Acts 22
Christian Standard Bible
22 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.” 2 When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic,[a] they became even quieter.(A) 3 He(B) continued, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel(C) according to the strictness of our ancestral law. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.(D) 4 I persecuted this Way(E) to the death, arresting and putting both men and women in jail,(F) 5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to arrest those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.(G)
Paul’s Testimony
6 “As(H) I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light,[b] but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.(I)
10 “I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’
“The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’
11 “Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light,[c] I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus.(J) 12 Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there,(K) 13 came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed(L) you to know his will, to see(M) the Righteous One,(N) and to hear the words from his mouth, 15 since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.(O) 16 And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins,(P) calling on his name.’(Q)
17 “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance(R) 18 and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten.(S) 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval[d] and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’(T)
21 “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”(U)
Paul’s Roman Protection
22 They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!” (V)
23 As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air,(W) 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. 25 As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?” (X)
26 When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes,” he said.
28 The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.”
“But I was born a citizen,” Paul said.
29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.(Y)
Paul before the Sanhedrin
30 The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him[e] and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene.(Z) He brought Paul down and placed him before them.
Acts 22
Lexham English Bible
22 “Men—brothers and fathers—listen to my defense to you now!” 2 And when they[a] heard that he was addressing them in the Aramaic language, they became even more silent.[b] And he said, 3 “I am a Jewish man born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the exactness of the law received from our fathers, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I[c] persecuted this Way to the death, tying up and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as indeed the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me, from whom also I received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and[d] was traveling there[e] to lead away those who were there also tied up to Jerusalem so that they could be punished.
Paul Tells of His Conversion on the Damascus Road
6 “And it happened that as[f] I was traveling and approaching Damascus around noon, suddenly a very bright 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, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you are persecuting.’ 9 (Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.) 10 So I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and[g] proceed to Damascus, and there it will be told to you about all the things that have been appointed for you to do.’ 11 And as I could not see as a result of the brightness of that light, I arrived in Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me. 12 And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, 13 came to me and stood by me[h] and[i] said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ And at that same time I looked up at him and saw him.[j] 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth, 15 because you will be a witness for him[k] to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why are you delaying? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name!’
17 “And it happened that when[l] I returned to Jerusalem and I was praying in the temple courts,[m] I was in a trance, 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and depart quickly[n] from Jerusalem, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I was imprisoning and beating those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself also was standing near and was approving, and was guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’”
Paul Questioned by the Military Tribune
22 Now they were listening to him until this word, and they raised their voices, saying, “Away with such a man from the earth! For it is not fitting for him to live!” 23 And while[o] they were screaming and throwing off their[p] cloaks and throwing dust into the air, 24 the military tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks,[q] saying he was to be examined with a lash so that he could find out for what reason they were crying out against him in this way. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the lash,[r] Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it permitted for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 And when[s] the centurion heard this,[t] he went to the military tribune and[u] reported it,[v] saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen!” 27 So the military tribune came and[w] said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 And the military tribune replied, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I indeed was born a citizen.[x] 29 Then immediately those who were about to examine him kept away from him, and the military tribune also was afraid when he[y] realized that he was a Roman citizen and that he had tied him up.[z] 30 But on the next day, because he[aa] wanted to know the true reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble, and he brought down Paul and[ab] had him[ac] stand before them.
Footnotes
- Acts 22:2 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 22:2 Literally “they showed even more silence”
- Acts 22:4 Literally “who”
- Acts 22:5 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“received”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 22:5 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 22:6 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was traveling”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 22:10 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“get up”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 22:13 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 22:13 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“stood by”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 22:13 *The words “and saw him” are not in the Greek text but are supplied in the translation for clarity
- Acts 22:15 Or “to him”
- Acts 22:17 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“returned”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 22:17 *Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
- Acts 22:18 Literally “with quickness”
- Acts 22:23 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“were screaming”)
- Acts 22:23 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Acts 22:24 Or “headquarters”
- Acts 22:25 Or “with straps” (in order to lash him)
- Acts 22:26 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 22:26 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 22:26 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went to”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 22:26 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 22:27 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 22:28 *The words “a citizen” are not in the Greek text but are implied
- Acts 22:29 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“realized”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 22:29 Literally “he was having tied him up”
- Acts 22:30 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“wanted”) which is understood as causal
- Acts 22:30 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“brought down”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 22:30 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
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