Paul’s Defense before the Jews

22 (A)[a]Brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

And when they heard that he was addressing them in the [b](B)Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

(C)I am (D)a Jew, born in (E)Tarsus of (F)Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated [c]under (G)Gamaliel, [d](H)strictly according to the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as (I)you all are today. (J)I persecuted this (K)Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, as also (L)the high priest and all (M)the Council of the elders [e]can testify. From them I also (N)received letters to (O)the brothers, and started off for (P)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem [f]as prisoners to be punished.

(Q)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus at about noon, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am (R)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ And those who were with me (S)saw the light, but (T)did not [g]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘(U)What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that has been appointed for you to do.’ 11 But since I (V)could not see because of the [h]brightness of that light, I came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.

12 “Now a certain (W)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law and (X)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing nearby he said to me, ‘(Y)Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And [i](Z)at that very moment I looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘(AA)The God of our fathers has (AB)appointed you to know His will and to (AC)see the (AD)Righteous One and to hear a [j]message from His mouth. 15 For you will be (AE)a witness for Him to all people of (AF)what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you delay? (AG)Get up and be baptized, and (AH)wash away your sins by (AI)calling on His name.’

17 “It happened when I (AJ)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I (AK)fell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, (AL)Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another (AM)I used to imprison and (AN)beat those who believed in You. 20 And (AO)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away (AP)to the Gentiles.’

22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “(AQ)Away with such a man from the earth, for (AR)he should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were shouting and (AS)throwing off their cloaks and (AT)tossing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that he be brought into (AU)the barracks, saying that he was to be (AV)interrogated by flogging so that he would find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out [k]with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it [l]lawful for you to flog (AW)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The commander came and said to [m]Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore, those who were about to (AX)interrogate him immediately backed away from him; and the commander also (AY)was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had [n](AZ)put him in chains.

30 Now on the next day, (BA)wanting to know for certain why Paul had been accused by the Jews, he (BB)released him and ordered the chief priests and all (BC)the [o]Council to assemble, and he brought Paul down and placed him before them.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 22:1 Lit Men, brothers
  2. Acts 22:2 I.e., Jewish Aramaic
  3. Acts 22:3 Lit at the feet of
  4. Acts 22:3 Lit according to the strictness of the ancestral law
  5. Acts 22:5 Lit testifies for me
  6. Acts 22:5 Lit having been bound
  7. Acts 22:9 Or hear (with comprehension)
  8. Acts 22:11 Lit glory
  9. Acts 22:13 Or instantly; lit at the very hour
  10. Acts 22:14 Lit voice
  11. Acts 22:25 Or for the whip
  12. Acts 22:25 Interrogation by torture was a procedure used with slaves
  13. Acts 22:27 Lit him
  14. Acts 22:29 Lit bound him
  15. Acts 22:30 Or Sanhedrin

22 “Brothers and fathers,(A) listen now to my defense.”

When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,(B) they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: “I am a Jew,(C) born in Tarsus(D) of Cilicia,(E) but brought up in this city. I studied under(F) Gamaliel(G) and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors.(H) I was just as zealous(I) for God as any of you are today. I persecuted(J) the followers of this Way(K) to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,(L) as the high priest and all the Council(M) can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates(N) in Damascus,(O) and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.(P) I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,(Q) whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light,(R) but they did not understand the voice(S) of him who was speaking to me.

10 “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’(T) 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.(U)

12 “A man named Ananias came to see me.(V) He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.(W) 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors(X) has chosen you to know his will and to see(Y) the Righteous One(Z) and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness(AA) to all people of what you have seen(AB) and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized(AC) and wash your sins away,(AD) calling on his name.’(AE)

17 “When I returned to Jerusalem(AF) and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance(AG) 18 and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’

19 “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison(AH) and beat(AI) those who believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr[a] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’(AJ)

21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ (AK)

Paul the Roman Citizen

22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him!(AL) He’s not fit to live!”(AM)

23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks(AN) and flinging dust into the air,(AO) 24 the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.(AP) He directed(AQ) that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”(AR)

26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

29 Those who were about to interrogate him(AS) withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen,(AT) in chains.(AU)

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

30 The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews.(AV) So the next day he released him(AW) and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin(AX) to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 22:20 Or witness