使徒行传 22
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
22 “各位父老兄弟,请听我解释!” 2 在场的人听见保罗讲的是希伯来话,更加安静了。保罗说: 3 “我是犹太人,生于基利迦的大数,在耶路撒冷长大,曾在迦玛列门下严格地按着我们祖先的律法接受教育,像你们今日一样热心事奉上帝。 4 我曾经把信奉这道的男女信徒抓进监狱,迫害他们,置他们于死地。 5 大祭司和众长老都可以为我作证。我还拿着他们写给大马士革的犹太人的信去拘捕那里的信徒,押回耶路撒冷受刑。
6 “当我快到大马士革的时候,大约中午时分,突然从天上有一道强光四面照着我。 7 我就扑倒在地,听见有声音对我说,‘扫罗!扫罗!你为什么迫害我?’ 8 我回答说,‘主啊,你是谁?’他说,‘我就是你迫害的拿撒勒人耶稣!’ 9 我的同伴虽然也看见那道强光,却听不懂那位说话者的声音。 10 接着我又问,‘主啊!我该怎么办?’主说,‘起来,到大马士革去,那里会有人将指派给你的事告诉你。’
11 “那道耀眼的光照得我双眼失明,于是同行的人拉着我的手,带我进了大马士革。 12 那里有一个严守律法的虔诚人名叫亚拿尼亚,深受当地所有犹太人的尊敬。 13 他来探望我,站在我身边说,‘扫罗弟兄,重见光明吧!’就在那一刻,我抬头看见了他。 14 他又说,‘我们祖先的上帝拣选了你,要你明白祂的旨意,又让你亲自看见那位公义者、听到祂的声音。 15 因为你将做祂的见证人,把所见所闻告诉万民。 16 现在你还等什么呢?起来求告祂的名,接受洗礼,洗净你的罪。’
17 “后来,我回到耶路撒冷,在圣殿里祷告的时候,进入异象, 18 看见主对我说,‘赶快离开耶路撒冷,因为这里的人不会接受你为我做的见证。’ 19 我说,‘主啊!他们都知道我从前搜遍各会堂,逮捕、毒打信你的人。 20 当你的见证人司提凡为你流血殉道时,我自己也站在旁边赞同杀他的人,还替他们保管衣服。’ 21 主却对我说,‘去吧!我要差遣你到遥远的外族人那里。’”
因罗马公民身份而免刑
22 众人一听到这里,就高喊:“从世上除掉这样的人!他不配活着!” 23 百姓咆哮着脱掉外衣,扬起尘土。 24 千夫长下令把保罗押回营房,预备鞭打拷问他,要查出众人向他咆哮的缘由。 25 他们把保罗绑起来正要鞭打,保罗问旁边的百夫长:“未经定罪就拷打罗马公民合法吗?”
26 百夫长一听,立刻去禀告千夫长说:“你看该怎么办?这人是罗马公民。”
27 千夫长就来问保罗:“告诉我,你是罗马公民吗?”
保罗说:“是的。”
28 千夫长说:“我花了很多钱才当上罗马公民!”
保罗说:“我生来就是。”
29 那些准备拷问保罗的士兵立刻退下了。千夫长也害怕起来,因为发现保罗是罗马公民,他却下令捆绑了保罗。
保罗在公会申辩
30 第二天,千夫长想知道保罗被犹太人指控的真相,就为保罗松了绑,并招聚了祭司长和全公会的人,然后将保罗带来,让他站在众人面前。
使徒行傳 22
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
22 「各位父老兄弟,請聽我解釋!」 2 在場的人聽見保羅講的是希伯來話,更加安靜了。保羅說: 3 「我是猶太人,生於基利迦的大數,在耶路撒冷長大,曾在迦瑪列門下嚴格地按著我們祖先的律法接受教育,像你們今日一樣熱心事奉上帝。 4 我曾經把信奉這道的男女信徒抓進監獄,迫害他們,置他們於死地。 5 大祭司和眾長老都可以為我作證。我還拿著他們寫給大馬士革的猶太人的信去拘捕那裡的信徒,押回耶路撒冷受刑。
6 「當我快到大馬士革的時候,大約中午時分,突然從天上有一道強光四面照著我。 7 我就仆倒在地,聽見有聲音對我說,『掃羅!掃羅!你為什麼迫害我?』 8 我回答說,『主啊,你是誰?』他說,『我就是你迫害的拿撒勒人耶穌!』 9 我的同伴雖然也看見那道強光,卻聽不懂那位說話者的聲音。 10 接著我又問,『主啊!我該怎麼辦?』主說,『起來,到大馬士革去,那裡會有人將指派給你的事告訴你。』
11 「那道耀眼的光照得我雙眼失明,於是同行的人拉著我的手,帶我進了大馬士革。 12 那裡有一個嚴守律法的虔誠人名叫亞拿尼亞,深受當地所有猶太人的尊敬。 13 他來探望我,站在我身邊說,『掃羅弟兄,重見光明吧!』就在那一刻,我抬頭看見了他。 14 他又說,『我們祖先的上帝揀選了你,要你明白祂的旨意,又讓你親自看見那位公義者、聽到祂的聲音。 15 因為你將作祂的見證人,把所見所聞告訴萬民。 16 現在你還等什麼呢?起來求告祂的名,接受洗禮,洗淨你的罪。』
17 「後來,我回到耶路撒冷,在聖殿裡禱告的時候,進入異象, 18 看見主對我說,『趕快離開耶路撒冷,因為這裡的人不會接受你為我做的見證。』 19 我說,『主啊!他們都知道我從前搜遍各會堂,逮捕、毒打信你的人。 20 當你的見證人司提凡為你流血殉道時,我自己也站在旁邊贊同殺他的人,還替他們保管衣服。』 21 主卻對我說,『去吧!我要差遣你到遙遠的外族人那裡。』」
因羅馬公民身分而免刑
22 眾人一聽到這裡,就高喊:「從世上除掉這樣的人!他不配活著!」 23 百姓咆哮著脫掉外衣,揚起塵土。 24 千夫長下令把保羅押回營房,預備鞭打拷問他,要查出眾人向他咆哮的緣由。 25 他們把保羅綁起來正要鞭打,保羅問旁邊的百夫長:「未經定罪就拷打羅馬公民合法嗎?」
26 百夫長一聽,立刻去稟告千夫長說:「你看該怎麼辦?這人是羅馬公民。」
27 千夫長就來問保羅:「告訴我,你是羅馬公民嗎?」
保羅說:「是的。」
28 千夫長說:「我花了很多錢才當上羅馬公民!」
保羅說:「我生來就是。」
