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22 ¹ “Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense to you now”. ² And having heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they granted more quietness.

I Am a Jew Trained By Gamaliel, And Was Zealously Persecuting The Church

And he says, ³ “I am a Jewish man, having been born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but having been brought-up in this city; having been trained at the feet of Gamaliel^[a] in accordance with the strictness^[b] of the Law of ^[c] my ancestor^[d]; being a zealot for God just as you all are today— ⁴ who persecuted this Way to the point of death, binding and handing-over both men and women to prisons, ⁵ as indeed the high priest testifies concerning me, and the whole Council-of-elders, from whom also having received letters to the brothers, I was proceeding to Damascus to bring bound to Jerusalem even the ones being there, in order that they might be punished.

On The Way To Damascus For This Purpose, Jesus Spoke To Me And Blinded Me

⁶ “But it came about in my proceeding and drawing-near to Damascus about mid-day, that suddenly a great 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, sir^[e]?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, Whom you are persecuting’. ⁹ And the ones being with me saw the light, but did not hear^[f] the voice of the One speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Having arisen, proceed into Damascus. And there it will be told you concerning everything which has been assigned^[g] to you to do’. ¹¹ But since I was not seeing because of the glory of that light, I came into Damascus being hand-led by the ones being with me.

Ananias Restored My Sight And Said God Appointed Me To Be His Witness

¹² “And a certain Ananias— a reverent man in-relation-to the Law, being attested by all the Jews dwelling there, ¹³ having come to me and having stood near— said to me, ‘Brother Saul, see again’. And I looked-up at him at the very hour. ¹⁴ And the one said, the God of our fathers appointed^[h] you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One and hear a voice from His mouth, ¹⁵ because you will be a witness for Him to all people of the things which you have seen and which you heard. ¹⁶ And now, why are you delaying? Having arisen, be baptized, and wash-away your sins, having called-upon His name’.

In a Vision At The Temple, God Said He Was Sending Me To The Gentiles

¹⁷ “And it came about at my having returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, that I came-to-be in a trance ¹⁸ and saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry, and go out from Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me’. ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that throughout the synagogues I was imprisoning and beating the ones putting-faith upon You. ²⁰ And when the blood of Stephen Your witness was being shed, I myself also was standing-near and giving-approval and guarding the garments of the ones killing him’. ²¹ And He said to me, ‘Be going, because I will send you out far away to the Gentiles’”.

At The Mention of Gentiles, The Mob Erupts. The Romans Take Paul Away

²² And they were listening-to him up to this statement. And they raised their voice, saying, “Take away such a one from the earth, for it was^[i] not proper that he continue-living”. ²³ And while they were shouting and throwing-off their cloaks and throwing dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered that he be brought into the barracks— having said that he should be interrogated with whips in order that he might learn for what reason they were calling-out against him in this manner. ²⁵ But when they stretched him out with^[j] the straps^[k], Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful^[l] for you to whip a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” ²⁶ And having heard it, the centurion, having gone to the commander, reported, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman”. ²⁷ And having gone to him, the commander said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And the one said, “Yes”. ²⁸ And the commander responded, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum [of money]”. And Paul said, “But I indeed have been born one”. ²⁹ So the ones being about to interrogate him immediately withdrew from him. And the commander also became afraid, having learned that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

The Romans Take Paul Before The Sanhedrin

³⁰ And on the next day, wanting to know the certainty as to why he was being accused by the Jews, he released^[m] him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to come together. And having brought Paul down, he stood him before them. 23 ¹ And Paul, having looked-intently at the Sanhedrin, said, “Men, brothers, I have conducted-myself ^[n] with all good conscience before God up to this day”. ² And the high priest Ananias^[o] commanded the ones standing near him to strike his mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you— whitewashed wall! Do You indeed sit there judging me according to the Law, and violating-the-Law, order that I be struck?” ⁴ And the ones standing near 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 has been written [in Ex 22:28] that ‘You shall not speak badly of a ruler of your people’”.

