11 And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them who 12 were with me, I came into Damascus : And

one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good character among all the 13 Jews who dwelt there, came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up 14 upon him. And he said, The God of our

fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldst know his will, and see that Just One, and 15 shouldst hear the voice of his mouth. For

thou shalt be his witness unto all men, of 16 what thou hast seen and heard. And now, what wouldst thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name 17 of the Lord. And it came to pass, that when

I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I 18 prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; and saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and go quickly out of Jerusalem for they will not 19 receive thy testimony concerning me.

And

I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them who be20 lieved on thee. And when the blood of the

martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept 21 the raiment of them who slew him. And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.

22

And they listened to him until this declaration, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth for it 23 is not fit that he should live. And as they cried

out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust 24 into the air,* the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and ordered that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know for what cause they cried so 25 against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a Roman 26 citizen uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this 27 man is a Roman. Then the chief captain†

:

came and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a 28 Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum I obtained this freedom. And Paul said, I was born free. 29 Then they who would have examined him immediately left him and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a 30 Roman, because he had bound him. On the next day, because he would know the certainty why he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all the Sanhedrim to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.

*The Jews could not endure the idea that Gentiles were to share in the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom. They were not only bigotted, but greatly mistaken in their interpretation of the prophecies respecting Christ.

† Or tribune The Romans then gave laws to the Jews, and their officers and armies were stationed in various parts of Judea.

The chief priest and other ecclesiastical characters constituted a court, called the Sanhedrim.

1

CHAP. XXIII.

AND Paul looking attentively on the Sanhedrim, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God, until 2 this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them who stood by him, to smite 3 him on the mouth. Then Paul said unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall † Dost thou sit to judge me according to law, and yet contrary to law dost command me to 4 be smitten? And they that stood by said, 5 Revilest thou God's high priest? Then said Paul, I knew not, brethren, that he was the high priest for it is written, Thou shalt not 6 speak evil of the ruler of thy people. Now when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee for the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. 7 And when he had so said, there was a dissention between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: For the,

8 and the multitude was divided.

* Paul appears to have been sincere and concientious," even while he opposed Christianity. He says, he thought he was doing God service. He probably believed Jesus to be an Impostor. His error and fault lay in not examining more impartially as to the character and miracles of Christ.

Is it not probable Paul had reference here to the remark of Christ, who likened the Pharisees to whited sepulchres ?

Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees 9 confess both. And there was a great clamour: and the scribes who were of the sect of the Pharisees arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. 10 And when the contention became very great, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the 11 castle. And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast testified of me at Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome, And when it was day, some of the Jews combined together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying, that they would neither eat 13 nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they

12

were more than forty who had made this 14 conspiracy. And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat 15 nothing until we have slain Paul. Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain, that he bring him down unto you to-morrow, as though ye would inquire something more perfectly concerning him; and before he comes near, we will prepare to 16 kill him. And when Paul's sister's son heard

*See Mat. xxii. 23, where the same account is given of the Sadducees.

of their conspiracy, he went and entered into 17 the castle, and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain; 18 for he hath something to tell him. So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and asked me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto 19 thee. Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went aside privately, and asked him, 20 What is it thou hast to tell me? And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee, that thou wouldst bring down Paul to-morrow into the council, as though they would inquire 21 something of him more particularly. But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him more than forty of them, who have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink, till they have killed him : and now they are ready, expecting a promise 22 from thee.* Then the chief captain let the young man depart, and charged him, saying, Tell no man that thou hast shewed these things

23

to me.

And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Cæsarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third 24 hour of the night; and provide them beasts that they may set Paul on, and bring him

* That is, a promise to bring down Paul.