Nov 22 - Acts 22-24
Acts
1"Noble brothers and fathers, listen to the explanation that I now give to you.2And when they heard him speaking to them in the Hebrew language, they offered a greater silence3And he said: "I am a Jewish man, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but raised in this city beside the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous for the law, just as all of you also are to this day4I persecuted this Way, even unto death, binding and delivering into custody both men and women5just as the high priest and all those greater by birth bear witness to me. Having received letters from them to the brothers, I journeyed to Damascus, so that I might lead them bound from there to Jerusalem, so that they might be punished6But it happened that, as I was traveling and was approaching Damascus at midday, suddenly from heaven a great light shone around me7And falling to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?8And I responded, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.9And those who were with me, indeed, saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of him who was speaking with me10And I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ Then the Lord said to me: ‘Rise up, and go to Damascus. And there, you shall be told all that you must do.11And since I could not see, because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by my companions, and I went to Damascus12Then a certain Ananias, a man in accord with the law, having the testimony of all the Jews who were living there13drawing near to me and standing close by, said to me, ‘Brother Saul, see!’ And in that same hour, I looked upon him14But he said: ‘The God of our fathers has preordained you, so that you would come to know his will and would see the Just One, and would hear the voice from his mouth15For you shall be his witness to all men about those things which you have seen and heard16And now, why do you delay? Rise up, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, by invoking his name.17Then it happened that, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, a mental stupor came over me18and I saw him saying to me: ‘Hurry! Depart quickly from Jerusalem! For they will not accept your testimony about me.19And I said: ‘Lord, they know that I am beating and enclosing in prison, throughout every synagogue, those who have believed in you20And when the blood of your witness Stephen was poured out, I stood nearby and was consenting, and I watched over the garments of those who put him to death.21And he said to me, ‘Go forth. For I am sending you to far away nations.’ 22Now they were listening to him, until this word, and then they lifted up their voice, saying: "Take this kind away from the earth! For it is not fitting for him to live!23And while they were shouting, and tossing aside their garments, and casting dust into the air24the tribune ordered him to be brought into the fortress, and to be scourged and tortured, in order to discover the reason that they were crying out in this way against him25And when they had tied him with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing near him, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and has not been condemned?26Upon hearing this, the centurion went to the tribune and reported it to him, saying: "What do you intend to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.27And the tribune, approaching, said to him: "Tell me. Are you a Roman?" So he said, "Yes.28And the tribune responded, "I obtained this citizenship at great cost." And Paul said, "But I was born to it.29Therefore, those who were going to torture him, immediately withdrew from him. The tribune was similarly afraid, after he realized that he was a Roman citizen, for he had bound him30But on the next day, wanting to discover more diligently what the reason was that he was accused by the Jews, he released him, and he ordered the priests to convene, with the entire council. And, producing Paul, he stationed him among them
1Then Paul, gazing intently at the council, said, "Noble brothers, I have spoken with all good conscience before God, even to this present day.2And the high priest, Ananias, instructed those who were standing nearby to strike him on the mouth3Then Paul said to him: "God shall strike you, you whitewashed wall! For would you sit and judge me according to the law, when, contrary to the law, you order me to be struck?4And those who were standing nearby said, "Are you speaking evil about the high priest of God?5And Paul said: "I did not know, brothers, that he is the high priest. For it is written: ‘You shall not speak evil of the leader of your people.’ 6Now Paul, knowing that one group were Sadducees and the other were Pharisees, exclaimed in the council: "Noble brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees! It is over the hope and resurrection of the dead that I am being judged.7And when he had said this, a dissension occurred between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And the multitude was divided8For the Sadducees claim that there is no resurrection, and neither angels, nor spirits. But the Pharisees confess both of these9Then there occurred a great clamor. And some of the Pharisees, rising up, were fighting, saying: "We find nothing evil in this man. What if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?10And since a great dissension had been made, the tribune, fearing that Paul might be torn apart by them, ordered the soldiers to descend and to seize him from their midst, and to bring him into the fortress11Then, on the following night, the Lord stood near him and said: "Be constant. For just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so also it is necessary for you to testify at Rome.12And when daylight arrived, some of the Jews gathered together and bound themselves with an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul13Now there were more than forty men who had taken this oath together14And they approached the leaders of the priests, and the elders, and they said: "We have sworn ourselves by an oath, so that we will taste nothing, until we have killed Paul15Therefore, with the council, you should now give notice to the tribune, so that he may bring him to you, as if you intended to determine something else about him. But before he approaches, we have made preparations to