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22 “Brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now make to you.”

When they heard that he addressed them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet.

Then he said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was trained in the strict tradition of the law of the fathers, being zealous toward God as you all are today. I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and imprisoning both men and women, as even the high priest and the council of elders bear witness of me. From them I received letters to the brothers in Damascus, where I went to take even those who were there and lead them in chains to Jerusalem to be punished.

Paul Tells of His Conversion(A)

“As I journeyed and came near Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’

“I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’

“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Those who were with me saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who was speaking to me.

10 “I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’

“The Lord said to me, ‘Rise and go into Damascus. There you will be told what you have been appointed to do.’ 11 Since I was blinded by the glory of that light, those who were with me led me by the hand into Damascus.

12 “Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who was well spoken of by all the Jews living there, 13 came and stood by me, and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that moment I looked up at him.

14 “Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Just One and to hear His voice, 15 for you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise, be baptized and wash away your sins, and call on the name of the Lord.’

Paul Sent to the Gentiles

17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem immediately, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’

19 “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 was standing by consenting to his death, guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’

21 “Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’

Paul and the Roman Commander

22 They listened to him up to this word, and then they lifted up their voices and said, “Away with such a man from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”

23 As they shouted and threw off their garments and threw dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks and examined with scourging, so that he might learn what crime they were alleging against him. 25 As they stretched him forward with straps, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to flog an uncondemned Roman citizen?”

26 On hearing this, the centurion reported to the commander, saying, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen.”

27 The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

He said, “Yes.”

28 The commander answered, “I bought my citizenship for a large sum.”

So Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”

29 Therefore those who were about to examine Paul immediately backed away from him. And the commander feared, knowing that he was a Roman citizen and because he had bound him.

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

30 On the next day, desiring to know exactly why he was accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble, and he brought Paul down to stand before them.

23 Paul looked at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” The high priest Ananias ordered those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit judging me according to the law, yet order me to be struck contrary to the law?”

Those who stood by said, “Do you criticize God’s high priest?”

Paul said, “Brothers, I did not know that he was the high priest. For it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people.’[a]

Then Paul, knowing that one sect were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, cried out among the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of a Pharisee. I am being judged for my hope in the resurrection of the dead.” When he had said this, dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit. But the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

There was a great outcry. The scribes that were from the sect of Pharisees stood up and argued, “We find no evil in this man. But if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.” 10 When much dissension arose, fearing that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, the commander ordered the soldiers to go down and take him from them by force and bring him into the barracks.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 23:5 Ex 22:28.