Acts 22

Paul’s Defense

22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense¹ that I now² make to you.” 22:2 (When they heard³ that he was addressing⁴ them in Aramaic,⁵ they became even⁶ quieter.)⁷ Then⁸ Paul said, 22:3 “I am a Jew,⁹ born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up¹⁰ in this city, educated with strictness¹¹ under¹² Gamaliel¹³ according to the law of our ancestors,¹⁴ and was¹⁵ zealous¹⁶ for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I¹⁷ persecuted this Way¹⁸ even to the point of death,¹⁹ tying up²⁰ both men and women and putting²¹ them in prison, 22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders²² can testify about me. From them²³ I also received²⁴ letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way²⁵ to make arrests there and bring²⁶ the prisoners²⁷ to Jerusalem²⁸ to be punished. 22:6 As²⁹ I was en route and near Damascus,³⁰ about noon a very bright³¹ light from heaven³² suddenly flashed³³ around me. 22:7 Then I³⁴ fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 22:8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 22:9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand³⁵ the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 22:10 So I asked,³⁶ ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up³⁷ and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything³⁸ that you have been designated³⁹ to do.’ 22:11 Since I could not see because of⁴⁰ the brilliance⁴¹ of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of⁴² those who were with me. 22:12 A man named Ananias,⁴³ a devout man according to the law,⁴⁴ well spoken of by all the Jews who live there,⁴⁵ 22:13 came⁴⁶ to me and stood beside me⁴⁷ and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’⁴⁸ And at that very moment⁴⁹ I looked up and saw him.⁵⁰ 22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors⁵¹ has already chosen⁵² you to know his will, to see⁵³ the Righteous One,⁵⁴ and to hear a command⁵⁵ from his mouth, 22:15 because you will be his witness⁵⁶ to all people⁵⁷ of what you have seen and heard. 22:16 And now what are you waiting for?⁵⁸ Get up,⁵⁹ be baptized, and have your sins washed away,⁶⁰ calling on his name.’⁶¹ 22:17 When⁶² I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance⁶³ 22:18 and saw the Lord⁶⁴ saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 22:19 I replied,⁶⁵ ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues⁶⁶ who believed in you. 22:20 And when the blood of your witness⁶⁷ Stephen was shed,⁶⁸ I myself was standing nearby, approving,⁶⁹ and guarding the cloaks⁷⁰ of those who were killing him.’⁷¹ 22:21 Then⁷² he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

The Roman Commander Questions Paul

22:22 The crowd⁷³ was listening to him until he said this.⁷⁴ Then⁷⁵ they raised their voices and shouted,⁷⁶ “Away with this man⁷⁷ from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!”⁷⁸ 22:23 While they were screaming⁷⁹ and throwing off their cloaks⁸⁰ and tossing dust⁸¹ in the air, 22:24 the commanding officer⁸² ordered Paul⁸³ to be brought back into the barracks.⁸⁴ He told them⁸⁵ to interrogate Paul⁸⁶ by beating him with a lash⁸⁷ so that he could find out the reason the crowd⁸⁸ was shouting at Paul⁸⁹ in this way. 22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash,⁹⁰ Paul said to the centurion⁹¹ standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen⁹² without a proper trial?”⁹³ 22:26 When the centurion⁹⁴ heard this,⁹⁵ he went to the commanding officer⁹⁶ and reported it,⁹⁷ saying, “What are you about to do?⁹⁸ For this man is a Roman citizen.”⁹⁹ 22:27 So the commanding officer¹⁰⁰ came and asked¹⁰¹ Paul,¹⁰² “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”¹⁰³ He replied,¹⁰⁴ “Yes.” 22:28 The commanding officer¹⁰⁵ answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.”¹⁰⁶ “But I was even¹⁰⁷ born a citizen,”¹⁰⁸ Paul replied.¹⁰⁹ 22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away¹¹⁰ from him, and the commanding officer¹¹¹ was frightened when he realized that Paul¹¹² was¹¹³ a Roman citizen¹¹⁴ and that he had had him tied up.¹¹⁵

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer¹¹⁶ wanted to know the true reason¹¹⁷ Paul¹¹⁸ was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council¹¹⁹ to assemble. He then brought¹²⁰ Paul down and had him stand before them.

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