1. Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin. "My brothers," he said, "I have always done my duty to God. To this very day I feel that I have done nothing wrong."
2. Ananias the high priest heard this. So he ordered the men standing near Paul to hit him on the mouth.
3. Then Paul said to him, "You pretender! God will hit you! You sit there and judge me by the law. But you yourself broke the law when you commanded them to hit me!"
4. Those who were standing near Paul said, "How dare you talk like that to God's high priest!"
5. Paul replied, "Brothers, I didn't realize he was the high priest. It is written, 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.' " (Exodus 22:28)
6. Paul knew that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees. So he called out in the Sanhedrin. "My brothers," he said, "I am a Pharisee. I am the son of a Pharisee. I believe that people will rise from the dead. That's why I am on trial."
7. When he said this, the Pharisees and the Sadducees started to argue. They began to take sides.
8. The Sadducees say that people will not rise from the dead. They don't believe there are angels or spirits either. But the Pharisees believe all these things.