29 那些準備拷問保羅的士兵立刻退下了。千夫長也害怕起來,因為發現保羅是羅馬公民,他卻下令捆綁了保羅。
保羅在公會申辯
30 第二天,千夫長想知道保羅被猶太人指控的真相,就為保羅鬆了綁,並召聚了祭司長和全公會的人,然後將保羅帶來,讓他站在眾人面前。
Acts 22
EasyEnglish Bible
Paul speaks to the crowd in Jerusalem
22 Paul said to the crowd, ‘Please, listen to me, you Jewish leaders and all you other people who are Jews like me. I want to explain to you what has happened here.’
2 The crowd heard Paul speaking to them in their own Hebrew language. So they became really quiet.
Paul continued to speak. He said, 3 ‘I am a Jew. I was born in Tarsus in the region of Cilicia. I lived here in Jerusalem when I was a boy. I studied God's Law for many years and Gamaliel was my teacher.[a] I learned very well how to obey the laws of our ancestors. I tried to obey God as carefully as all of you do today.
4 I caused great trouble to the disciples of Jesus. I even wanted to kill them. I took hold of them and I put them in prison. I did that to both men and women. 5 The most important priest and all the group of Jewish leaders can tell you that this is true. They gave me letters for the Jewish leaders in Damascus. So I travelled to Damascus to take hold of the believers in that city. I wanted to tie them up and bring them back to Jerusalem. Then the leaders here could punish them.’
Paul tells the crowd how he began to believe in Jesus
6 Paul continued to say, ‘As I was travelling, I came near to Damascus. About midday, a bright light from the sky suddenly shone round me. 7 I fell down to the ground. Then I heard a voice that said to me, “Saul, Saul, why do you fight against me?”
8 “Lord, who are you?” I asked.
He said to me, “I am Jesus from Nazareth. And you are fighting against me.” 9 The men who travelled with me saw the light. But they did not understand the voice that spoke to me.
10 I asked, “Lord, what must I do?” He said to me, “Get up now and go into Damascus. When you arrive in the city, someone will come to you. He will tell you what God wants you to do.” 11 The bright light hurt my eyes so that I could not see. So the men who were with me held my hand. They led me into Damascus.
12 In Damascus, there was a man called Ananias. He worshipped God and he obeyed our Law. All the Jews in Damascus said good things about him. 13 Ananias came to see me. He stood near to me and he said, “Brother Saul, see again!” Then immediately I could see again. I could look at him.
