Paul Gets a Slap in the Face
1Paul looked hard at the council. [1] Then he said, “Brothers, I stand before you with a clear conscience. God knows I’ve lived that kind of life all the way up to this very moment.”2Ananias [2] the high priest ordered someone standing near Paul to hit him in the mouth.
3Paul said to Ananias, “Hey, God’s going to slap you in the face you purple-robed sack of sewage. [3] Do you really have the chutzpah to condemn me for breaking the Law? You just broke the Law yourself when you ordered me slapped.” [4]
4People standing beside Paul said, “How could you trash talk God’s high priest like that?”
5“High priest?” Paul said. “Brothers, I didn’t realize he was the high priest. Our scriptures teach that we shouldn’t say anything disrespectful about our rulers.” [5]
6Paul could see that some on the council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees. So he said, “My brothers. I’m a Pharisee. I’m from a family of Pharisees. You want to know why I’m here? I’ll tell you why. It’s because I believe in the resurrection and life after death. That’s why I’m on trial.” 7That’s all it took to split the council. Suddenly the Pharisees and Sadducees were arguing with each other. 8Sadducees say there’s no such thing as a resurrection or angels or a spirit inside the body. But Pharisees teach all of that.
9The council meeting started getting out of hand. All of a sudden, some scholars [6] from the Pharisee group stood up and yelled, “We don’t see anything wrong with this man. Who knows? Maybe a spirit talked to him. Or maybe it was an angel.” 10The Jewish leaders started yelling at each other so violently that the Roman commander thought they might turn on Paul and tear him apart. He ordered his soldiers to go into the council chambers and take Paul out of there, by force if necessary. They brought Paul back to the army barracks.
11The Lord appeared to Paul that night [7] and said, “Stay brave. You spoke up for me in Jerusalem. You’re going to do it in Rome too.”
Jews Plot to Murder Paul
12The next morning, some Jews hatched a plot to kill Paul. They made a promise to each other. They agreed they wouldn’t eat or drink again until they killed Paul. 13More than 40 souls joined this conspiracy. 14They went to the top priests and other Jewish leaders and told them about the plot: “We have made a pact with each other. We have agreed not to eat another thing until we have killed Paul. 15Here’s what we want you to do. Send a message to the Roman commander. Tell him to bring Paul here to you, as though you’re going to investigate his case more thoroughly. We’ll be ready and waiting to kill Paul when he gets here.”16Paul’s young nephew heard about the ambush. He was the son of Paul’s sister. He went to the army barracks and told his Uncle Paul about it.
17Paul called in one of the officers. [8] Paul said, “Would you take this young man [9] to the commander? He has something to report to him.”
18The officer took Paul’s nephew to the commander and said, “The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young fellow to you because he has something to tell you.”
19The commander took Paul’s nephew by the hand, walked him away from the others, and said, “What do you have to tell me?”
20Paul’s nephew said, “The Jews have a plan to kill Paul tomorrow. They agreed to ask you to bring him to the council so they can investigate his case some more. 21But you shouldn’t let them talk you into it. More than 40 men will be waiting there to kill Paul. They have taken a vow not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They’re ready to kill him now. They’re just waiting for you to give your approval to send Paul in.”
22The commander gave the young man an order: “Don’t tell anyone you told me about this.”
Romans Rush Paul off to a Caesarea Jail
23The commander called in two of his officers, [10] each one the commander of a unit of 100 soldiers. “By nine o’clock tonight I want 200 soldiers, 70 cavalry on horseback, and 200 spearmen ready to go to Caesarea. [11] 24And I want you to take horses for Paul to ride. I want to make sure you get him safely to Governor Felix.” [12]25The commander wrote a letter to the governor.
26From Claudius Lysias, to the Honorable Governor Felix. Hello. I wish you the best. 27This man I’m sending you got arrested by the Jews. They were about to kill him. I arrived with soldiers just in time to rescue him. I discovered he’s a Roman citizen. 28I wanted to know what crime the Jews were charging him with, so I took him to the Jewish Council. 29I found out they were accusing him of something that had to do with their religious law. But it wasn’t anything that warranted prison or execution. 30When I found out about a plot to kill him, I immediately sent him to you. I’ve ordered the people accusing him to take their accusations to you. 31The soldiers did as ordered. They took Paul as far as the city of Antipatris. [13] 32The next day [14] the soldiers headed back to Jerusalem. The cavalry finished the job of escorting Paul to Caesarea. 33When the cavalry got to Caesarea, they handed Paul over to the governor. And they delivered their commander’s letter. 34Felix read the letter. Then he asked Paul what Roman province he came from. When he found out Paul came from Cilicia, [15] 35he said, “I’ll hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered Paul kept under guard in the prison that Herod the Great [16] built into the governor’s headquarters. [17]
