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
Acts 22
World English Bible
22 “Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make to you.”
2 When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet.
He said, 3 “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5 as also the high priest and all the council of the elders testify, from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and traveled to Damascus to bring them also who were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be punished.
6 “As I made my journey and came close to Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light shone around me from the sky. 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, whom you persecute.’
9 “Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn’t understand the voice of him who spoke to me. 10 I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do.’ 11 When I couldn’t see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12 “One Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ In that very hour I looked up at him. 14 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 For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’ 19 I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you. 20 When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’
21 “He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”
22 They listened to him until he said that; then they lifted up their voice and said, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he isn’t fit to live!”
23 As they cried out, threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air, 24 the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that. 25 When they had tied him up with straps, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?”
26 When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, “Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!”
27 The commanding officer came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”
He said, “Yes.”
28 The commanding officer answered, “I bought my citizenship for a great price.”
Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.”
29 Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him. 30 But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
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