But I say to you that every person who is angry toward his brother will be subject to judgment; and whoever calls his brother 'stupid idiot' is subject to [being sentenced by] the [Jewish] Council, and whoever says, 'go to hell' is subject to going to the fire of hell [himself].

[Then] the Son of man came eating and drinking [at festive occasions] and they said, 'Look, He is a glutton and a drunkard and a friend of tax collectors and worldly people.' It proves that [God's] wise counsel is right by the way things turn out."

They were taking counsel together as to how they might take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.

Now the leading priests and the entire Council [called "the Sanhedrin"] looked for false witnesses [to testify] against Jesus, in order to put Him to death.

Now the leading priests and the entire Council [called the "Sanhedrin"] were looking for [false] witnesses to testify against Jesus in order to put Him to death, but did not find any.

As soon as it was morning the leading priests, along with the [Jewish] elders and experts in the law of Moses and the entire Council, held a conference. Then they tied Jesus up, led Him away and turned Him over to Pilate [the Roman governor].

Joseph, from Arimathea, a highly respected member of the [Jewish] Council, who was expecting the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate [i.e., the Roman appointed governor] and asked [him] for the body of Jesus.

It proves that [God's] wise counsel is right in the eyes of all of her children [i.e., in the eyes of people known for their wisdom]."

And when it became daylight, the body of [Jewish] elders of the people, [consisting of] both leading priests and experts in the law of Moses, was gathered together. Then they led Jesus away to their Council [called the "Sanhedrin"], and asked Him,

Then the entire group of them [i.e., of the Jewish elders, priests and law experts] got up [from their Council meeting] and took Jesus to [governor] Pilate.

And just then [there appeared] a member of the [Jewish] Council named Joseph from the city of Arimathea. He was a good man who tried to do what was right,

(and who had not agreed with the decision and action of the [Jewish] Council). He was expecting the kingdom of God [to appear soon].

So, the leading priests and the Pharisees assembled the Council [Note: This was the Jewish governing body called "the Sanhedrin"] and said, "What should we do, for this man is performing many [miraculous] signs?

But when the Council [of Jewish leaders] made Peter and John leave [the meeting], they discussed the matter among themselves,

And when the Council had threatened them some more, they [finally] released them because they could not find any reason to punish them. [Actually] they were worried about how the people felt [about the matter], since everybody was giving honor to God for the miracle that had been performed.

And when the apostles heard this, they entered the Temple about dawn and began teaching [about Jesus]. [A little later] the head priest and the Sadducees [see verse 17] called the Council [i.e., the Sanhedrin] and all of the ruling body of Jewish leaders together and sent to the jail to have the apostles brought in to them [for further questioning].

But when the officers arrived at the jail the apostles were gone, so they returned to the Council and reported,

And so they brought them in [to their headquarters] to appear before the Council [for questioning]. The head priest spoke to them, [saying],

But [then] Gamaliel, a Council member, who was a Pharisee [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion], and an expert in the law of Moses and highly regarded by all the people, stood up and ordered the apostles to step outside [of the Council meeting] briefly.

And he said [to the Council members], "Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these men.

And so the Council agreed [with Gamaliel's advice] and when they called the apostles back in, they had them beaten and ordered them never to speak in the name of Jesus [again]; then they released them.

When the apostles left the Council meeting, they were rejoicing over being considered worthy to suffer [such] shame for the name [of Jesus].

And they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law of Moses and searched for him, seized him and brought him before the Council.

Then, as all the Council members stared at Stephen, his face appeared to them like an angel's.

Now when the Council members heard these things they were enraged and ground their teeth at him.

But the next day the commander released Paul [from the chains] because he wanted to know what specific charges the Jews has against him. So, he ordered the leading priests and the entire [Jewish] Council to assemble, then brought Paul down and placed him in front of them.

Paul [then] looked intently at the Council [i.e., the Jewish supreme court called the "Sanhedrin"] and spoke [in his defense]: "Brothers, I have lived before God with a good conscience all my life."

When Paul realized that part [of the Sanhedrin] were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he lifted up his voice before the Council and said, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. And it is concerning our hope that the dead will be raised that I have been brought to trial."

A loud commotion developed [in the Council meeting]. Some of the teachers of the law of Moses who belonged to the Pharisee party stood up and argued, saying, "We can find nothing wrong with this man. What if an angel or spirit did speak to him?"

And when a serious debate broke out, the commander was afraid that Paul might [virtually] be torn apart by the mob, so he ordered his soldiers to go down [to the Council meeting] and forcibly remove Paul and take him to the battalion headquarters.

Therefore, [all of] you, together with the Jewish Council, should notify the commander so that he will bring Paul [back] down to you, as though you wanted to consider his case further. Then we will be ready to kill him, [even] before he comes near [you]."

And the lad said, "The Jews have plotted to ask you to take Paul down to the Council [meeting] tomorrow, as though you were going to question him further.

So, I brought him before the Council because I wanted to know the reasons for the charges [they were] bringing against him.

Or let these men themselves [i.e., members of the Sanhedrin] testify what they found wrong with me when I stood before their Council [meeting].

Was any man already circumcised when he was called [by God to be a Christian]? Then he should not [try to] become uncircumcised. [Note: Some Jews in that day resorted to a surgical procedure in an attempt to conceal their circumcision]. Was any man uncircumcised when he was called? Then he should not become circumcised.

Brothers, I will use an illustration from the way people deal with each other: Even though an agreement is made between people, once it is finally settled, no one can cancel it or include additional provisions to it.