Acts 23

¹And Poul bihelde in to the counsel, and seide, Britheren, Y with al good conscience haue lyued bifore God, `til in to this dai.

²And Anany, prince of prestis, comaundide to men that stoden nyy hym, that thei schulden smyte his mouth.

³Thanne Poul seide to hym, Thou whitid wal, God smyte thee; thou sittist, and demest me bi the lawe, and ayens the law thou comaundist me to be smytun.

⁴And thei that stoden niy, seiden, Cursist thou the hiyest prest of God?

⁵And Poul seide, Britheren, Y wiste not, that he is prince of preestis; for it is writun, Thou schalt not curse the prince of thi puple.

⁶But Poul wiste, that o parti was of Saduceis, and the othere of Fariseis; and he criede in the counsel, Britheren, Y am a Farisee, the sone of Farisees; Y am demyd of the hope and of the ayen rising of deed men.

⁷And whanne he hadde seid this thing, dissencioun was maad bitwixe the Fariseis and the Saduceis, and the multitude was departid.

⁸For Saduceis seien, that no `rysing ayen of deed men is, nether aungel, nether spirit; but Fariseis knowlechen euer eithir.

⁹And a greet cry was maad. And summe of Farisees rosen vp, and fouyten, seiynge, We fynden no thing of yuel in this man; what if a spirit, ether an aungel spak to hym?

¹⁰And whanne greet discencioun was maad, the tribune dredde, lest Poul schulde be to-drawun of hem; and he comaundide knyytis to go doun, and to take hym fro the myddil of hem, and to lede hym in to castels.

¹¹And in the niyt suynge the Lord stood niy to hym, and seide, Be thou stidfast; for as thou hast witnessid of me in Jerusalem, so it bihoueth thee to witnesse also at Rome.

¹²And whanne the dai was come, summe of the Jewis gaderiden hem, and maden `avow, and seiden, that thei schulden nether eete, ne drinke, til thei slowen Poul.

¹³And there weren mo than fourti men, that maden this sweryng togider.

¹⁴And thei wenten to the princis of prestis, and eldre men, and seiden, With deuocioun we han a vowid, that we schulen not taste ony thing, til we sleen Poul.

¹⁵Now therfor make ye knowun to the tribune, with the counsel, that he bringe hym forth to you, as if ye schulden knowe sum thing more certeynli of hym; and we ben redi to sle hym, bifor that he come.

¹⁶And whanne the sone of Poulis sister hadde herd the aspies, he cam, and entride in to the castels, and telde to Poul.

¹⁷And Poul clepide to hym oon of the centuriens, and seide, Lede this yonge man to the tribune, for he hath sum thing to schewe to hym.

¹⁸And he took hym, and ledde to the tribune, and seide, Poul, that is boundun, preide me to lede to thee this yonge man, that hath sum thing to speke to thee.

¹⁹And the tribune took his hoond, and wente with hym asidis half, and axide hym, What thing is it, that thou hast to schewe to me?

²⁰And he seide, The Jewis ben acordid to preye thee, that to morewe thou brynge forth Poul in to the counsel, as if thei schulden enquere sum thing more certeynli of hym.

²¹But bileue thou not to hem; for mo than fourti men of hem aspien hym, which han a vowid, that thei schulen not eete nether drynke, til thei sleen hym; and now thei ben redi, abidinge thi biheest.

²²Therfor the tribune lefte the yonge man, and comaundide, that he schulde speke to no man, that he hadde maad these thingis knowun to hym.

²³And he clepide togidre twei centuriens, and he seide to hem, Make ye redi twei hundrid knyytis, that thei go to Cesarie, and horse men seuenti, and spere men twey hundrid, fro the thridde our of the nyyt.

²⁴And make ye redy an hors, for Poul to ride on, to lede hym saaf to Felix, the presydent.

²⁵For the tribune dredde, lest the Jewis wolden take hym bi the weie, and sle hym, and aftirward he miyte be chalengid, as he hadde take money.

²⁶And wroot hym `a pistle, conteynynge these thingis. Claudius Lisias to the beste Felix, president, heelthe.

²⁷This man that was take of the Jewis, and bigan to be slayn, Y cam vpon hem with myn oost, and delyuerede hym fro hem, whanne Y knewe that he was a Romayn.

²⁸And Y wolde wite the cause, which thei puttiden ayens hym; and Y ledde hym to the counsel of hem.

²⁹And Y foond, that he was accusid of questiouns of her lawe, but he hadde no cryme worthi the deth, ethir boondis.

³⁰And whanne it was teeld me of the aspies, that thei arayden for hym, Y sente hym to thee, and Y warnede also the accuseris, that thei seie at thee. Fare wel.

³¹And so the knyytis, as thei weren comaundid, token Poul, and ledde hym bi nyyt into Antipatriden.

³²And in the dai suynge, whanne the horsmen weren left, that schulden go with hym, thei turneden ayen to the castels.

³³And whanne thei camen to Cesarie, thei token the pistle to the president, and thei setten also Poul byfore him.

³⁴And whanne he hadde red, and axide, of what prouynce he was, and knewe that he was of Cilicie,

³⁵Y schal here thee, he seide, whanne thin accuseris comen. And he comaundide hym to be kept in the moot halle of Eroude.

Acts 23

¹And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

²And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.

³Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?

⁴And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest?

⁵Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

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.

⁷And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.

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

⁹And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

¹⁰And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.

¹¹And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

¹²And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

¹³And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.

¹⁴And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.

¹⁵Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.

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

¹⁷Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.

¹⁸So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.

¹⁹Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?

²⁰And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly.

²¹But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.

²²So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me.

²³And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Cesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night;

²⁴And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.

²⁵And he wrote a letter after this manner:

²⁶Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting.

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.

²⁸And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council:

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.

³⁰And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.

³¹Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.

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

³³Who, when they came to Cesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.

³⁴And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia;

³⁵I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.