מעשי השליחים 22
Habrit Hakhadasha/Haderekh
כב "אחי ואבותיי, הקשיבו נא לדברי ההגנה שלי." 2 כששמעו שהוא מדבר עברית נפלה דממה כבדה עוד יותר. 3 פולוס המשיך: "אני יהודי, יליד טרסוס שבקיליקיה, אולם חונכתי כאן בירושלים, בבית-מדרשו של רבן גמליאל, והוא שלימד אותי לשמור בקפידה את כל חוקי התורה ומצוותיה. הייתי קנאי לה' בכל מעשי, ממש כשם שאתם קנאים לו היום. 4 בזמנו רדפתי את המשיחיים עד מוות, כבלתי גברים ונשים והשלכתי אותם לכלא. 5 הכהן הגדול וכל אחד מחברי הסנהדרין יוכלו להעיד על כך, משום שביקשתי מהם מכתבים אל ראשי הקהילה היהודית בדמשק. מכתבים אלה העניקו לי את הסמכות לכבול כל משיחי שאמצא, ולהביאו לירושלים כדי שייענש.
6 "יום אחד בשעת הצהריים, כשהייתי בדרכי לדמשק, האיר עלי לפתע אור חזק מן השמים. 7 נפלתי על הארץ ושמעתי קול: 'שאול, שאול, מדוע אתה רודף אותי?'
8 "'מי אתה, אדוני?' שאלתי.
והקול ענה: 'אני ישוע מנצרת שאותו אתה רודף!' 9 האנשים שהיו איתי ראו את האור, אך לא הבינו את הנאמר.
10 "'מה עלי לעשות, אדוני?' שאלתי.
"והאדון ענה: 'קום ולך לדמשק, ושם ייאמר לך מה צפוי לך בעתיד.'
11 האור החזק סנוור אותי עד עיוורון, והיה צורך להוביל אותי בידי לדמשק.
12 "בדמשק בא אלי אדם צדיק וירא-אלוהים, חנניה שמו, אשר קיים את מצוות התורה והיה מקובל על כל היהודים. 13 חנניה עמד לצדי ואמר: 'שאול אחי, פקח את עיניך!' ומיד נפקחו עיני ויכולתי לראות כמקודם.
14 "לאחר מכן הוא אמר לי: 'אלוהי אבותינו בחר בך לדעת את רצונו, לראות את המשיח הצדיק ולשמוע את קולו. 15 עליך לשאת את בשורת אלוהים לכל מקום, ולספר לכולם מה ששמעת וראית. 16 למה אתה מחכה עכשיו? לך להיטבל במים והתרחץ מחטאיך, בקראך בשם האדון!'
19 "'אבל אדון,' מחיתי, 'הם יודעים היטב שהלכתי לבית-הכנסת והכיתי את המאמינים בך, ואף השלכתי אותם לכלא. 20 וכשהרגו את עבדך סטפנוס, עמדתי שם בהסכמה לנעשה והשגחתי על מעיליהם של רוצחיו!'
21 "אולם אלוהים אמר לי: 'עזוב את ירושלים, כי אני שולח אותך הרחק אל הגויים!'"
22 הקהל הקשיב בתשומת לב עד שאמר פולוס את המשפט האחרון, ואז צעקו כולם פה-אחד: "סלקו אותו מכאן! הרגו אותו! הוא אינו ראוי לחיות!" 23 הם צרחו, השליכו את מעיליהם וזרקו עפר כלפי מעלה.
24 המפקד ציווה על חייליו להכניס את פולוס לתוך המצודה ולהלקותו ברצועות, כדי לאלצו להתוודות על פשעו. המפקד רצה לדעת מדוע היה הקהל נרגש ופרוע כל-כך.
25 בשעה שהחיילים כבלו את פולוס כדי להלקותו, הוא פנה אל הקצין שעמד לצדו ושאל: "האם מותר להלקות אזרח רומאי לפני שהעמדת אותו לדין?"
26 הקצין ניגש אל מפקד החטיבה וקרא: "מה אתה עושה? האיש הזה אזרח רומאי!"
27 המפקד בא אל פולוס ושאל: "האם אתה באמת אזרח רומאי?"
