Acts 23:1–10

¹⁶And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

¹²For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

³I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

¹⁸Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.

⁴For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.

⁵As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.

²But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

⁶But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

¹THE wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

¹⁶Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

³⁰On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.

¹⁵And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

¹MEN, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.

²²And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?

¹AND after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul.

²⁴But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?

¹NOW gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

²Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.

⁶⁷Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,

¹IF there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.

²And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number.

⁵¹Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?

²⁷Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

²⁸Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

⁷Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

¹⁶¶ And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

¹⁵¶ Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

³⁵¶ Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.

⁸¶ But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

⁹Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

¹⁰They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

¹¹The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.

¹DO ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?

²Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.

¹GOD standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

²How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

²⁰Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?

²⁴Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁸¶ Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

²⁰¶ Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

⁸Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

⁹Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

¹⁰But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

¹⁷Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.

¹⁵And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

²¹Except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day.

⁵Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

⁶And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:

⁷Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.

⁸Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?

²⁰For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

⁵Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

²³¶ The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

⁵As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.

¹⁶¶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

⁴But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.

⁴⁰¶ Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

⁴¹Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

⁴²Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

⁴³So there was a division among the people because of him.

³⁴Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

⁹Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.

²⁷¶ Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,

²³¶ The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

¹⁸¶ Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

¹AND as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,

¹⁷And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;

¹⁸And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.

⁷And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

²⁹The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

²⁹Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.

²⁵But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.

³¹And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

¹⁶And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?

⁷When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

²²Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?

¹⁷And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.

¹⁷Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

⁸For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

¹⁴And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

¹⁵And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

¹⁶But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

¹⁷Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

¹⁸To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

¹⁹Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

²³For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

³⁹But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

⁴And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

¹⁴Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:

¹⁵No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.

²²And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.

⁴Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.

³⁰But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?

²⁴The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.

¹⁹Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

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²⁸And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

²⁹And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

³⁰And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.

³¹And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.

³⁰And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.

³¹And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

³²Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.

³³Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.

³⁴And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.

³⁵And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.

³⁶For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.

¹⁶And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.

²⁷This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.

³²On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:

³Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.

²²Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

²Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.