14 Then Ananias said to me, “The God that we worship and our ancestors worshipped has chosen you. He will tell you what he wants you to do. God has let you see his special servant, who is completely good. You have heard this servant's message to you. 15 You will tell people everywhere about the things that you have seen and heard. That is what God wants you to do. 16 So now you do not need to wait any longer. Stand up and I will baptize you. Believe in the Lord Jesus so that God will forgive you for your sins.”
17 So then I returned to Jerusalem. I went into the temple and I was praying there. I had a vision. 18 In the vision, I saw the Lord and he spoke to me. He said, “Hurry. Leave Jerusalem quickly. The people here will not believe what you say to them about me.”
19 I replied, “Lord, the people here know what I have been doing. They know that I wanted to take hold of all the people who believed in you. I went to all our Jewish meeting places to look for the believers. When I found them, I put them in prison and I hit them with sticks. 20 I myself was there when the people killed Stephen. He was your servant who told people your message. But I agreed that it was right to kill him. I even held the coats of the people while they killed him.”
21 But the Lord said to me, “Go! I will now send you a long way away. You must go to the Gentiles and tell them my message.” ’
The people in the crowd become very angry with Paul
22 The people listened carefully to Paul until he spoke about the Gentiles. Then they began to shout loudly, ‘Take him away! Kill him! It is not right that he should live any longer!’
23 While they were shouting this, they were taking off their coats. They also threw dirt from the ground up into the air.[b]
24 The leader of the soldiers said to his men, ‘Take this man into our building. Then hit him with whips. We must find out what he has done. He must tell us why the Jews are shouting so loudly against him.’[c]
25 So the soldiers tied Paul's arms and they were ready to hit him. But Paul spoke to the soldiers' officer who stood near to him. He said, ‘I am a citizen of Rome. So it is not right for you to hit me like that. No judge has agreed that I have done anything wrong.’
26 The officer heard what Paul said. So he went to the leader of the soldiers and he said, ‘That man is a citizen of Rome! Be careful what you do to him!’
27 So the soldiers' leader went to speak to Paul. He asked him, ‘Tell me. Are you really a citizen of Rome?’
Paul answered, ‘Yes, I am.’
28 The soldiers' leader said, ‘I paid a lot of money to the government so that I could become a citizen of Rome.’
Paul replied, ‘But I was already a citizen of Rome when I was born.’
29 Immediately, the men who wanted to hit Paul with whips moved away from him. The leader of the soldiers was also very afraid. He had tied chains around Paul's arms and legs. He knew that he should not have done that to a citizen of Rome.[d]
30 The soldiers' leader wanted to find the reason why the Jews had said bad things against Paul. He wanted to know what was really true. So the next day, he told his soldiers to remove the chains from Paul. He sent a message to the most important priest and to all the group of Jewish leaders. He told them to meet together with him. Then he took Paul to their meeting. He made Paul stand in front of them.
Footnotes
- 22:3 Gamaliel was a Pharisee. He taught Jewish boys and young men about God's Law. He was a very good teacher.
- 22:23 The Jews did this when someone had said bad things about God. They thought that Paul had done that, so they were very angry.
- 22:24 The soldiers would hit a person so that he would give them a true answer. A whip was a stick with long pieces of strong material fixed at one end.
- 22:29 The leader of the soldiers could hold a citizen of Rome in prison. But he should not put chains on the arms and legs of the citizen.
Acts 22
Expanded Bible
Paul Speaks to the People
22 Paul said, “[L Men,] Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense to you.” 2 When they heard him ·speaking [addressing them in] the Hebrew [or Aramaic; 21:40] language, they became ·very [even more] quiet. Paul said, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus [9:11] in the ·country [province] of Cilicia [6:9], but I ·grew up [was brought up; or was educated] in this city [C Jerusalem]. I was ·a student of [L instructed at the feet of; C idiom indicating the role of a disciple] Gamaliel [C a famous teacher of the Pharisees; 5:34], who ·carefully [or strictly] taught me everything about the law of our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers]. I was ·very serious about serving [L zealous/passionate for] God, just as are all of you here today. 4 I persecuted the people who followed ·the Way of Jesus [L this Way; C another name for the Christian movement; 9:2; 18:25; 19:23], ·and some of them were even killed [L up to the point of death; 7:60]. I ·arrested [L bound] men and women and put them in jail. 5 The high priest and the whole council of elders can ·tell you this is true [testify about me]. They gave me letters to the brothers [C their fellow Jewish leaders] in Damascus. So I was going there to ·arrest [L bind] these people and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “About noon when I came near Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly ·flashed [shone] all around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ ·The voice [L He] said, ‘I am Jesus ·of Nazareth [or the Nazarene] whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Those who were with me did not ·understand [or hear; C the word can mean either “hear” or “understand,” but 9:7 suggests the latter] the voice [L that was speaking to me], but they saw the light. 10 I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘Get up and go to Damascus. There you will be told about all the things ·I have planned [or assigned; appointed] for you to do.’ 11 I could not see, because ·the bright light had made me blind [L of the glory/brilliance of that light]. So ·my companions [L those with me] led me [L by the hand] into Damascus.
