Acts 21:37-22:21

New American Standard Bible 1995

³⁷ As Paul was about to be brought into ^(A)the barracks, he said to the ^[a]commander, “May I say something to you?” And he *said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Then you are not ^(B)the Egyptian who some ^[b]time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^(C)into the wilderness?” ³⁹ But Paul said, “^(D)I am a Jew of Tarsus in ^(E)Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on ^(F)the stairs, ^(G)motioned to the people with his hand; and when there ^[c]was a great hush, he spoke to them in the ^[d](H)Hebrew dialect, saying,

Paul’s Defense before the Jews

22 “^(I)Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

² And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^[e](J)Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

³ “^(K)I am ^(L)a Jew, born in ^(M)Tarsus of ^(N)Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^[f]under ^(O)Gamaliel, ^[g](P)strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^(Q)you all are today. ^4 (R)I persecuted this ^(S)Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, ⁵ as also ^(T)the high priest and all ^(U)the Council of the elders ^[h]can testify. From them I also ^(V)received letters to ^(W)the brethren, and started off for ^(X)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ^[i]as prisoners to be punished.

⁶ “^(Y)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 ^(Z)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹ And those who were with me ^(AA)saw the light, to be sure, but ^(AB)did not ^[j]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ‘^(AC)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 ^(AD)could not see because of the ^[k]brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

¹² “A certain ^(AE)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and ^(AF)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ¹³ came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘^(AG)Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And ^[l](AH)at that very time I looked up at him. ¹⁴ And he said, ‘^(AI)The God of our fathers has ^(AJ)appointed you to know His will and to ^(AK)see the ^(AL)Righteous One and to hear an ^[m]utterance from His mouth. ¹⁵ For you will be ^(AM)a witness for Him to all men of ^(AN)what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ Now why do you delay? ^(AO)Get up and be baptized, and ^(AP)wash away your sins, ^(AQ)calling on His name.’

¹⁷ “It happened when I ^(AR)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^(AS)fell into a trance, ¹⁸ and I saw Him saying to me, ‘^(AT)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 ^(AU)I used to imprison and ^(AV)beat those who believed in You. ²⁰ And ^(AW)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 ^(AX)to the Gentiles.’”