Acts 22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 22
Paul’s Defense Before the Jerusalem Jews.[a] 1 “My brothers and fathers, listen to what I am about to say to you in my defense.” 2 When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew they became all the more quiet. And he continued, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.(A) 4 I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.(B) 5 Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well.
6 “On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me.(C) 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’(D) 8 I replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.’(E) 9 My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me.(F) 10 I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’ The Lord answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.’(G) 11 Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus.(H)
12 (I)“A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me and stood there and said, ‘Saul, my brother, regain your sight.’ And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; 15 for you will be his witness[b] before all to what you have seen and heard. 16 Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name.’
17 “After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry, leave Jerusalem at once, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 But I replied, ‘Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you.(J) 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself stood by giving my approval and keeping guard over the cloaks of his murderers.’(K) 21 Then he said to me,(L) ‘Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles.’”[c]
Paul Imprisoned. 22 (M)They listened to him until he said this, but then they raised their voices and shouted, “Take such a one as this away from the earth. It is not right that he should live.”[d] 23 And as they were yelling and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the cohort commander ordered him to be brought into the compound and gave instruction that he be interrogated under the lash to determine the reason why they were making such an outcry against him. 25 (N)But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion on duty, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been tried?”[e] 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the cohort commander and reported it, saying, “What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen.” 27 Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered. 28 The commander replied, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” Paul said, “But I was born one.” 29 At once those who were going to interrogate him backed away from him, and the commander became alarmed when he realized that he was a Roman citizen and that he had had him bound.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin. 30 The next day, wishing to determine the truth about why he was being accused by the Jews, he freed him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.
Footnotes
- 22:1–21 Paul’s first defense speech is presented to the Jerusalem crowds. Luke here presents Paul as a devout Jew (Acts 22:3) and zealous persecutor of the Christian community (Acts 22:4–5), and then recounts the conversion of Paul for the second time in Acts (see note on Acts 9:1–19).
- 22:15 His witness: like the Galilean followers during the historical ministry of Jesus, Paul too, through his experience of the risen Christ, is to be a witness to the resurrection (compare Acts 1:8; 10:39–41; Lk 24:48).
- 22:21 Paul endeavors to explain that his position on the law has not been identical with that of his audience because it has been his prophetic mission to preach to the Gentiles to whom the law was not addressed and who had no faith in it as a way of salvation.
- 22:22 Paul’s suggestion that his prophetic mission to the Gentiles did not involve his imposing the law on them provokes the same opposition as occurred in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:45).
- 22:25 Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been tried?: see note on Acts 16:37.
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。
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