put him to death.16But when Paul’s sister’s son had heard of this, about their treachery, he went and entered into the fortress, and he reported it to Paul17And Paul, calling to him one of the centurions, said: "Lead this young man to the tribune. For he has something to tell him.18And indeed, he took him and led him to the tribune, and he said, "Paul, the prisoner, asked me to lead this young man to you, since he has something to say to you.19Then the tribune, taking him by the hand, withdrew with him by themselves, and he asked him: "What is it that you have to tell me?20Then he said: "The Jews have met to ask you to bring Paul tomorrow to the council, as if they intended to question him about something else21But truly, you should not believe them, for they would ambush him with more than forty men from among them, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat, nor to drink, until they have put him to death. And they are now prepared, hoping for an affirmation from you.22And then the tribune dismissed the young man, instructing him not to tell anyone that he had made known these things to him23Then, having called two centurions, he said to them: "Prepare two hundred soldiers, so that they may go as far as Caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, for the third hour of the night24And prepare beasts of burden to carry Paul, so that they may lead him safely to Felix, the governor.25For he was afraid, lest perhaps the Jews might seize him and kill him, and that afterwards he would be falsely accused, as if he had accepted a bribe. And so he wrote a letter containing the following26"Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent governor, Felix: greetings27This man, having been apprehended by the Jews and being about to be put to death by them, I rescued, overwhelming them with soldiers, since I realized that he is a Roman28And wanting to know the reason that they objected to him, I brought him into their council29And I discovered him to be accused about questions of their law. Yet truly, nothing deserving of death or imprisonment was within the accusation30And when I had been given news of ambushes, which they had prepared against him, I sent him to you, notifying his accusers also, so that they may plead their accusations before you. Farewell.31Therefore the soldiers, taking Paul according to their orders, brought him by night to Antipatris32And the next day, sending the horsemen to go with him, they returned to the fortress33And when they had arrived at Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul before him34And when he had read it and had asked which province he was from, realizing that he was from Cilicia, he said35"I will hear you, when your accusers have arrived." And he ordered him to be kept in the praetorium of Herod
1Then, after five days, the high priest Ananias came down with some of the elders and a certain Tertullus, a speaker. And they went to the governor against Paul2And having summoned Paul, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: "Most excellent Felix, since we have much peace through you, and many things may be corrected by your providence3we acknowledge this, always and everywhere, with acts of thanksgiving for everything4But lest I speak at too great a length, I beg you, by your clemency, to listen to us briefly5We have found this man to be pestilent, to be inciting seditions among all the Jews in the entire world, and to be the author of the sedition of the sect of the Nazarenes6And he has even been attempting to violate the temple. And having apprehended him, we wanted him to be judged according to our law7But Lysias, the tribune, overwhelming us with great violence, snatched him away from our hands8ordering his accusers to come to you. From them, you yourself will be able, by judging about all these things, to understand the reason that we accuse him.9And then the Jews interjected, saying that these things were so10Then, since the governor had motioned for him to speak, Paul responded: "Knowing that you have been the judge over this nation for many years, I will give an explanation of myself with an honest soul11For, as you may realize, it has only been twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem12And they did not find me in the temple arguing with anyone, nor causing a rally of the people: neither in the synagogues, nor in the city13And they are not able to prove to you the things about which they now accuse me14But I confess this to you, that according to that sect, which they call a heresy, so do I serve my God and Father, believing all that is written in the Law and the Prophets15having a hope in God, which these others themselves also expect, that there will be a future resurrection of the just and the unjust16And in this, I myself always strive to have a conscience that is lacking in any offense toward God and toward men17Then, after many years, I went to my nation, bringing alms and offerings and vows18through which I obtained purification in the temple: neither with a crowd, nor with a commotion19But certain Jews out of Asia are the ones who should have appeared before you to accuse me, if they have anything against me20Or let these ones here say if they have found in me any iniquity, while standing before the council21For while standing among them, I spoke out solely about this one matter: about the resurrection of the dead. It is about this that I am being judged today by you.22Then Felix, after having ascertained much knowledge about this Way, kept them waiting, by saying, "When Lysias the tribune has arrived, I will give you a hearing.23And he ordered a centurion to guard him, and to take rest, and not to prohibit any of his own from ministering to him24Then, after some days, Felix, arriving with his wife Drusilla who was a Jew, called for Paul and listened to him about the faith that is in Christ Jesus25And after he discoursed about justice and chastity, and about the future judgment, Felix was trembling, and he responded: "For now, go, but remain under guard. Then, at an opportune time, I will summon you.26He was also hoping that money might be given to him by Paul, and because of this, he frequently summoned him and spoke with him27Then, when two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus. And since Felix wanted to show particular favor to the Jews, he left Paul behind as a prisoner