Acts 23

Learning to read Greek? Start with the alphabet.

Original

Modern

Paul before the Sanhedrin

¹Ἀτενίσας δὲ ὁ Παῦλος τῷ συνεδρίῳ εἶπεν Ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί ἐγὼ πάσῃ συνειδήσει ἀγαθῇ πεπολίτευμαι τῷ Θεῷ ἄχρι ταύτης τῆς ἡμέρας

¹Paul looked directly at the Sanhedrin^a and said, “Brothers, I have conducted myself before God in all good conscience to this day.”

²ὁ δὲ ἀρχιερεὺς Ἁνανίας ἐπέταξεν τοῖς παρεστῶσιν αὐτῷ τύπτειν αὐτοῦ τὸ στόμα

²At this, the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.

³Τότε ὁ Παῦλος πρὸς αὐτὸν εἶπεν Τύπτειν σε μέλλει ὁ Θεός τοῖχε κεκονιαμένε καὶ σὺ κάθῃ κρίνων με κατὰ τὸν νόμον καὶ παρανομῶν κελεύεις με τύπτεσθαι

³Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck.”

⁴Οἱ δὲ παρεστῶτες εἶπαν Τὸν ἀρχιερέα τοῦ Θεοῦ λοιδορεῖς

⁴But those standing nearby said, “How dare you insult the high priest of God!”

⁵Ἔφη τε ὁ Παῦλος Οὐκ ᾔδειν ἀδελφοί ὅτι ἐστὶν ἀρχιερεύς γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι Ἄρχοντα τοῦ λαοῦ σου οὐκ ἐρεῖς κακῶς

⁵“Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”^a

⁶Γνοὺς δὲ ὁ Παῦλος ὅτι τὸ ἓν μέρος ἐστὶν Σαδδουκαίων τὸ δὲ ἕτερον Φαρισαίων ἔκραζεν ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ Ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί ἐγὼ Φαρισαῖός εἰμι υἱὸς Φαρισαίων περὶ ἐλπίδος καὶ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν ἐγὼ κρίνομαι

⁶Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”

⁷Τοῦτο δὲ αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος ἐγένετο στάσις τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ Σαδδουκαίων καὶ ἐσχίσθη τὸ πλῆθος

⁷As soon as he had said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

⁸Σαδδουκαῖοι μὲν γὰρ λέγουσιν μὴ εἶναι ἀνάστασιν μήτε ἄγγελον μήτε πνεῦμα Φαρισαῖοι δὲ ὁμολογοῦσιν τὰ ἀμφότερα

⁸For the Sadducees say that there is neither a resurrection nor angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

⁹Ἐγένετο δὲ κραυγὴ μεγάλη καὶ ἀναστάντες τινὲς τῶν γραμματέων τοῦ μέρους τῶν Φαρισαίων διεμάχοντο λέγοντες Οὐδὲν κακὸν εὑρίσκομεν ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τούτῳ εἰ δὲ πνεῦμα ἐλάλησεν αὐτῷ ἢ ἄγγελος

⁹A great clamor arose, and some scribes from the party of the Pharisees got up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

¹⁰πολλῆς δὲ γινομένης στάσεως φοβηθεὶς ὁ χιλίαρχος μὴ διασπασθῇ ὁ Παῦλος ὑπ’ αὐτῶν ἐκέλευσεν τὸ στράτευμα καταβὰν ἁρπάσαι αὐτὸν ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν ἄγειν τε εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν

¹⁰The dispute grew so violent that the commander was afraid they would tear Paul to pieces. He ordered the soldiers to go down and remove him by force and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹Τῇ δὲ ἐπιούσῃ νυκτὶ ἐπιστὰς αὐτῷ ὁ Κύριος εἶπεν Θάρσει ὡς γὰρ διεμαρτύρω τὰ περὶ ἐμοῦ εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ οὕτω σε δεῖ καὶ εἰς Ῥώμην μαρτυρῆσαι

¹¹The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”

The Plot to Kill Paul

¹²Γενομένης δὲ ἡμέρας ποιήσαντες συστροφὴν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἀνεθεμάτισαν ἑαυτοὺς λέγοντες μήτε φαγεῖν μήτε πιεῖν ἕως οὗ ἀποκτείνωσιν τὸν Παῦλον

¹²When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³ἦσαν δὲ πλείους τεσσεράκοντα οἱ ταύτην τὴν συνωμοσίαν ποιησάμενοι

¹³More than forty of them were involved in this plot.

¹⁴οἵτινες προσελθόντες τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσιν καὶ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις εἶπαν Ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν ἑαυτοὺς μηδενὸς γεύσασθαι ἕως οὗ ἀποκτείνωμεν τὸν Παῦλον

¹⁴They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵νῦν οὖν ὑμεῖς ἐμφανίσατε τῷ χιλιάρχῳ σὺν τῷ συνεδρίῳ ὅπως καταγάγῃ αὐτὸν εἰς ὑμᾶς ὡς μέλλοντας διαγινώσκειν ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς δὲ πρὸ τοῦ ἐγγίσαι αὐτὸν ἕτοιμοί ἐσμεν τοῦ ἀνελεῖν αὐτόν

¹⁵Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him down to you on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. We are ready to kill him on the way.”

¹⁶Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀδελφῆς Παύλου τὴν ἐνέδραν παραγενόμενος καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν ἀπήγγειλεν τῷ Παύλῳ

¹⁶But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the plot,^a he went into the barracks and told Paul.

¹⁷προσκαλεσάμενος δὲ ὁ Παῦλος ἕνα τῶν ἑκατονταρχῶν ἔφη Τὸν νεανίαν τοῦτον ἄπαγε πρὸς τὸν χιλίαρχον ἔχει γὰρ ἀπαγγεῖλαί τι αὐτῷ

¹⁷Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.”

