22 “You men, brothers and fathers, hear now my defense towards you!”

² And when they heard him speak in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept even more silent. And he said,

³ “I am indeed a man born Jewish in Tarsus in Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and instructed according to the perfect manner of the Law of the Fathers. And I was zealous toward God, as you all are this day.

⁴ “And I persecuted the Way to the death, binding and delivering both men and women into prison,

⁵ “to which the chief priest and all the company of the elders also testify. From them I also received letters to the brothers and went to Damascus to bind those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem, so that they might be punished.

⁶ “And so it was as I journeyed and had come near to Damascus (about noon) that suddenly a great light from Heaven shone all around me.

⁷ “So I fell to the earth and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?

⁸ “Then I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, Whom you persecute.’

⁹ “Moreover, those who were with me indeed saw a light and were afraid. But they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.

¹⁰ “Then I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord’? And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. And there you shall be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’

¹¹ “So, after I could not see because of the glory of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

¹² “And one Ananias (a godly man as pertaining to the Law, having good report of all the Jews who dwelt there)

¹³ “came to me and stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And that same hour I looked at him.

¹⁴ “And he said, ‘The God of our Fathers has appointed you, that you should know His will, and should see the Just One, and should hear the voice of His mouth.

¹⁵ ‘For you shall be His witness to all mankind of the things which you have seen and heard.

¹⁶ ‘Now therefore why do you wait? Arise, and be baptized. And wash away your sins by calling on the Name of the Lord.’

¹⁷ “And it so happened that when I had again come to Jerusalem, and prayed in the Temple, I was in a trance.

¹⁸ “And I saw Him, saying to me, ‘Hurry. And get out of Jerusalem quickly. For they will not receive your witness concerning Me.’

¹⁹ “Then I said, ‘Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You in every Synagogue.

²⁰ ‘And when the blood of Your martyr, Stephen, was shed, I also stood by and consented to his death, and guarded the clothes of those who killed him.’

²¹ “Then He said to me, “Go. For I will send you far from here, to the Gentiles.’”

²² And they heard him until this word. Then they lifted up their voices, and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he is not fit to live!”

²³ And as they cried and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,

²⁴ the chief captain commanded him to be led into the castle, and ordered that he should be scourged, and examined, that he might know why they cried so against him.

²⁵ And as they bound him with straps, Paul said to the Centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge one who is a Roman, and not condemned?”

²⁶ Now when the Centurion heard that, he told the chief captain, saying, “Be careful what you do. For this man is a Roman.”

²⁷ Then the chief captain came and said to him, “Tell me. Are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.”

²⁸ And the chief captain answered, “I obtained this freedom with a great sum.” Then Paul said, “But I was born so.”

²⁹ Then immediately, those who should have examined him departed. And the chief captain was also afraid after he realized that he was a Roman, and that he had bound him.

³⁰ On the next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their Council to come together. And he brought Paul and set him before them.