1. Paul, looking intently at the Sanhedrin, said, “Brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience for God up to this day.”
2. But the kohen gadol Ananias ordered those standing by him to strike him on the mouth.
3. Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you on the mouth, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit judging me according to the Torah, and yet in violation of the Torah you order me to be struck?”
4. Those standing nearby said, “Do you insult God’s kohen gadol ?”
5. Paul said, “I didn’t know, brothers, that he is the kohen gadol . For it has been written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
6. But recognizing that one group was Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!”
7. When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.