"כן, בהחלט."
28 "גם אני והאזרחות הזאת עלתה לי הרבה כסף!"
"אבל אני אזרח רומאי מלידה!" אמר פולוס.
29 החיילים שעמדו להלקות את פולוס הרפו ממנו ברגע ששמעו שהוא אזרח רומאי, והמפקד נמלא פחד על-שום שציווה לאסרו ולהלקותו.
30 למחרת בבוקר שחרר אותו המפקד מכבליו וציווה על ראשי הכוהנים לכנס ישיבת סנהדרין. הוא הביא לפניהם את פולוס כדי לנסות לברר מה הייתה הסיבה לכל המהומה הזאת.
Acts 22
New King James Version
Paul’s Defense at Jerusalem
22 “Brethren(A) and fathers, hear my defense before you now.” 2 And when they heard that he spoke to them in the (B)Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent.
Then he said: 3 (C)“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city (D)at the feet of (E)Gamaliel, taught (F)according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and (G)was zealous toward God (H)as you all are today. 4 (I)I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5 as also the high priest bears me witness, and (J)all the council of the elders, (K)from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus (L)to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “Now (M)it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ 8 So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
9 “And (N)those who were with me indeed saw the light [a]and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. 10 So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12 “Then (O)a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, (P)having a good testimony with all the (Q)Jews who dwelt there, 13 came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. 14 Then he said, (R)‘The God of our fathers (S)has chosen you that you should (T)know His will, and (U)see the Just One, (V)and hear the voice of His mouth. 15 (W)For you will be His witness to all men of (X)what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, (Y)and wash away your sins, (Z)calling on the name of the Lord.’
17 “Now (AA)it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance 18 and (AB)saw Him saying to me, (AC)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ 19 So I said, ‘Lord, (AD)they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and (AE)beat those who believe on You. 20 (AF)And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by (AG)consenting [b]to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ 21 Then He said to me, ‘Depart, (AH)for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”
Paul’s Roman Citizenship
22 And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, (AI)“Away with such a fellow from the earth, for (AJ)he is not fit to live!” 23 Then, as they cried out and [c]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, (AK)“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.
The Sanhedrin Divided
30 The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
Footnotes
- Acts 22:9 NU omits and were afraid
- Acts 22:20 NU omits to his death
- Acts 22:23 Lit. threw
Acts 22
English Standard Version
22 (A)“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in (B)the Hebrew language,[a] they became even more quiet. And he said:
3 (C)“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated (D)at the feet of (E)Gamaliel[b] (F)according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, (G)being zealous for God (H)as all of you are this day. 4 (I)I persecuted (J)this Way (K)to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as (L)the high priest and (M)the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to (N)the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 (O)“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am (P)Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 (Q)Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand[c] the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, (R)‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
12 “And (S)one Ananias, a devout man (T)according to the law, (U)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 (V)came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And (W)at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, (X)‘The God of our fathers (Y)appointed you to know his will, (Z)to see (AA)the Righteous One and (AB)to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for (AC)you will be a witness for him to everyone of what (AD)you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? (AE)Rise and be baptized and (AF)wash away your sins, (AG)calling on his name.’
17 (AH)“When I had returned to Jerusalem and (AI)was praying in the temple, I fell into (AJ)a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, (AK)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another (AL)I imprisoned and (AM)beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen (AN)your witness was being shed, (AO)I myself was standing by and (AP)approving and (AQ)watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you (AR)far away to the Gentiles.’”
Paul and the Roman Tribune
22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, (AS)“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For (AT)he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into (AU)the barracks, saying that he should be (AV)examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips,[d] Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog (AW)a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about (AX)to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also (AY)was afraid, (AZ)for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that (BA)he had bound him.
Paul Before the Council
30 But on the next day, (BB)desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.
Footnotes
- Acts 22:2 Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic)
- Acts 22:3 Or city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated
- Acts 22:9 Or hear with understanding
- Acts 22:25 Or when they had tied him up with leather strips
Habrit Hakhadasha/Haderekh “The Way” (Hebrew Living New Testament)
Copyright © 1979, 2009 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
