Acts 22

Modern

Literal

Paul’s Defense to the Crowd

¹“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”

¹“Men, brothers and fathers, hear now my defense to you.”

²When they heard him speak to them in Hebrew,^a they became even more quiet.

Then Paul declared,

²And having heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he says,

³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

³“I am a man, a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia and brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, having been educated according to the exactness of the law of our fathers, being a zealous one of God, even as all of you are this day,

⁴I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison,

⁴who persecuted this Way as far as death, binding and delivering to prisons both men and women,

⁵as the high priest and the whole Council can testify about me. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to apprehend these people and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁵as also the high priest—and all the elderhood—testifies to me, from whom also having received letters to the brothers, I was going to Damascus to bring also those being there bound to Jerusalem so that they might be punished.

⁶About noon as I was approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.

⁶But it happened to me, journeying and drawing near to Damascus about noon, that suddenly a great light out of heaven shone around me,

⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’

⁷and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’

⁸‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked.

‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.

⁸And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’

⁹My companions saw the light, but they could not understand the voice of the One speaking to me.

⁹And those being with me indeed saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the One speaking to me.

¹⁰Then I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’

‘Get up and go into Damascus,’ He told me. ‘There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.’

¹⁰And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Having risen up, go to Damascus, and there it will be told to you concerning all things that it has been appointed to you to do.’

¹¹Because the brilliance of the light had blinded me, my companions led me by the hand into Damascus.

¹¹And while I could not see from the brightness of that light, I came to Damascus, being led by the hand by those being with me.

¹²There a man named Ananias, a devout observer of the law who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there,

¹²And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling there,

¹³came and stood beside me. ‘Brother Saul,’ he said, ‘receive your sight.’ And at that moment I could see him.

¹³having come to me and having stood near, said to me, ‘Brother Saul, look up.’ And the same hour I looked up at him.

¹⁴Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear His voice.

¹⁴And 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 out of His mouth.

¹⁵You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁵For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’

¹⁶And now, why do you delay? Having arisen, be baptized and wash away your sins, having called on His name.’

¹⁷Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance

¹⁷And it happened to me, having returned to Jerusalem and in my praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance

¹⁸and saw the Lord^a saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’

¹⁸and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and go forth with speed out of Jerusalem, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’

¹⁹‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You.

¹⁹And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in each of those synagogues I was imprisoning and beating those believing on You.

²⁰And when the blood of Your witness^a Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’

²⁰And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was poured out, I myself was also standing by and consenting and watching over the garments of those killing him.’

²¹Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

²¹And He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

Paul the Roman Citizen

²²The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!”

²²Now they were listening to him until this word. And they lifted up their voice, saying, “Away with such from the earth! For it is not fitting for him to live!”

²³As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,

²³And in their crying out and casting off the garments and throwing dust into the air,

²⁴the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him.

²⁴the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, having directed him to be examined by flogging, so that he might know for what cause they were crying out against him like this.

²⁵But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?”

²⁵But as they stretched him forward with the straps, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it lawful to you to flog a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?”

²⁶On hearing this, the centurion went and reported it to the commander. “What are you going to do?” he said. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁶And the centurion, having heard, having gone to the commander, reported it, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.”

²⁷The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes,” he answered.

²⁷And having come near, the commander said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he was saying, “Yes.”

²⁸“I paid a high price for my citizenship,” said the commander.

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

²⁸And the commander answered, “I bought this citizenship with a great sum.” But Paul was saying, “But I have even been born so.”

²⁹At once those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

²⁹So immediately those being about to examine him departed from him, and the commander also was afraid, having ascertained that he is a Roman, and because he had bound him.

³⁰The next day the commander, wanting to learn the real reason Paul was accused by the Jews, released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin^a to assemble. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.

³⁰And on the next day, desiring to know for certain why he is accused by the Jews, he unbound him and he commanded the chief priests and all the Council to assemble. And having brought down Paul, he set him among them.