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Acts 22:22-29
New King James Version
Acts 22:22-29
New King James Version
Paul’s Roman Citizenship
22 And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, (A)“Away with such a fellow from the earth, for (B)he is not fit to live!” 23 Then, as they cried out and [a]tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. 25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, (C)“Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”
26 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.”
27 Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”
He said, “Yes.”
28 The commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.”
And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”
29 Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
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- Acts 22:23 Lit. threw
Acts 22:22-29
New International Version
Acts 22:22-29
New International Version
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!(A) He’s not fit to live!”(B)
23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks(C) and flinging dust into the air,(D) 24 the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.(E) He directed(F) 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?”(G)
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(H) withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen,(I) in chains.(J)
Acts 22:22-29
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Acts 22:22-29
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul and the Roman Tribune
22 Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and tossing dust into the air,(A) 24 the tribune directed that he was to be brought into the barracks and ordered him to be examined by flogging, to find out the reason for this outcry against him. 25 But when they had tied him up with straps,[a] Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman person who is uncondemned?”(B) 26 When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? This man is a Roman.” 27 The tribune came and asked Paul,[b] “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “It cost me a large sum of money to get my citizenship.” Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.” 29 Immediately those who were about to examine him drew back from him, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman and that he had bound him.
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Acts 22:22-29
New Century Version
Acts 22:22-29
New Century Version
22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they began shouting, “Get rid of him! He doesn’t deserve to live!” 23 They shouted, threw off their coats,[a] and threw dust into the air.[b]
24 Then the commander ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the army building and beat him. He wanted to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this. 25 But as the soldiers were tying him up, preparing to beat him, Paul said to an officer nearby, “Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen[c] who has not been proven guilty?”
26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. The officer said, “Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander came to Paul and said, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?”
He answered, “Yes.”
28 The commander said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”
But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.”
29 The men who were preparing to question Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was frightened because he had already tied Paul, and Paul was a Roman citizen.
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Acts 22:22-29
Amplified Bible
Acts 22:22-29
Amplified Bible
22 They listened to Paul until [he made] this [last] statement, but now they raised their voices and shouted, “Away with such a man from the earth! He is not fit to live!” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their coats [getting ready to stone Paul] and tossing dust into the air [expressing their anger], 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he was to be [a]interrogated with a whip in order to learn why the people were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they had stretched him out [b]with the leather straps [in preparation for the whip], Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned [without a trial]?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and said to him, “What are you about to do? This man is a [c]Roman!” 27 So the commander came and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The commander replied, “I [d]purchased this citizenship [of mine] for a large sum of money [so how did you acquire yours?].” Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 So those who were about to interrogate him by torture immediately let him go; and the commander was also afraid when he realized that Paul was a Roman and he had put him in chains.
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- Acts 22:24 This was standard practice with slaves or others of no social standing under Roman rule. The thinking was that such people did not have the integrity to tell the truth, and had to be tortured to drag the truth out of them.
- Acts 22:25 Or for the whip.
- Acts 22:26 Death was the punishment for someone falsely claiming to be a Roman.
- Acts 22:28 Messalina (third wife of Emperor Claudius) was said to have illegally “sold” Roman citizenships at high prices; however, there were also legitimate ways to obtain citizenship.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New Century Version (NCV)
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Amplified Bible (AMP) 
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.