Paul Divides The Assembly Over The Question of The Resurrection

⁶ And Paul, having known that the one part of them was of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, was crying-out in the Sanhedrin, “Men, brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am being judged concerning the hope^[p] and resurrection of the dead”. ⁷ And he having said this, a dispute between the Pharisees and Sadducees took place, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For Sadducees say that there is not a resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit— but Pharisees confess all^[q] three. ⁹ And a great clamor took place. And having stood up, some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ part were battling, saying, “We are finding no evil in this man. And what if a spirit did speak to him, or an angel?”

The Romans Take Paul Away

¹⁰ And while a great dispute was taking place, the commander— having feared that Paul might be torn-to-pieces by them— ordered the troop^[r], having gone down, to snatch him out of the midst of them and bring him to the barracks.

That Night The Lord Appears To Paul And Says He Will Also Testify In Rome

¹¹ And on the following^[s] night, the Lord, having stood near him, said, “Take-courage. For as you solemnly-testified in Jerusalem as to the things concerning Me, so you must also testify in Rome”.

The Next Day, Over 40 Jews Swear an Oath To Kill Paul, And Hatch a Plot

¹² And having become day, the Jews, having held a gathering, bound themselves under-a-curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until which time they killed Paul. ¹³ Now there were more than forty having made^[t] this sworn-pact— ¹⁴ who, having gone to the chief priests and the elders, said, “With a curse^[u], we bound ourselves under-a-curse to eat nothing until which time we kill Paul. ¹⁵ Now therefore, you, along with the Sanhedrin, notify the commander so that he may bring him down to you, as-though you are intending to determine the things concerning him more accurately. And we are prepared that we might kill him before he draws-near”.

Paul’s Nephew Hears of The Plot, And Informs The Roman Commander

¹⁶ But the son of the sister of Paul— having heard-of the ambush, having come and entered into the barracks— reported it to Paul. ¹⁷ And Paul, having summoned one of the centurions, said, “Lead this young-man away to the commander, for he has something to report to him”. ¹⁸ So indeed the one, having taken him along, led him to the commander. And he says, “Paul the prisoner, having summoned me, asked that I lead this young man to you— he having something to tell you”. ¹⁹ And the commander— having taken-hold-of his hand, and having withdrawn privately— was asking, “What is it that you have to report to me?” ²⁰ And he said that “The Jews agreed to ask you so that tomorrow you might bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin, as-though intending to inquire something more accurately concerning him. ²¹ So don’t you be persuaded by them. For more than forty men from-among them are lying-in-wait-for him who bound themselves under-a-curse neither to eat nor drink until which time they kill him. And now they are prepared, waiting-for the promise^[v] from you”.

The Roman Commander Makes Arrangements To Send Paul To Caesarea

²² Then indeed the commander sent away the young-man, having commanded him to tell no one “that you revealed^[w] these things to me”. ²³ And having summoned a certain two of the centurions, he said, “Prepare two-hundred soldiers and seventy horsemen and two-hundred spearmen^[x] so that they may proceed to Caesarea at the third^[y] hour of the night”; ²⁴ and that they should provide mounts in order that having put-on Paul, they might bring him safely through to Felix^[z] the governor, ²⁵ he having written a letter having this form:

²⁶ “Claudius Lysias, to the most-excellent governor Felix: Greetings. ²⁷ I rescued this man having been seized by the Jews and being about to be killed by them, having come-suddenly-upon them with the troop— having learned that he was a Roman^[aa]. ²⁸ And wanting to know the reason for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin— ²⁹ whom I found being accused about issues of their Law, but having no accusation^[ab] worthy of death or imprisonment. ³⁰ And a plot having been disclosed to me that would be against the man, I sent him to you at once, having also ordered his accusers to speak the things against him before you”.

Roman Soldiers Take Paul To Caesarea, Where He Awaits The Arrival of His Accusers

³¹ So indeed the soldiers, in accordance with the thing having been commanded them, having picked-up Paul, brought him during the night to Antipatris. ³² And on the next day, they^[ac] returned to the barracks, having let the horsemen depart with him— ³³ who, having entered into Caesarea, and having delivered the letter to the governor, presented Paul to him also. ³⁴ And having read it, and having asked from what province he was, and having learned that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers also arrive”— having ordered that he be guarded in the Praetorium^[ad] of Herod.