Acts 22-23

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.

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

23 And looking intently at the Sanhedrin, Paul said, “Men and brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience before God to this day.” ² So the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike his mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! And are you sitting there judging me according to the law, and acting contrary to the law do you order me to be struck?” ⁴ And those who stood nearby said, “Are you reviling the high priest of God?” ⁵ And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, ‘You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”^[ad]

⁶ Now when^[ae] Paul realized that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he shouted out in the Sanhedrin, “Men and brothers! I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am being judged concerning the hope and the resurrection of the dead!” ⁷ And when^[af] he said this, a dispute developed between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) ⁹ And there was loud shouting, and some of the scribes from the party of the Pharisees stood up and^[ag] contended sharply, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man! But what if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰ And when^[ah] the dispute became severe, the military tribune, fearing lest Paul be torn apart by them, ordered the detachment to go down, take him away from their midst, and bring him^[ai] into the barracks.^{[aj] 11} And the next night the Lord stood by him and^[ak] said, “Have courage, for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

A Conspiracy to Kill Paul

¹² And when it^[al] was day, the Jews made a conspiracy and^[am] bound themselves under a curse, saying they would^[an] neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ Now there were more than forty who had made this conspiracy, ¹⁴ who went to the chief priests and the elders and^[ao] said, “We have bound ourselves under a curse to partake of nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Therefore, now you along with the Sanhedrin explain to the military tribune that he should bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine more accurately the things concerning him. And we are ready to do away with him before he comes near.”

¹⁶ But when^[ap] the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, he came and entered into the barracks^[aq] and^[ar] reported it^[as] to Paul. ¹⁷ So Paul called one of the centurions and^[at] said, “Bring this young man to the military tribune, because he has something to report to him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and^[au] brought him^[av] to the military tribune and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and^[aw] asked me^[ax] to bring this young man to you because he^[ay] has something to tell you.” ¹⁹ And the military tribune, taking hold of his hand and withdrawing privately, asked, “What is it that you have to report to me?” ²⁰ And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you that you bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire somewhat more accurately concerning him. ²¹ You therefore do not be persuaded by them, because more than forty men of their number^[az] are lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse neither to eat nor to drink until they have done away with him. And now they are ready, waiting for you to agree.”^{[ba] 22} So the military tribune sent the young man away, directing him,^[bb] “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”

²³ And he summoned two of the centurions and^[bc] said, “Make ready from the third hour of the night two hundred soldiers and seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen,^[bd] in order that they may proceed as far as Caesarea. ²⁴ And provide mounts so that they can put Paul on them and^[be] bring him^[bf] safely to Felix the governor.” ²⁵ He wrote^[bg] a letter that had this form:^[bh]

²⁶ Claudius Lysias.

To his excellency Governor Felix.

³¹ Therefore the soldiers, in accordance with their orders,^[bv] took Paul and^[bw] brought him^[bx] to Antipatris during the night. ³² And on the next day they let the horsemen go on with him, and^[by] they returned to the barracks.^{[bz] 33} The horsemen,^[ca] when they^[cb] came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, also presented Paul to him. ³⁴ So after^[cc] reading the letter^[cd] and asking what province he was from, and learning that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers arrive also,” giving orders for him to be guarded in the praetorium^[ce] of Herod.