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22 Mga kapatid na lalake at mga magulang, pakinggan ninyo ang pagsasanggalang na gagawin ko ngayon sa harapan ninyo.

At nang marinig nilang sila'y kinakausap niya sa wikang Hebreo, ay lalo pang tumahimik sila: at sinabi niya,

Ako'y Judio, na ipinanganak sa Tarso ng Cilicia, datapuwa't pinapagaral sa bayang ito, sa paanan ni Gamaliel, na tinuruan alinsunod sa mahigpit na kaparaanan ng kautusan ng ating mga magulang, palibhasa'y masikap tungkol sa Dios, na gaya ninyong lahat ngayon:

At aking pinagusig ang Daang ito hanggang sa mamatay, na tinatalian at ipinapasok sa mga bilangguan ang mga lalake at gayon din ang mga babae.

Gaya rin naman ng pangulong saserdote na nagpapatotoo sa akin, at ang buong kapulungan ng matatanda: na sa kanila nama'y tumanggap ako ng mga sulat sa mga kapatid, at naglakbay ako sa Damasco upang dalhin ko namang mga gapos sa Jerusalem ang nangaroroon upang parusahan.

At nangyari, na, samantalang ako'y naglalakbay, at nalalapit na sa Damasco, nang magtatanghaling tapat, biglang nagliwanag mula sa langit ang isang malaking ilaw sa palibot ko.

At ako'y nasubasob sa lupa, at narinig ko ang isang tinig na nagsasabi sa akin, Saulo, Saulo, bakit mo ako pinaguusig?

At ako'y sumagot, Sino ka baga, Panginoon? At sinabi niya sa akin, Ako'y si Jesus na taga Nazaret, na iyong pinaguusig.

At sa katotohana'y nakita ng mga kasamahan ko ang ilaw, datapuwa't hindi nila narinig ang tinig na nagsalita sa akin.

10 At sinabi ko, Ano ang gagawin ko, Panginoon? At sinabi sa akin ng Panginoon, Magtindig ka, at pumaroon ka sa Damasco; at doo'y sasabihin sa iyo ang lahat ng mga bagay na itinalagang gagawin mo.

11 At nang hindi ako makakita dahil sa kaningningan ng ilaw na yaon, palibhasa'y inakay ako sa kamay ng mga kasamahan ko, ay pumasok ako sa Damasco.

12 At isang Ananias, lalaking masipag sa kabanalan ayon sa kautusan, na may mabuting katunayan ng lahat ng mga Judiong nagsisitahan doon,

13 Ay lumapit sa akin, at natatayo sa tabi ko ay nagsabi sa akin, Kapatid na Saulo, tanggapin mo ang iyong paningin. At nang oras ding yao'y tumingin ako sa kaniya.

14 At sinabi niya, Ang Dios ng ating mga magulang ay itinalaga ka upang mapagkilala mo ang kaniyang kalooban, at makita mo ang Banal, at marinig mo ang isang tinig mula sa kaniyang bibig.

15 Sapagka't magiging saksi ka niya sa lahat ng mga tao tungkol sa mga bagay na iyong nakita at narinig.

16 At ngayon bakit ka tumitigil? magtindig ka, at ikaw ay magbautismo, at hugasan mo ang iyong mga kasalanan, na tumatawag sa kaniyang pangalan.

17 At nangyari, na, nang ako'y makabalik na sa Jerusalem, at nang ako'y nananalangin sa templo ay nawalan ako ng diwa,

18 At siya'y nakita ko na nagsasabi sa akin, Magmadali ka, at umalis ka agad sa Jerusalem; sapagka't hindi nila tatanggapin sa iyo ang patotoo tungkol sa akin.

19 At aking sinabi, Panginoon, napagtatalastas nila na ako ang nagbilanggo at humampas sa bawa't sinagoga sa mga nagsisisampalataya sa iyo:

20 At nang ibubo ang dugo ni Estebang iyong saksi, ay ako nama'y nakatayo sa malapit, at sinasangayunan ko, at iningatan ko ang mga damit ng sa kaniya'y nagsipatay.

21 At sinabi niya sa akin, Yumaon ka: sapagka't susuguin kita sa malayo sa mga Gentil.

22 At kanilang pinakinggan siya hanggang sa salitang ito; at sila'y nangagtaas ng kanilang tinig, at nangagsabi, Alisin sa lupa ang isang gayong tao: sapagka't hindi marapat na siya'y mabuhay.

23 At samantalang sila'y nangagsisigawan, at ipinaghahagisan ang kanilang mga damit, at nangagsasabog ng alabok sa hangin,

24 Ay ipinagutos ng pangulong kapitan na siya'y ipasok sa kuta, na ipinaguutos na siya'y sulitin sa pamamagitan ng hampas, upang maalaman niya kung sa anong kadahilanan sila'y nangagsigawan ng gayon laban sa kaniya.