¹⁸Ὁ μὲν οὖν παραλαβὼν αὐτὸν ἤγαγεν πρὸς τὸν χιλίαρχον καὶ φησίν Ὁ δέσμιος Παῦλος προσκαλεσάμενός με ἠρώτησεν τοῦτον τὸν νεανίσκον ἀγαγεῖν πρὸς σέ ἔχοντά τι λαλῆσαί σοι

¹⁸So the centurion took him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner sent and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”

¹⁹Ἐπιλαβόμενος δὲ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ χιλίαρχος καὶ ἀναχωρήσας κατ’ ἰδίαν ἐπυνθάνετο Τί ἐστιν ὃ ἔχεις ἀπαγγεῖλαί μοι

¹⁹The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside, and asked, “What do you need to tell me?”

²⁰Εἶπεν δὲ ὅτι Οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι συνέθεντο τοῦ ἐρωτῆσαί σε ὅπως αὔριον τὸν Παῦλον καταγάγῃς εἰς τὸ συνέδριον ὡς μέλλον τι ἀκριβέστερον πυνθάνεσθαι περὶ αὐτοῦ

²⁰He answered, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of acquiring more information about him.

²¹σὺ οὖν μὴ πεισθῇς αὐτοῖς ἐνεδρεύουσιν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες πλείους τεσσεράκοντα οἵτινες ἀνεθεμάτισαν ἑαυτοὺς μήτε φαγεῖν μήτε πιεῖν ἕως οὗ ἀνέλωσιν αὐτόν καὶ νῦν εἰσιν ἕτοιμοι προσδεχόμενοι τὴν ἀπὸ σοῦ ἐπαγγελίαν

²¹Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are ready now, awaiting your consent.”

²²Ὁ μὲν οὖν χιλίαρχος ἀπέλυσε τὸν νεανίσκον παραγγείλας Μηδενὶ ἐκλαλῆσαι ὅτι ταῦτα ἐνεφάνισας πρὸς ἐμέ

²²So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Do not tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

Paul Sent to Felix

²³Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενός τινας δύο τῶν ἑκατονταρχῶν εἶπεν Ἑτοιμάσατε στρατιώτας διακοσίους ὅπως πορευθῶσιν ἕως Καισαρείας καὶ ἱππεῖς ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ δεξιολάβους διακοσίους ἀπὸ τρίτης ὥρας τῆς νυκτός

²³Then he called two of his centurions and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea in the third hour of the night.^a

²⁴κτήνη τε παραστῆσαι ἵνα ἐπιβιβάσαντες τὸν Παῦλον διασώσωσι πρὸς Φήλικα τὸν ἡγεμόνα

²⁴Provide mounts for Paul to take him safely to Governor Felix.”

²⁵γράψας ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν τύπον τοῦτον

²⁵And he wrote the following letter:

²⁶Κλαύδιος Λυσίας Τῷ κρατίστῳ ἡγεμόνι Φήλικι Χαίρειν

²⁶Claudius Lysias,

To His Excellency, Governor Felix:

Greetings.

²⁷Τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον συλλημφθέντα ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ μέλλοντα ἀναιρεῖσθαι ὑπ’ αὐτῶν ἐπιστὰς σὺν τῷ στρατεύματι ἐξειλάμην μαθὼν ὅτι Ῥωμαῖός ἐστιν

²⁷This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him when I came with my troops to rescue him. For I had learned that he is a Roman citizen,

²⁸βουλόμενός τε ἐπιγνῶναι τὴν αἰτίαν δι’ ἣν ἐνεκάλουν αὐτῷ κατήγαγον εἰς τὸ συνέδριον αὐτῶν

²⁸and since I wanted to understand their charges against him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin.

²⁹ὃν εὗρον ἐγκαλούμενον περὶ ζητημάτων τοῦ νόμου αὐτῶν μηδὲν δὲ ἄξιον θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν ἔχοντα ἔγκλημα

²⁹I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.

³⁰Μηνυθείσης δέ μοι ἐπιβουλῆς εἰς τὸν ἄνδρα ἔσεσθαι ἐξαυτῆς ἔπεμψα πρὸς σέ παραγγείλας καὶ τοῖς κατηγόροις λέγειν τὰ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπὶ σοῦ

³⁰When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also instructed his accusers to present their case against him before you.

³¹Οἱ μὲν οὖν στρατιῶται κατὰ τὸ διατεταγμένον αὐτοῖς ἀναλαβόντες τὸν Παῦλον ἤγαγον διὰ νυκτὸς εἰς τὴν Ἀντιπατρίδα

³¹So the soldiers followed their orders and brought Paul by night to Antipatris.

³²τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον ἐάσαντες τοὺς ἱππεῖς ἀπέρχεσθαι σὺν αὐτῷ ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν

³²The next day they returned to the barracks and let the horsemen go on with him.

³³οἵτινες εἰσελθόντες εἰς τὴν Καισάρειαν καὶ ἀναδόντες τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τῷ ἡγεμόνι παρέστησαν καὶ τὸν Παῦλον αὐτῷ

³³When the horsemen arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and presented Paul to him.

³⁴Ἀναγνοὺς δὲ καὶ ἐπερωτήσας ἐκ ποίας ἐπαρχείας ἐστὶν καὶ πυθόμενος ὅτι ἀπὸ Κιλικίας

³⁴The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,

³⁵Διακούσομαί σου ἔφη Ὅταν καὶ οἱ κατήγοροί σου παραγένωνται κελεύσας ἐν τῷ πραιτωρίῳ τοῦ Ἡρῴδου φυλάσσεσθαι αὐτόν

³⁵he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s Praetorium.