Acts 23:7-17

⁷When he said this, an argument began between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the crowd was divided.

⁸For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, no angels, and no spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge all of them.

⁹So a large uproar occurred, and some of the scribes belonging to the Pharisees stood up and argued, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

¹⁰When there arose a great argument, the chief captain feared that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, so he commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among the council members, and bring him into the fortress.

¹¹The following night the Lord stood beside him and said, “Do not be afraid, for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.”

¹²When it became day, some Jews formed a conspiracy and called a curse down upon themselves with an oath not to eat nor drink anything until they had killed Paul.

¹³There were more than forty men who formed this conspiracy.

¹⁴They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have put ourselves under a great curse, to eat nothing until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵Now, therefore, let the council tell the chief captain to bring him down to you, as if you would decide his case more precisely. As for us, we are ready to kill him before he comes here.”

¹⁶But Paul's sister's son heard that they were lying in wait, so he went and entered the fortress and told Paul.

¹⁷Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the chief captain, for he has something to tell him.”