Acts 22
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
22 1 “Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense to you now”. 2 And having heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they granted more quietness.
I Am a Jew Trained By Gamaliel, And Was Zealously Persecuting The Church
And he says, 3 “I am a Jewish man, having been born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but having been brought-up in this city; having been trained at the feet of Gamaliel[a] in accordance with the strictness[b] of the Law of [c] my ancestor[d]; being a zealot for God just as you all are today— 4 who persecuted this Way to the point of death, binding and handing-over both men and women to prisons, 5 as indeed the high priest testifies concerning me, and the whole Council-of-elders, from whom also having received letters to the brothers, I was proceeding to Damascus to bring bound to Jerusalem even the ones being there, in order that they might be punished.
On The Way To Damascus For This Purpose, Jesus Spoke To Me And Blinded Me
6 “But it came about in my proceeding and drawing-near to Damascus about mid-day, that suddenly a great light from heaven flashed 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, sir[e]?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, Whom you are persecuting’. 9 And the ones being with me saw the light, but did not hear[f] the voice of the One speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Having arisen, proceed into Damascus. And there it will be told you concerning everything which has been assigned[g] to you to do’. 11 But since I was not seeing because of the glory of that light, I came into Damascus being hand-led by the ones being with me.
Ananias Restored My Sight And Said God Appointed Me To Be His Witness
12 “And a certain Ananias— a reverent man in-relation-to the Law, being attested by all the Jews dwelling there, 13 having come to me and having stood near— said to me, ‘Brother Saul, see again’. And I looked-up at him at the very hour. 14 And the one said, the God of our fathers appointed[h] you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One and hear a voice from His mouth, 15 because you will be a witness for Him to all people of the things which you have seen and which you heard. 16 And now, why are you delaying? Having arisen, be baptized, and wash-away your sins, having called-upon His name’.
In a Vision At The Temple, God Said He Was Sending Me To The Gentiles
17 “And it came about at my having returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, that I came-to-be in a trance 18 and saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry, and go out from Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me’. 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that throughout the synagogues I was imprisoning and beating the ones putting-faith upon You. 20 And when the blood of Stephen Your witness was being shed, I myself also was standing-near and giving-approval and guarding the garments of the ones killing him’. 21 And He said to me, ‘Be going, because I will send you out far away to the Gentiles’”.
At The Mention of Gentiles, The Mob Erupts. The Romans Take Paul Away
22 And they were listening-to him up to this statement. And they raised their voice, saying, “Take away such a one from the earth, for it was[i] not proper that he continue-living”. 23 And while they were shouting and throwing-off their cloaks and throwing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that he be brought into the barracks— having said that he should be interrogated with whips in order that he might learn for what reason they were calling-out against him in this manner. 25 But when they stretched him out with[j] the straps[k], Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful[l] for you to whip a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 And having heard it, the centurion, having gone to the commander, reported, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman”. 27 And having gone to him, the commander said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And the one said, “Yes”. 28 And the commander responded, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum [of money]”. And Paul said, “But I indeed have been born one”. 29 So the ones being about to interrogate him immediately withdrew from him. And the commander also became afraid, having learned that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
The Romans Take Paul Before The Sanhedrin
30 And on the next day, wanting to know the certainty as to why he was being accused by the Jews, he released[m] him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to come together. And having brought Paul down, he stood him before them.
Footnotes
- Acts 22:3 This was a famous and respected rabbi, mentioned also in 5:34.
- Acts 22:3 Or, exactness, accurateness.
- Acts 22:3 That is, handed down from.
- Acts 22:3 Paul’s father was a Pharisee, 23:6.
- Acts 22:8 See 9:5.
- Acts 22:9 That is, understand.
- Acts 22:10 Or, appointed.
- Acts 22:14 Or, selected, chose.
- Acts 22:22 In other words, he should have been killed when he first turned to Christ.
- Acts 22:25 Or, for.
- Acts 22:25 This word could refer to the bindings or to the whip.
- Acts 22:25 It was not lawful to treat a Roman citizen in this way.
- Acts 22:30 Or, unbound.
Hechos 22
Dios Habla Hoy
22 «Hermanos y padres, escuchen lo que les digo en mi defensa.»
