Study Desk

They were especially sad because he had said that they would never see him again. And so they went with him to the ship.

There we found a ship that was going to Phoenicia, so we went aboard and sailed away.

We could not convince him, so we gave up and said, "May the Lord's will be done."

So Paul took the men and the next day performed the ceremony of purification with them. Then he went into the Temple and gave notice of how many days it would be until the end of the period of purification, when a sacrifice would be offered for each one of them.

Some in the crowd shouted one thing, others something else. There was such confusion that the commander could not find out exactly what had happened, so he ordered his men to take Paul up into the fort.

They got as far as the steps with him, and then the soldiers had to carry him because the mob was so wild.

The commander gave him permission, so Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand for the people to be silent. When they were quiet, Paul spoke to them in Hebrew:

The High Priest and the whole Council can prove that I am telling the truth. I received from them letters written to fellow Jews in Damascus, so I went there to arrest these people and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem to be punished.

I was blind because of the bright light, and so my companions took me by the hand and led me into Damascus.

So the commander went to Paul and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," answered Paul.

The commander wanted to find out for sure what the Jews were accusing Paul of; so the next day he had Paul's chains taken off and ordered the chief priests and the whole Council to meet. Then he took Paul and made him stand before them.

The argument became so violent that the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces. So he ordered his soldiers to go down into the group, get Paul away from them, and take him into the fort.

But the son of Paul's sister heard about the plot; so he went to the fort and told Paul.

The Jews seized this man and were about to kill him. I learned that he is a Roman citizen, so I went with my soldiers and rescued him.

I wanted to know what they were accusing him of, so I took him down to their Council.

I do not want to take up too much of your time, however, so I beg you to be kind and listen to our brief account.

The governor then motioned to Paul to speak, and Paul said, "I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, and so I am happy to defend myself before you.

And so I do my best always to have a clear conscience before God and people.

After two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix as governor. Felix wanted to gain favor with the Jews so he left Paul in prison.

But Festus wanted to gain favor with the Jews, so he asked Paul, "Would you be willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried on these charges before me there?"