Acts 21:37-22:21
New American Standard Bible
37 As Paul was about to be brought into (A)the barracks, he *said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Then you are not (B)the Egyptian who some [a]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 [b]was a great silence, he spoke to them in the [c](H)Hebrew dialect, saying,
Paul’s Defense before the Jews
22 “(I)[d]Brothers 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 brothers, 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 at about noon, 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, 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 about everything 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 came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.
12 “Now 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 nearby he said to me, ‘(AG)Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And [l](AH)at that very moment 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 a [m]message from His mouth. 15 For you will be (AM)a witness for Him to all people 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 by (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)Hurry 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 nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away (AX)to the Gentiles.’”
Footnotes
- Acts 21:38 Lit days
- Acts 21:40 Lit occurred
- Acts 21:40 I.e., Jewish Aramaic
- Acts 22:1 Lit Men, brothers
- 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 Lit voice
Acts 21:37-22:21
International Standard Version
Paul Speaks in His Own Defense
37 Just as Paul was about to be taken into the barracks, he asked the tribune, “May I say something to you?”
The tribune[a] asked, “Oh, do you speak Greek? 38 You’re not the Egyptian who started a revolt some time ago and led 4,000 assassins into the desert, are you?”
39 Paul replied, “I’m a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. Please let me speak to the people.” 40 The tribune[b] gave him permission, and Paul, standing on the steps, motioned for the people to be silent. When everyone had quieted down, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language:
22 “Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I am now making before you.” 2 When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet, and he continued:
3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia but raised in this city and educated at the feet of Gamaliel in the strict ways of our ancestral Law. I am as zealous for God as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way, even executing people,[c] and kept tying up both men and women and putting them in prison, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. I also received letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, and I was going there to tie up those who were there and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “But while I was on my way and approaching Damascus about noon, a bright 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?’[d]
“He told me, ‘I’m Jesus from Nazareth,[e] whom you are persecuting.’ 9 The men who were with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
10 “Then I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’
“The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are destined to do.’ 11 Since I could not see because of the brightness of the light, the men who were with me took me by the hand and led me into Damascus.
12 “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man with respect to the Law and who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there, 13 came to me. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that moment I could see him.
14 “Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear his own voice,[f] 15 because you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.’
17 “Then I returned to Jerusalem. While I was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord[g] saying to me, ‘Hurry up and get out of Jerusalem at once, because the people[h] won’t accept your testimony about me.’
19 “I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I kept imprisoning and beating those who believe in you. 20 Even when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I was standing there, approving it and guarding the coats of those who were killing him.’
21 “Then he told me, ‘Go, because I’ll send you far away to the gentiles.’”
Footnotes
- Acts 21:37 Lit. He
- Acts 21:40 Lit. He
- Acts 22:4 The Gk. lacks people
- Acts 22:8 Or Sir
- Acts 22:8 Or Jesus the Nazarene; the Gk. Nazoraios may be a word play between Heb. netser, meaning branch (cf. Isa 11:1), and the name Nazareth.
- Acts 22:14 Lit. the voice of his mouth
- Acts 22:18 Lit. him
- Acts 22:18 Lit. they
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