Study Desk

The next day Sha'ul took the men, purified himself along with them and entered the Temple to give notice of when the period of purification would be finished and the offering would have to be made for each of them.

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city and trained at the feet of Gamli'el in every detail of the Torah of our forefathers. I was a zealot for God, as all of you are today.

The cohen hagadol and the whole Sanhedrin can also testify to this. Indeed, after receiving letters from them to their colleagues in Dammesek, I was on my way there in order to arrest the ones in that city too and bring them back to Yerushalayim for punishment.

I said ‘What should I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up, and go into Dammesek, and there you will be told about everything that has been laid out for you to do.'

because you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.

So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, immerse yourself and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.'

But he said, ‘Get going! For I am going to send you far away — to the Goyim!'"

But as they were stretching him out with thongs to be flogged, Sha'ul said to the captain standing by, "Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and hasn't even had a trial?"

The commander replied, "I bought this citizenship for a sizeable sum of money." "But I was born to it," Sha'ul said.

Sha'ul said, "I didn't know, brothers, that he was the cohen hagadol; for it says in the Torah, ‘ You are not to speak disparagingly of a ruler of your people .'"

For the Tz'dukim deny the resurrection and the existence of angels and spirits; whereas the P'rushim acknowledge both.

The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage! For just as you have borne a faithful witness to me in Yerushalayim, so now you must bear witness in Rome."

What you are to do is make it appear to the commander that you and the Sanhedrin want to get more accurate information about Sha'ul's case, so that he will bring him down to you; while we, for our part, are prepared to kill him before he ever gets here."

But don't let yourself be talked into it, because more than forty men are lying in wait for him. They have taken an oath neither to eat nor to drink until they kill him; and they are ready now, only waiting for you to give your consent to their request."

Then he summoned two of the captains and said, "Get two hundred infantry soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o'clock tonight, and seventy mounted cavalry and two hundred spearmen;

also provide replacements for Sha'ul's horse when it gets tired; and bring him through safely to Felix the governor."

When the governor motioned for Sha'ul to speak, he replied, "I know that you have been judge over this nation for a number of years, so I am glad to make my defense.

As you can verify for yourself, it has not been more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Yerushalayim;

After some days, Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Sha'ul and listened to him as he spoke about trusting in the Messiah Yeshua.

But when Sha'ul began to discuss righteousness, self-control and the coming Judgment, Felix became frightened and said, "For the time being, go away! I will send for you when I get a chance."