Acts 23

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¹Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!” ✦ ²Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth. ✦ ³But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?” ✦ ⁴Those standing near Paul said to him, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?” ⁵“I’m sorry, brothers. I didn’t realize he was the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say, ‘You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.’” ✦ ⁶Paul realized that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!” ✦ ⁷This divided the council—the Pharisees against the Sadducees— ✦ ⁸for the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all of these. ✦ ⁹So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees jumped up and began to argue forcefully. “We see nothing wrong with him,” they shouted. “Perhaps a spirit or an angel spoke to him.” ✦ ¹⁰As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress. ✦ ¹¹That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.” ✦ ¹²The next morning a group of Jews got together and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. ✦ ¹³There were more than forty of them in the conspiracy. ✦ ¹⁴They went to the leading priests and elders and told them, “We have bound ourselves with an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. ✦ ¹⁵So you and the high council should ask the commander to bring Paul back to the council again. Pretend you want to examine his case more fully. We will kill him on the way.” ✦ ¹⁶But Paul’s nephew—his sister’s son—heard of their plan and went to the fortress and told Paul. ✦ ¹⁷Paul called for one of the Roman officers and said, “Take this young man to the commander. He has something important to tell him.” ✦ ¹⁸So the officer did, explaining, “Paul, the prisoner, called me over and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” ✦ ¹⁹The commander took his hand, led him aside, and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?” ✦ ²⁰Paul’s nephew told him, “Some Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul before the high council tomorrow, pretending they want to get some more information. ✦ ²¹But don’t do it! There are more than forty men hiding along the way ready to ambush him. They have vowed not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent.” ✦ ²²“Don’t let anyone know you told me this,” the commander warned the young man. ✦ ²³Then the commander called two of his officers and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Also take 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops. ✦ ²⁴Provide horses for Paul to ride, and get him safely to Governor Felix.” ✦ ²⁵Then he wrote this letter to the governor: ²⁶“From Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings! ✦ ²⁷“This man was seized by some Jews, and they were about to kill him when I arrived with the troops. When I learned that he was a Roman citizen, I removed him to safety. ✦ ²⁸Then I took him to their high council to try to learn the basis of the accusations against him. ✦ ²⁹I soon discovered the charge was something regarding their religious law—certainly nothing worthy of imprisonment or death. ✦ ³⁰But when I was informed of a plot to kill him, I immediately sent him on to you. I have told his accusers to bring their charges before you.” ✦ ³¹So that night, as ordered, the soldiers took Paul as far as Antipatris. ✦ ³²They returned to the fortress the next morning, while the mounted troops took him on to Caesarea. ✦ ³³When they arrived in Caesarea, they presented Paul and the letter to Governor Felix. ✦ ³⁴He read it and then asked Paul what province he was from. “Cilicia,” Paul answered. ✦ ³⁵“I will hear your case myself when your accusers arrive,” the governor told him. Then the governor ordered him kept in the prison at Herod’s headquarters. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Where this chapter connects

Acts 23 ·30 Acts 24 ·18 Acts 25 ·13 Acts 22 ·12 Acts 26 ·5 Acts 28 ·5 Luke 23 ·4 Acts 21 ·4

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
DocumentaryDrive Thru History: Acts to RevelationDave Stotts · Free · evangelical
Follows Paul's missionary journeys and the early church on location across the Mediterranean — free on Tubi, great for families.

Pastoral

★ Start hereSermonMLJ Trust — Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermonsMartyn Lloyd-Jones · Free · reformed
1,600+ free sermons from "the Doctor," including landmark verse-by-verse series (Romans, John, Ephesians, Acts) — a gold standard of expository preaching.
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Acts 23YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Acts 23David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Acts 23Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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