Acts 23:1-11
23:1 Paul looked directly at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God to this day.”
23:2 At that the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.
23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law you order me to be struck?”
23:4 Those standing near him said, “Do you dare insult God’s high priest?”
23:5 Paul replied, “I did not realize, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’”
23:6 Then when Paul noticed that part of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, he shouted out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead!”
23:7 When he said this, an argument began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.
23:8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)
23:9 There was a great commotion, and some experts in the law from the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested strongly, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
23:10 When the argument became so great the commanding officer feared that they would tear Paul to pieces, he ordered the detachment to go down, take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks.
23:11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Have courage, for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
Acts 24:10-16
Paul’s Defense Before Felix
24:10 When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense.
24:11 As you can verify for yourself, not more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
24:12 They did not find me arguing with anyone or stirring up a crowd in the temple courts or in the synagogues or throughout the city,
24:13 nor can they prove to you the things they are accusing me of doing.
24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship the God of our ancestors according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law and that is written in the prophets.
24:15 I have a hope in God (a hope that these men themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.
24:16 This is the reason I do my best to always have a clear conscience toward God and toward people.
Acts 25:8
25:8 Paul said in his defense,
“I have committed no offense
against the Jewish law
or against the temple or against Caesar.”
Acts 25:10
25:10 Paul replied,
“I am standing before Caesar’s
judgment seat,
where I should be tried.
I have done nothing wrong
to the Jews, as you also know very well.
Genesis 40:15
40:15 for I really was kidnapped
from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”