25 At nang siya'y kanilang magapos na ng mga panaling katad, ay sinabi ni Pablo sa senturiong nakatayo sa malapit, Matuwid baga sa iyo na hampasin ang isang taong taga Roma, na hindi pa nahahatulan?

26 At nang ito'y marinig ng senturion, ay naparoon siya sa pangulong kapitan at sa kaniya'y ipinagbigay-alam, na sinasabi, Ano baga ang gagawin mo? sapagka't ang taong ito ay taga Roma.

27 At lumapit ang pangulong kapitan at sinabi sa kaniya, Sabihin mo sa akin, ikaw baga'y taga Roma? At sinabi niya, Oo.

28 At sumagot ang pangulong kapitan, Binili ko ng totoong mahal ang pagkamamamayang ito. At sinabi ni Pablo, Nguni't ako'y katutubong taga Roma.

29 Pagkaraka nga'y nagsilayo sa kaniya ang mga sa kaniya sana'y susulit: at ang pangulong kapitan din naman ay natakot nang maalamang siya'y taga Roma, at dahil sa pagkagapos niya sa kaniya.

30 Datapuwa't nang kinabukasan, sa pagkaibig na matanto ang katunayan kung bakit siya'y isinakdal ng mga Judio, ay kaniyang pinawalan siya, at pinapagpulong ang mga pangulong saserdote at ang buong Sanedrin, at ipinapanaog si Pablo at iniharap sa kanila.

Paul Speaks to the People

22 Paul said, “My brothers and fathers, listen to me! I will make my defense to you.”

When the Jews heard Paul speaking Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said,

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. I grew up in this city. I was a student of Gamaliel,[a] who carefully taught me everything about the law of our fathers. I was very serious about serving God, the same as all of you here today. I persecuted the people who followed the Way. Some of them were killed because of me. I arrested men and women and put them in jail.

“The high priest and the whole council of older Jewish leaders can tell you that this is true. One time these leaders gave me some letters. The letters were to the Jewish brothers in the city of Damascus. I was going there to arrest the followers of Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

Paul Tells About His Conversion

“But something happened to me on my way to Damascus. It was about noon when I came close to Damascus. Suddenly a bright light from heaven shined all around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

“I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The voice said, ‘I am Jesus from Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ The men who were with me did not understand the voice, but they saw the light.

10 “I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that I have planned for you to do.’ 11 I could not see, because the bright light had made me blind. So the men led me into Damascus.

12 “In Damascus a man named Ananias[b] came to me. He was a man who was devoted to God and obeyed the Law of Moses. All the Jews who lived there respected him. 13 He came to me and said, ‘Saul, my brother, look up and see again!’ Immediately I was able to see him.

14 “Ananias told me, ‘The God of our fathers chose you long ago to know his plan. He chose you to see the Righteous One and to hear words from him. 15 You will be his witness to all people. You will tell them what you have seen and heard. 16 Now, don’t wait any longer. Get up, be baptized and wash away your sins, trusting in Jesus to save you.[c]

17 “Later, I came back to Jerusalem. I was praying in the Temple area, and I saw a vision. 18 I saw Jesus, and he said to me, ‘Hurry and leave Jerusalem now! The people here will not accept the truth you tell them about me.’

19 “I said, ‘But, Lord, the people know that I was the one who put the believers in jail and beat them. I went through all the synagogues to find and arrest the people who believe in you. 20 The people also know that I was there when Stephen, your witness, was killed. I stood there and agreed that they should kill him. I even held the coats of the men who were killing him!’

21 “But Jesus said to me, ‘Leave now. I will send you far away to the non-Jewish people.’”

22 The people stopped listening when Paul said this last thing. They all shouted, “Get rid of this man! He doesn’t deserve to live.” 23 They kept on shouting, ripping off their clothes and throwing dust into the air.[d] 24 Then the commander told the soldiers to take Paul into the army building and beat him. He wanted to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this. 25 So the soldiers were tying Paul, preparing to beat him. But he said to an army officer there, “Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen[e] who has not been proven guilty?”

26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and told him about it. The officer said, “Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”

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

He answered, “Yes.”

28 The commander said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”

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

29 The men who were preparing to question Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was afraid because he had already put Paul in chains, and he was a Roman citizen.

Paul Speaks to the Jewish Leaders

30 The next day the commander decided to learn why the Jews were accusing Paul. So he ordered the leading priests and the whole high council to meet together. He had Paul’s chains taken off and had him brought in to face the council.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 22:3 Gamaliel A very important teacher of the Pharisees, a Jewish religious group. See Acts 5:34.
  2. Acts 22:12 Ananias In Acts there are three men with this name. See Acts 5:1 and 23:2 for the other two.
  3. Acts 22:16 trusting in Jesus to save you Literally, “calling on his name,” meaning to show faith in Jesus by worshiping him or praying to him for help.
  4. Acts 22:23 ripping … air These actions were signs of very strong anger.
  5. Acts 22:25 Roman citizen Roman law said that Roman citizens must not be beaten before their trial. Also at 23:27.