1And Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin council, and said, “My brothers, I have lived in all good conscience before God to this day.” 2And at that, the high priest, Ananias, ordered those close by him to slap him on the mouth. 3Then Paul said to him, “God shall strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me by the law, and order me to be struck in contradiction of the law!” 4And those that stood by said, “How dare you insult God's high priest?!” 5Then Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people.’”

6But when Paul perceived that the one part of the council were Sadducees, and the others, Pharisees, he called out to the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, son of a Pharisee; and I stand on trial for my hope in the resurrection of the dead.” 7And when he said this, a dispute arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the council was divided. 8Because the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angels, nor spirit; while the Pharisees believe in all of these. 9And an uproar arose; as the scribes (teachers of the law) that were Pharisees arose, and asserted vigorously, “We find no fault in this man; and what if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him? Let us not fight against God.”

10And when the dispute became so emotionally charged and violent, the captain, fearing they might have torn Paul into pieces, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take Paul from among them by force, and bring him into the barracks. 11And the following night, the Lord stood by Paul, and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

12And the next morning, some of the Jews conspired, and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. 13And there were more than forty involved in this plot. 14And they went to the chief priests and elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves with an oath, that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. 15Now, you, and the Sanhedrin council, petition the captain to bring Paul down to you tomorrow, as though you want to interrogate him further about something; and before he gets there, we are ready to kill him.”

16But when a son of Paul's sister heard of their plot, he went into the barracks, and told Paul. 17Then Paul called one of the centurions and said to him, “Take this young man to the captain; for he has something to tell him.” 18So he brought him to the captain, and said, “Paul, the prisoner, called me to him, and asked me to bring this young man to you, who has something to tell you.” 19Then the captain took him by the hand, and drew him aside, and asked him privately, “What is it you have to tell me?” 20And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul into the council tomorrow, as though they would inquire further about something. 21But do not yield to them; for more than forty men are lying in wait for him, having bound themselves with an oath, that they will not eat or drink until they have killed Paul; and now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22So then the captain let the young man depart, telling him, “See that you tell no one that you have told me this.”

23And he summoned two centurions, and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, with seventy horsemen (cavalry) and two hundred spearmen, at the third hour of the night (about 9 or 10 PM); 24And provide horses to set Paul on, and take him safely to Felix, the governor.” 25And he wrote a letter to this effect: 26“Claudius Lysias sends greeting to the most excellent governor, Felix. 27This man was seized by the Jews, who would have killed him; until I came with my troops, and rescued him, having learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28And when I would have known what they accused him of, I brought him out before their council; 29Then I perceived that the accusation dealt with questions of their law, but nothing that was worthy of his death or imprisonment. 30And when I was told that the Jews plotted to kill the man, I sent him immediately to you, and ordered his accusers to present their case against him before you. Farewell.” 31Then the soldiers, as ordered, took Paul, and took him at night as far as Antipatris. 32And the next day they sent the seventy horsemen to take Paul the remaining 26 miles to Caesarea, while the two hundred soldiers returned to the barracks (since there was no longer an immediate threat to Paul from the Jewish conspirators); 33And when the cavalry arrived at Caesarea, they delivered the epistle (letter) to the governor, and handed Paul over to him. 34And when the governor had read the letter, he asked Paul what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia, 35He told Paul, “I will hear your case when your accusers have also come.” And he ordered him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.