12 “There a man named Ananias came to me. He was a ·religious [devout; God-fearing] man; ·he obeyed the law of Moses [L …according to the law], and all the Jews who lived there ·respected [spoke well of] him. 13 He [L came to me and] stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, ·see again [L look up; C an idiom for regaining sight]!’ ·Immediately [L At that hour] I ·was able to see [L looked up at] him. 14 He said, ‘The God of our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers] ·chose [appointed] you long ago to know his ·plan [will; purpose], to see the Righteous One [C Jesus], and to hear ·words [a divine message; L a voice] from ·him [L his mouth]. 15 You will be his witness to all people, telling them about what you have seen and heard. 16 Now, ·why wait any longer [what are you waiting for]? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, ·trusting in him to save you [L calling on his name].’
17 “Later, when I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple, and I ·saw a vision [or fell into a trance]. 18 I saw ·the Lord [L him] saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem ·now [or quickly]! The people here will not accept ·the truth [L your testimony/witness] about me.’ 19 But I said, ‘Lord, they [L themselves; very well] know that in every synagogue I put ·the believers [L those who believe in you] in jail and beat them. 20 They also know I was there when Stephen, your ·witness [or martyr], ·was killed [L had his blood shed]. I [myself; indeed] stood there agreeing and ·holding [guarding; keeping] the coats of those who were killing him!’ 21 But the Lord said to me, ‘·Leave now [Go!]. I will send you far away to the ·other nations [Gentiles].’”
22 ·The crowd [L They] listened to ·Paul [him] until he said ·this [L this word]. Then they ·began shouting [L raised their voice saying], “·Get rid of him [Kill him; L Remove this one from the earth]! He doesn’t deserve to live!” 23 They ·shouted [yelled; screamed], threw off their coats, and threw dust into the air [C demonstrations of anger and disgust].
24 Then the ·commander [tribune] ordered the soldiers to take ·Paul [L him] into the ·army building [barracks] and ·beat him [L question him by whipping/flogging]. ·He wanted [L …in order] to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this [C flogging was commonly used to gain information]. 25 But as the soldiers were ·tying him up [or stretching him out (on the posts)], preparing to ·beat [whip; flog] him, Paul said to an officer nearby, “Do you have the right to ·beat [whip; flog] a Roman citizen who ·has not been proven guilty [L is uncondemned; C this was against Roman law]?”
26 When the ·officer [L centurion; 21:32] heard this, he went to the ·commander [tribune] and reported it. The officer said, “·Do you know what you are doing [or What are you about to do]? This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The ·commander [tribune] came to ·Paul [L him] and said, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?”
He answered, “Yes.”
28 The ·commander [tribune] ·said [L responded], “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”
But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.”
29 [L Therefore] The men who were preparing to question Paul ·moved away from him [withdrew] immediately. The ·commander [tribune] was frightened because he had already ·tied [bound] ·Paul [L him], and Paul was a Roman citizen.
Paul Speaks to the Jewish Council
30 The next day ·the commander [L he] ·decided [desired] to learn [with certainty; the true reason] why the Jews were accusing ·Paul [L him]. So he ordered the ·leading [T chief] priests and the ·council [Sanhedrin; C Jewish high court comprised of 70 Jewish leaders; 4:15] to meet. ·The commander [L He] ·took Paul’s chains off [L released him]. Then he brought Paul out and stood him before their meeting.
Acts 22
New International Version
22 1 “Brothers and fathers,(A) listen now to my defense.”
2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,(B) they became very quiet.
Then Paul said: 3 “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. 4 I persecuted(J) the followers of this Way(K) to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,(L) 5 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.
6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.(P) 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,(Q) whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 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
- Acts 22:20 Or witness
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