Acts 23

Matthew^{(i) 1} Paul behelde the counsell & said: men and brethren. I haue liued in al good conscience before God vntyll thys day. ² The hye priest Ananias commaunded them that stode by, to smyte hym on the mouth. ³ Then sayde Paul to hym: God smite the thou paynted wall. Sittest thou and iudgest me after the lawe, and commaundest me to be smyten contrarye to the lawe? ⁴ And they that stode by, sayde: reuylest thou Gods hye priest? ⁵ Then sayde Paule: I wyste not brethren that he was the hye priest. For it is writen: thou shalt not cursse the ruler of thy people. ⁶ When Paule perceyued that the one part were Saduces, and the other Pharyses: he cryed oute in the counsell: Men and brethren, I am a Pharisey, the sonne of a Pharysey. Of the hope and resurreccyon from death. I am iudged. ⁷ And when he had so sayde, there arose a debate betwene the Pharyseis and the Saduces, and the multytude was deuyded: ⁸ For the Saduces saye, that there is no resurreccyon, neyther aungell, nor spirite. But the Pharyseis graunte both. ⁹ And there arose a great crye, and the Scrybes whiche were of the Phariseys parte arose and stroue, saiyng: we fynde none euyll in thys man. Thoughe a spirite or an angell haue appeared to hym, let vs not stryue agaynst God. ¹⁰ And when there arose great debate, the captayne fearynge lest Paule shoulde haue bene plucked a sundre of them, commaunded the souldyers to go doune, and to take hym from among them, and to bryng hym into the castle. ¹¹ The nyght folowynge, God stode by hym and sayed: be of good cheare Paule: for as thou haste testifyed of me in Ierusalem, so must thou beare wytnes at Rome. ¹² When daye was come, certayne of the Iewes gathered them selues together, & made a vowe, saiynge, that they woulde neyther eate nor drynke, tyll they had kylled Paul. ¹³ They were about .xl. which had made thus conspiracyon. ¹⁴ And they came to the chiefe priestes and elders, and sayde: we haue bounde our selues with a vowe, that we wyll eate nothynge vntyll we haue slayne Paule. ¹⁵ Nowe therfore geue ye knoweledge to the vpper captayne & to the counsell, that he brynge hym forthe vnto vs to morowe as thoughe we woulde knowe some thynge more perfectlye of hym: But we, or euer he come neare, are readye in the meane season to kyll hym. ¹⁶ When Paules systers sonne heard of theyr laiyng awayt: he went & entred into the castle, and tolde Paul. ¹⁷ And Paul called one of the vnder captaynes to hym, and sayde: brynge thys yongemen to the hye captayne, for he hathe a certayne thinge to shewe hym. ¹⁸ And he toke hym, & led hym to the hygh captayne, & sayde: Paul the prysoner called me vnto hym, and prayed me to brynge thys yonge man vnto the whiche hath a certayne matter to shewe the. ¹⁹ The hye captayne toke him by the hande, and wente aparte with hym oute of the way, and axed hym, what haste thou to saye vnto me? ²⁰ And he sayde: the Iewes are determyned to desyre the that thou wouldest brynge forthe Paule to morowe into the counsell, as though they woulde enquyre some what of him more perfectely. ²¹ But folowe not theyr myndes: for there lye in wayte for hym of them, moo then .xl. men, which haue bounde them selues with a vowe, that they wyll neyther eate nor drinke tyll they haue kylled hym. And now are they readye, and loke for thy promes. ²² The vpper captayne let the yonge man departe, & charged hym: se thou tel it out to no man that thou hast shewed these thynges to me. ²³ And he called vnto hym two vnder captaynes, saiynge: make readye two hundred souldyers to go to Cesarea, and horsmen thre score and ten, and speare men two hondred at the thyrde houre of the nyght. ²⁴ And delyuer them beastes that they may put Paule on, and bryng hym safe vnto Felix the hye debitie, ²⁵ and wrote a letter in thys maner. ²⁶ Claudius Lisias to the moste myghtye rular Felix sendeth gretynges. ²⁷ Thys man was taken of the Iewes, and shoulde haue ben kylled of them. Then came I with souldiers and reserued hym, and perceyued that he was a Romayne. ²⁸ And when I woulde haue knowen the cause, wherfor they accused him, I brought hym forth into theyr counsell: ²⁹ there perceyued I that he was accused of questyons of theyr lawe: but was not gyltye of any thynge worthy of death or of boundes. ³⁰ Afterward when it was shewed me, how that the Iewes layde wayte for the man, I sent him strayght waye to the, and gaue commaundement to hys accusars, yf they had oughte agaynste hym to tell it vnto the. Fare well. ³¹ Then the souldyours as it was commaunded them, toke Paule and broughte hym by nyght to Antipatras. ³² On the morowe they lefte the horsmen to go with hym and returned vnto the castle. ³³ Whiche when they came to Cesarea, they delyuered the Epistle to the debitie, and presented Paul before hym. ³⁴ When the debitie had redde the letter, he axed of what countreye he was: and when he vnderstode that he was of Cicill, ³⁵ I wyll heare the (sayde he) when thyne accusars are come also: and commaunded hym to be kepte in Herodes Pallayce.