p with straps, Paul said to the
officer who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman
citizen without trial?" When the officer heard this he reported it to
the commander and said: "Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman
citizen." Then the commander came to Paul and said, "Tell me, are you a
Roman citizen?" He said, "Yes." The commander answered, "I paid a large
sum for this citizenship"; and Paul said, "But I was born a Roman
citizen." The men who were to have examined him, at once left him. And
the commander, when he learned that Paul was a Roman citizen, was also
afraid because he had bound him.

The next day the commander, so as to find out just what charge the Jews
had made against Paul, unbound him and ordered the high priests and all
the members of the council to come together. Then they brought Paul down
and placed him before them. Paul, looking straight at the members of the
council, said: "Brothers, I have done my duty, with a clear conscience
before God, up to the present moment."

When Paul saw that some of the council were Sadducees and some
Pharisees, he cried out, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees.
It is because of my hope that the dead will live again that I am on
trial!" When he said this a quarrel arose between the Pharisees and the
Sadducees, and there was a great difference of opinion among them. For
the Sadducees say that there is no life after death, nor angel, nor
spirit; but the Pharisees believe in all these; so there was a great
uproar. Some of the scribes who belonged to the party of the Pharisees
sprang to their feet and protested, "We find this man guilty of no
crime. What if some spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" When the
uproar became so great that the commander was afraid that Paul would be
torn in pieces by them, he ordered the troops to go down and take him
from among them by force and bring him into the castle.

The next night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, "Be of good cheer,
for as you have spoken for me at Jerusalem, so you must speak also at
Rome."

Early the next morning the Jews plotted together and solemnly promised
not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul, and there were more than
forty who made this promise. They went to the high priests and elders
and said, "We have made a solemn promise to taste no food until we have
killed Paul. Now you and the council must tell the commander that you
wish him to bring Paul down to you, a