. What ^dqif a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into ^drthe barracks.

11 ^dsThe following night ^dtthe Lord stood by him and said, ^du“Take courage, for ^dvas you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ^dwtestify also in Rome.”

A Plot to Kill Paul

12 When it was day, ^dxthe Jews made a plot and ^dybound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered ^dzthe barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul ^eathe prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, ^eb“The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who ^echave bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

Paul Sent to Felix the Governor

23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. ^{▼▼That is, 9 p.m.} 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to ^eeFelix ^efthe governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect:

26 “Claudius Lysias, to ^eghis Excellency the governor Felix, ^ehgreetings. 27 ^eiThis man was seized by the Jews and ^ejwas about to be killed by them ^ekwhen I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, ^elhaving learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And ^emdesiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused ^enabout questions of their law, but ^eocharged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 ^epAnd when it was disclosed to me ^eqthat there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ^erordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”

31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to ^esthe barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what ^etprovince he was from. And when he learned ^euthat he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing ^evwhen your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s ^ewpraetorium.