Acts 22
Revised Geneva Translation
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.
Acts 22
English Standard Version
22 (A)“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in (B)the Hebrew language,[a] they became even more quiet. And he said:
3 (C)“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated (D)at the feet of (E)Gamaliel[b] (F)according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, (G)being zealous for God (H)as all of you are this day. 4 (I)I persecuted (J)this Way (K)to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as (L)the high priest and (M)the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to (N)the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 (O)“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone 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 (P)Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 (Q)Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand[c] the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, (R)‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
12 “And (S)one Ananias, a devout man (T)according to the law, (U)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 (V)came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And (W)at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, (X)‘The God of our fathers (Y)appointed you to know his will, (Z)to see (AA)the Righteous One and (AB)to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for (AC)you will be a witness for him to everyone of what (AD)you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? (AE)Rise and be baptized and (AF)wash away your sins, (AG)calling on his name.’
17 (AH)“When I had returned to Jerusalem and (AI)was praying in the temple, I fell into (AJ)a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, (AK)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another (AL)I imprisoned and (AM)beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen (AN)your witness was being shed, (AO)I myself was standing by and (AP)approving and (AQ)watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you (AR)far away to the Gentiles.’”
Paul and the Roman Tribune
22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, (AS)“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For (AT)he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into (AU)the barracks, saying that he should be (AV)examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips,[d] Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog (AW)a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about (AX)to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also (AY)was afraid, (AZ)for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that (BA)he had bound him.
Paul Before the Council
30 But on the next day, (BB)desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.
Footnotes
- Acts 22:2 Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic)
- Acts 22:3 Or city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated
- Acts 22:9 Or hear with understanding
- Acts 22:25 Or when they had tied him up with leather strips
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