22Acts 22

1"Brethren and fathers," he said, "listen to my defence which I now make before you."Select Acts 22:1

2And on hearing him address them in Hebrew, they kept all the more quiet; and he said,Select Acts 22:2

3"I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I was carefully trained at the feet of Gamaliel in the Law of our forefathers, and, like all of you to-day, was zealous for God.Select Acts 22:3

4I persecuted to death this new faith, continually binding both men and women and throwing them into prison;Select Acts 22:4

5as the High Priest also and all the Elders can bear me witness. It was, too, from them that I received letters to the brethren in Damascus, and I was already on my way to Damascus, intending to bring those also who had fled there, in chains to Jerusalem, to be punished.Select Acts 22:5

6"But on my way, when I was now not far from Damascus, about noon a sudden blaze of light from Heaven shone round me.Select Acts 22:6

7I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, "`Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'Select Acts 22:7

8"`Who art thou, Lord?' I asked. "`I am Jesus, the Nazarene,' He replied, `whom you are persecuting.'Select Acts 22:8

9"Now the men who were with me, though they saw the light, did not hear the words of Him who spoke to me.Select Acts 22:9

10And I asked, "`What am I to do, Lord?' "And the Lord said to me, "`Rise, and go into Damascus. There you shall be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.'Select Acts 22:10

11"And as I could not see because the light had been so dazzling, those who were with me had to lead me by the arm, and so I came to Damascus.Select Acts 22:11

12"And a certain Ananias, a pious man who obeyed the Law and bore a good character with all the Jews of the city,Select Acts 22:12

13came to me and standing at my side said, "`Brother Saul, recover your sight.' "I instantly regained my sight and looked up at him.Select Acts 22:13

14Then he said, `The God of our forefathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the righteous One and hear Him speak.Select Acts 22:14

15For you shall be a witness for Him, to all men, of what you have seen and heard.Select Acts 22:15

16And now why delay? Rise, get yourself baptized, and wash off your sins, calling upon His name.'Select Acts 22:16

17"After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance.Select Acts 22:17

18I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "`Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.'Select Acts 22:18

19"`Lord,' I replied, `they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee;Select Acts 22:19

20and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.'Select Acts 22:20

21"`Go,' He replied; `I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"Select Acts 22:21

22Until they heard this last statement the people listened to Paul, but now with a roar of disapproval they cried out, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! He ought not to be allowed to live."Select Acts 22:22

23And when they continued their furious shouts, throwing their clothes into the air and flinging dust about,Select Acts 22:23

24the Tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and be examined by flogging, in order to ascertain the reason why they thus cried out against him.Select Acts 22:24

25But, when they had tied him up with the straps, Paul said to the Captain who stood by, "Does the Law permit you to flog a Roman citizen--and one too who is uncondemned?"Select Acts 22:25

26On hearing this question, the Captain went to report the matter to the Tribune. "What are you intending to do?" he said. "This man is a Roman citizen."Select Acts 22:26

27So the Tribune came to Paul and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said.Select Acts 22:27

28"I paid a large sum for my citizenship," said the Tribune. "But I was born free," said Paul.Select Acts 22:28

29So the men who had been on the point of putting him under torture immediately left him. And the Tribune, too, was frightened when he learnt that Paul was a Roman citizen, for he had had him bound.Select Acts 22:29

30The next day, wishing to know exactly what charge was being brought against him by the Jews, the Tribune ordered his chains to be removed; and, having sent word to the High Priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble, he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.Select Acts 22:30