1And as Pavlos beheld their gathering, he said, “Men, my brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before Elohim until this day.” 2And the Kohen, Khanan-Yah, commanded those who stood by his side to strike Pavlos on the mouth. 3Then Pavlos said to him, “Elohim shall smite you, O you hypocrite; for you sit to judge me according to the Torah, yet you yourself transgress the Torah, when you command that I be smitten.” 4And those who stood by said to him, “Do you even revile the Kohen of Elohim?” 5Then Pavlos said to them, “Brothers, I did not know that he was a Kohen; for it is written, ‘You shall not revile the ruler of your people.’”
6Now when Pavlos perceived that part of the people were Tzedokim and the others were P’rushim, he cried out in the assembly, “Men, my brethren, I am a Parush, the son of a Parush; and it is because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am here to be judged.” 7And when he had said this, there arose a dissension between the P’rushim and the Tzedokim; and the people were divided. 8For the Tzedokim say there is no resurrection, neither Malakhim, nor a spirit; but the P’rushim confess these. 9Then there arose a great cry; and the Sofrim that were of the party of the P’rushim rose up and argued, saying, “We find no fault with this man; and if a spirit or a Malakh has spoken to him, what is there in that?” 10And because there was a great disturbance among them, the chief captain, fearing that they might tear Pavlos to pieces, sent Roman soldiers to go and seize him from among them and bring him into the castle. 11During the night, Adoneinu appeared to Pavlos and said, “Be strong, for as you have testified concerning me at Yerushalayim, so also you are to testify at Rome.”
12And when it was morning, certain of the Y’hudim banded together and bound themselves under oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Pavlos. 13And those who had sworn to this conspiracy were more than forty persons. 14And they went to the Kohanim and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under an oath not to taste anything until we have killed Pavlos. 15Now you and the leaders of the council ask the captain to bring him to you, as though you were desirous to have a thorough investigation of his acts, and we are ready to kill him before he shall arrive here.” 16When Sha’ul’s sister’s son heard this plot, he went into the castle and told Pavlos. 17Then Pavlos sent for and called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the captain, for he has something to tell him.” 18So the centurion took the young man and brought him to the chief captain and said, “Pavlos, the prisoner, called me and begged me to bring this young man to you, for he has something to tell you.” 19Then the captain took the young man by his hand, and drew him aside and asked him, “What have you to tell me?” 20And the young man said to him, “The Y’hudim have decided to ask you to bring Pavlos down tomorrow to their council, as though they were desirous to learn something more from him. 21You must not listen to them; for behold, more than forty of them who have bound themselves with an oath neither to eat nor to drink until they have killed him, are lying in wait for him; and behold they are ready and awaiting your reply.” 22Then the captain dismissed the young man and charged him, “Let no man know that you have informed me of these things.” 23And he called to him two centurions and said, “Go and make ready two hundred Roman soldiers to go to Keysarya, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, to leave at the third hour of the night. 24And provide also an animal that they may set Pavlos on and carry him safe to Felix the governor.” 25And he wrote a letter after this manner and gave it to them: 26“Claudius Lysias to the most excellent governor Felix, greetings: 27this man was seized by the Y’hudim who intended to kill him, but I intervened with Roman soldiers and rescued him, when I understood he was a Roman citizen. 28And because I wanted to know the cause for which they accused him, I took him down to their council. 29And I found that only concerning questions of their Torah was he accused, and that he had done nothing worthy of bonds or of death. 30And when I was informed that the Y’hudim had plotted secretly against him, I immediately sent him to you, and I have ordered his accusers to go and contend with him before you. Farewell.” 31Then the Roman soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Pavlos and brought him by night to the city of Antipatris. 32And the next day the horsemen dismissed the footmen so that they might return to the castle; 33and they brought him to Keysarya, and delivered the letter to the governor, and also presented Pavlos before him. 34And when the governor had read the letter, he asked Pavlos of what province he was. And when he learned that he was of Cilicia, 35he said to him, “I will give you an audience when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be kept in the Praetorium of Herodus.
Coming Soon! We are working daily on translating the remainder of the Brit Khadashah from Aramaic to Hebrew. Check back soon for this chapter’s Hebrew version!
D'var יהוה , The Word of יהוה 