Acts 22
American Standard Version
22 Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which I now make unto you.
2 And when they heard that he spake unto them in the Hebrew language, they were the more quiet: and he saith,
3 I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as ye all are this day: 4 and I persecuted this Way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. 5 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and journeyed to Damascus to bring them also that were there unto Jerusalem in bonds to be punished. 6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. 7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. 9 And they that were with me beheld indeed the light, but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. 10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. 11 And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me I came into Damascus. 12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews that dwelt there, 13 came unto me, and standing by me said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And in that very hour I [a]looked up on him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath appointed thee to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. 15 For thou shalt be a witness for him unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. 16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name. 17 And it came to pass, that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, 18 and saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem; because they will not receive of thee testimony concerning me. 19 And I said, Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: 20 and when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting, and keeping the garments of them that slew him. 21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles.
22 And they gave him audience unto this word; and they lifted up their voice, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. 23 And as they cried out, and threw off their garments, and cast dust into the air, 24 the [b]chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, bidding that he should be examined by scourging, that he might know for what cause they so shouted against him. 25 And when they had tied him up [c]with the thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? 26 And when the centurion heard it, he went to the [d]chief captain and told him, saying, What art thou about to do? for this man is a Roman. 27 And the [e]chief captain came and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? And he said, Yea. 28 And the [f]chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this citizenship. And Paul said, But I am a Roman born. 29 They then that were about to examine him straightway departed from him: and the [g]chief captain also was afraid when he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
30 But on the morrow, desiring to know the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
Footnotes
- Acts 22:13 Or, received my sight and looked upon him.
- Acts 22:24 Or, military tribune. Greek chiliarch.
- Acts 22:25 Or, for
- Acts 22:26 Or, military tribune. Greek chiliarch.
- Acts 22:27 Or, military tribune. Greek chiliarch.
- Acts 22:28 Or, military tribune. Greek chiliarch.
- Acts 22:29 Or, military tribune. Greek chiliarch.
Acts 22
New American Standard Bible 1995
Paul’s Defense before the Jews
22 “(A)Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the [a](B)Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,
3 “(C)I am (D)a Jew, born in (E)Tarsus of (F)Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated [b]under (G)Gamaliel, [c](H)strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as (I)you all are today. 4 (J)I persecuted this (K)Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, 5 as also (L)the high priest and all (M)the Council of the elders [d]can testify. From them I also (N)received letters to (O)the brethren, and started off for (P)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem [e]as prisoners to be punished.
6 “(Q)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all 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 (R)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 And those who were with me (S)saw the light, to be sure, but (T)did not [f]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘(U)What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’ 11 But since I (V)could not see because of the [g]brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.
12 “A certain (W)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and (X)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘(Y)Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And [h](Z)at that very time I looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘(AA)The God of our fathers has (AB)appointed you to know His will and to (AC)see the (AD)Righteous One and to hear an [i]utterance from His mouth. 15 For you will be (AE)a witness for Him to all men of (AF)what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you delay? (AG)Get up and be baptized, and (AH)wash away your sins, (AI)calling on His name.’
17 “It happened when I (AJ)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I (AK)fell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘(AL)Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another (AM)I used to imprison and (AN)beat those who believed in You. 20 And (AO)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away (AP)to the Gentiles.’”
22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “(AQ)Away with such a fellow from the earth, for (AR)he should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were crying out and (AS)throwing off their cloaks and (AT)tossing dust into the air, 24 the [j]commander ordered him to be brought into (AU)the barracks, stating that he should be (AV)examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out [k]with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it [l]lawful for you to scourge (AW)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the [m]commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The [n]commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The [o]commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore those who were about to (AX)examine him immediately [p]let go of him; and the [q]commander also (AY)was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had [r](AZ)put him in chains.
30 But on the next day, (BA)wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he (BB)released him and ordered the chief priests and all (BC)the [s]Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
Footnotes
- Acts 22:2 I.e. Jewish Aramaic
- Acts 22:3 Lit at the feet of
- Acts 22:3 Lit according to the strictness of the ancestral law
- Acts 22:5 Lit testifies for me
- Acts 22:5 Lit having been bound
- Acts 22:9 Or hear (with comprehension)
- Acts 22:11 Lit glory
- Acts 22:13 Or instantly; lit at the very hour
- Acts 22:14 Or message; lit voice
- Acts 22:24 I.e. chiliarch, in command of one thousand troops
- Acts 22:25 Or for the whip
- Acts 22:25 Interrogation by torture was a procedure used with slaves
- Acts 22:26 V 24, note 1
- Acts 22:27 V 24, note 1
- Acts 22:28 V 24, note 1
- Acts 22:29 Lit withdrew from
- Acts 22:29 V 24, note 1
- Acts 22:29 Lit bound him
- Acts 22:30 Or Sanhedrin
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