2 Al oír que les hablaba en hebreo, guardaron aún más silencio. Pablo continuó:
3 «Yo soy judío. Nací en Tarso de Cilicia, pero me crié aquí en Jerusalén y estudié bajo la dirección de Gamaliel, muy de acuerdo con la ley de nuestros antepasados. Siempre he procurado servir a Dios con todo mi corazón, tal como todos ustedes lo hacen hoy día. 4 Antes perseguí a muerte a quienes seguían este Nuevo Camino, y los arresté y metí en la cárcel, ya fueran hombres o mujeres. 5 El jefe de los sacerdotes y todos los ancianos son testigos de esto. Ellos me dieron cartas para nuestros hermanos judíos en Damasco, y fui allá en busca de creyentes, para traerlos aquí a Jerusalén y castigarlos.
6 »Pero mientras iba yo de camino, y estando ya cerca de Damasco, a eso del mediodía, una fuerte luz del cielo brilló de repente a mi alrededor, 7 y caí al suelo. Y oí una voz, que me decía: “Saulo, Saulo, ¿por qué me persigues?” 8 Pregunté: “¿Quién eres, Señor?” Y la voz me contestó: “Yo soy Jesús de Nazaret, el mismo a quien tú estás persiguiendo.” 9 Los que iban conmigo vieron la luz, pero no oyeron la voz del que me hablaba. 10 Yo pregunté: “¿Qué debo hacer, Señor?” Y el Señor me dijo: “Levántate y sigue tu viaje a Damasco. Allí se te dirá todo lo que debes hacer.” 11 Como el brillo de la luz me dejó ciego, mis compañeros me llevaron de la mano a Damasco.
12 »Allí había un hombre llamado Ananías, que era muy piadoso y obediente a la ley de Moisés; todos los judíos que vivían en Damasco hablaban muy bien de él. 13 Ananías vino a verme, y al llegar me dijo: “Hermano Saulo, recibe de nuevo la vista.” En aquel mismo momento recobré la vista, y pude verlo. 14 Luego añadió: “El Dios de nuestros padres te ha escogido para que conozcas su voluntad, y para que veas al que es justo y oigas su voz de sus propios labios. 15 Pues tú vas a ser testigo suyo ante todo el mundo, y vas a contar lo que has visto y oído. 16 Y ahora, no esperes más. Levántate, bautízate y lávate de tus pecados, invocando el nombre del Señor.”
17 »Cuando regresé a Jerusalén, fui al templo a orar, y tuve una visión. 18 Vi al Señor, que me dijo: “Date prisa, sal rápidamente de Jerusalén, porque no van a hacer caso de lo que dices de mí.” 19 Yo le dije: “Señor, ellos saben que yo iba por todas las sinagogas y llevaba a la cárcel a los que creían en ti, y que los golpeaba, 20 y que cuando mataron a tu siervo Esteban, que daba testimonio de ti, yo mismo estaba allí, aprobando que lo mataran, e incluso cuidé la ropa de quienes lo mataron.” 21 Pero el Señor me dijo: “Ponte en camino, que voy a enviarte a naciones lejanas.”»
Pablo en manos del comandante
22 Hasta este punto lo escucharon; pero entonces comenzaron a gritar: «¡Ese hombre no debe vivir! ¡Bórralo de este mundo!» 23 Y como seguían gritando y sacudiendo sus ropas y tirando polvo al aire, 24 el comandante ordenó que metieran a Pablo en el cuartel, y mandó que lo azotaran, para que confesara por qué la gente gritaba en contra suya. 25 Pero cuando ya lo tenían atado para azotarlo, Pablo le preguntó al capitán que estaba presente:
—¿Tienen ustedes autoridad para azotar a un ciudadano romano, y además sin haberlo juzgado?
26 Al oír esto, el capitán fue y avisó al comandante, diciendo:
—¿Qué va a hacer usted? Este hombre es ciudadano romano.
27 Entonces el comandante se acercó a Pablo, y le preguntó:
—¿Es cierto que tú eres ciudadano romano?
Pablo le contestó:
—Sí.
28 El comandante le dijo:
—A mí me costó mucho dinero hacerme ciudadano romano.
Y Pablo respondió:
—Pues yo lo soy por nacimiento.
29 Con esto, los que iban a azotar a Pablo se apartaron de él; y hasta el mismo comandante, al darse cuenta de que era ciudadano romano, tuvo miedo por haberlo encadenado.
Pablo ante la Junta Suprema de los judíos
30 Al día siguiente, el comandante, queriendo saber con exactitud de qué acusaban los judíos a Pablo, le quitó las cadenas y mandó reunir a los jefes de los sacerdotes y a toda la Junta Suprema. Luego sacó a Pablo y lo puso delante de ellos.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
Dios habla hoy ®, © Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas, 1966, 1970, 1979, 1983, 1996.