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Paul, a Citizen of Rome

22 And they were listening to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “(A)Away with such a fellow from the earth, for (B)he should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were crying out and (C)throwing off their garments and (D)tossing dust into the air, 24 the [a]commander ordered him to be brought into (E)the barracks, stating that he should be (F)examined by flogging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out [b]with leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it [c]lawful for you to flog (G)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported to him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 And the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 And the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I have been born a citizen.” 29 Therefore those who were about to (H)examine him immediately withdrew from him; and the commander also (I)was afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he had (J)bound him.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 22:24 Military leader over 1,000 soldiers
  2. Acts 22:25 Or for the whip
  3. Acts 22:25 Interrogation by torture was a procedure used with slaves

22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they shouted, “Away with this man! He’s not fit to live!” 23 As they were screaming, throwing off their garments, and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander directed that Paul be taken into the military headquarters. He ordered that Paul be questioned under the whip so that he could find out why they were shouting at him like this.

25 As they were stretching him out and tying him down with straps, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Can you legally whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t been found guilty in court?”

26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. He asked, “What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen!”

27 The commander went to Paul and demanded, “Tell me! Are you a Roman citizen?”

He said, “Yes.”

28 The commander replied, “It cost me a lot of money to buy my citizenship.”

Paul said, “I’m a citizen by birth.” 29 At once those who were about to examine him stepped away. The commander was alarmed when he realized he had bound a Roman citizen.

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