Acts 22
New King James Version
Paul’s Defense at Jerusalem
22 “Brethren(A) and fathers, hear my defense before you now.” 2 And when they heard that he spoke to them in the (B)Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent.
Then he said: 3 (C)“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city (D)at the feet of (E)Gamaliel, taught (F)according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and (G)was zealous toward God (H)as you all are today. 4 (I)I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5 as also the high priest bears me witness, and (J)all the council of the elders, (K)from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus (L)to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “Now (M)it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven 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 So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
9 “And (N)those who were with me indeed saw the light [a]and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. 10 So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12 “Then (O)a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, (P)having a good testimony with all the (Q)Jews who dwelt there, 13 came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. 14 Then he said, (R)‘The God of our fathers (S)has chosen you that you should (T)know His will, and (U)see the Just One, (V)and hear the voice of His mouth. 15 (W)For you will be His witness to all men of (X)what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, (Y)and wash away your sins, (Z)calling on the name of the Lord.’
17 “Now (AA)it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance 18 and (AB)saw Him saying to me, (AC)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ 19 So I said, ‘Lord, (AD)they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and (AE)beat those who believe on You. 20 (AF)And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by (AG)consenting [b]to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ 21 Then He said to me, ‘Depart, (AH)for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”
Paul’s Roman Citizenship
22 And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, (AI)“Away with such a fellow from the earth, for (AJ)he is not fit to live!” 23 Then, as they cried out and [c]tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. 25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, (AK)“Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”
26 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.”
27 Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”
He said, “Yes.”
28 The commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.”
And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”
29 Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
The Sanhedrin Divided
30 The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
Footnotes
- Acts 22:9 NU omits and were afraid
- Acts 22:20 NU omits to his death
- Acts 22:23 Lit. threw
Acts 22
Names of God Bible
22 “Brothers and fathers, listen as I now present my case to you.”
2 When the mob heard him speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then Paul continued, 3 “I’m a Jew. I was born and raised in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia and received my education from Gamaliel here in Jerusalem. My education was in the strict laws handed down by our ancestors. I was as devoted to God as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted people who followed the way of Christ: I tied up men and women and put them into prison until they were executed. 5 The chief priest and the entire council of our leaders can prove that I did this. In fact, they even gave me letters to take to the Jewish community in the city of Damascus. I was going there to tie up believers and bring them back to Jerusalem to punish them.
6 “But as I was on my way and approaching the city of Damascus about noon, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice asking me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?’
8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, sir?’
“The person told me, ‘I’m Yeshua from Nazareth, the one you’re persecuting.’
9 “The men who were with me saw the light but didn’t understand what the person who was speaking to me said.
10 “Then I asked, ‘What do you want me to do, Lord?’
“The Lord told me, ‘Get up! Go into the city of Damascus, and you’ll be told everything I’ve arranged for you to do.’
11 “I was blind because the light had been so bright. So the men who were with me led me into the city of Damascus.
12 “A man named Ananias lived in Damascus. He was a devout person who followed Moses’ Teachings. All the Jews living in Damascus spoke highly of him. 13 He came to me, stood beside me, and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that moment my sight came back and I could see Ananias.
14 “Ananias said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the one who has God’s approval, and to hear him speak to you. 15 You will be his witness and will tell everyone what you have seen and heard. 16 What are you waiting for now? Get up! Be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.’
17 “After that, I returned to Jerusalem. While I was praying in the temple courtyard, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord. He told me, ‘Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem immediately. The people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’
19 “I said, ‘Lord, people here know that I went from synagogue to synagogue to imprison and whip those who believe in you. 20 When Stephen, who witnessed about you, was being killed, I was standing there. I approved of his death and guarded the coats of those who were murdering him.’
21 “But the Lord told me, ‘Go! I’ll send you on a mission. You’ll go far away to people who aren’t Jewish.’”
22 Up to that point the mob listened. Then they began to shout, “Kill him! The world doesn’t need a man like this. He shouldn’t have been allowed to live this long!”
23 The mob was yelling, taking off their coats, and throwing dirt into the air. 24 So the officer ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the barracks and told them to question Paul as they whipped him. The officer wanted to find out why the people were yelling at Paul like this. 25 But when the soldiers had Paul stretch out to tie him to the whipping post with the straps, Paul asked the sergeant who was standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t had a trial?”
26 When the sergeant heard this, he reported it to his commanding officer. The sergeant asked him, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The officer went to Paul and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
Paul answered, “Yes.”
28 The officer replied, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”
Paul replied, “But I was born a Roman citizen.”
29 Immediately, the soldiers who were going to question Paul stepped away from him. The officer was afraid when he found out that he had tied up a Roman citizen.
Paul in Front of the Jewish Council
30 The officer wanted to find out exactly what accusation the Jews had against Paul. So the officer released Paul the next day and ordered the chief priests and the entire Jewish council to meet. Then the officer brought Paul and had him stand in front of them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.