5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with ^qAnnas the high priest and ^rCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ^s“By what power or ^tby what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, ^ufilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today ^vconcerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that ^wby the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, ^xwhom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 ^yThis Jesus¹ is the stone that was ^zrejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.² 12 And there is ^asalvation ^bin no one else, for ^cthere is no other ^dname under heaven given among men³ by which we must be saved.”

13 ^eNow when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed ^fstanding beside them, ^gthey had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, ^h“What shall we do with these men? For that ⁱa notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them ^jto speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, ^k“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for ^lwe cannot but speak of what ^mwe have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, ⁿbecause of the people, for all were praising God ^ofor what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

12 But when Gallio was ^qproconsul of Achaia, ^rthe Jews¹ made a united attack on Paul and ^sbrought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to ^tthe law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious ^ucrime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But ^vsince it is a matter of questions about words and names and ^wyour own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal.

23 About that time ^bthere arose no little disturbance concerning ^cthe Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, ^dbrought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 ^dThese he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, ^esaying that ^fgods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the ^ggreat goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, ^g“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and ^hAristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s ⁱcompanions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs,¹ who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 ^jNow some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, ^kmotioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, ^l“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from ^mthe sky?² 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought ⁿthese men here who are neither ^osacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are ^pproconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further,³ it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

A Plot to Kill Paul

12 When it was day, ^uthe Jews made a plot and ^vbound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered ^wthe barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul ^xthe prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, ^y“The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who ^zhave bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

Paul Before Felix at Caesarea

1 And ^safter five days the high priest ^tAnanias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before ^uthe governor their case against Paul. 2 And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:

“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, ^vmost excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4 But, to detain¹ you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. 5 For we have found this man a plague, ^wone who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of ^xthe sect of the Nazarenes. 6 ^yHe even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.² 8 By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”

9 The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

10 And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. 11 You can verify that ^zit is not more than twelve days since I ^awent up ^bto worship in Jerusalem, 12 and ^cthey did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 ^dNeither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to ^ethe Way, which they call ^fa sect, ^gI worship ^hthe God of our fathers, believing everything ⁱlaid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 ^jhaving ^ka hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be ^la resurrection ^mof both the just and the unjust. 16 So I always ⁿtake pains to have a ^oclear conscience toward both God and man. 17 Now ^pafter several years ^qI came to bring alms to ^rmy nation and to present ^sofferings. 18 While I was doing this, they found me ^tpurified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But ^usome Jews from Asia— 19 ^vthey ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other than this one thing ^wthat I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”

Paul Kept in Custody

22 But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of ^xthe Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 Then he gave orders to the centurion that he ^yshould be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that ^znone of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, ^oyou should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this ^oinjury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to ^ptake heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night ^qthere ^rstood before me ^san angel of the God ^tto whom I belong and ^uwhom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; ^vyou must stand before Caesar. And behold, ^wGod has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But ^xwe must ^yrun aground on some island.”