Acts 22
1 My brothers and fathers, give ear to the story of my life which I now put before you.
Men, brothers, and fathers, hear now my defense to you.
2 And, hearing him talking in the Hebrew language, they became the more quiet, and he said,
And having heard that he called out to them in the Hebrew language, they offered more silence. And he says,
3 I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia by birth, but I had my education in this town at the feet of Gamaliel, being trained in the keeping of every detail of the law of our fathers; given up to the cause of God with all my heart, as you are today.
I am indeed a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but reared in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, reared accurately in the paternal law, being a zealot of God, as ye all are today.
4 And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.
And I persecuted this Way as far as death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
5 Of which the high priest will be a witness, and all the rulers, from whom I had letters to the brothers; and I went into Damascus, to take those who were there as prisoners to Jerusalem for punishment.
As also the high priest testifies about me, and all the senior council, from whom also having received letters to the brothers in Damascus, I was going to bring bound even those who were there to Jerusalem so that they might be punished.
6 And it came about that while I was on my journey, coming near to Damascus, about the middle of the day, suddenly I saw a great light from heaven shining round me.
And there happened to me, while going and approaching Damascus about noon, suddenly to flash forth from heaven a great light around me.
7 And when I went down on the earth, a voice came to my ears saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly?
And I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do thou persecute me?
8 And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking.
And I answered, Who are thou, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom thou persecute.
9 And those who were with me saw the light, but the voice of him who was talking to me came not to their ears.
And those who were with me indeed saw the light and became afraid, but they heard not the voice of him who spoke to me.
10 And I said, What have I to do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Get up, and go into Damascus; and it will be made clear to you what you have to do.
And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, After rising, go into Damascus, and there it will be told thee about all things that have been assigned for thee to do.
11 And because I was unable to see because of the glory of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand, and so I came to Damascus.
And as I was not seeing from the splendor of that light, I came into Damascus, being led by hand by those who accompanied me.
12 And one Ananias, a God-fearing man, who kept the law, and of whom all the Jews in that place had a high opinion,
And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report by all the Jews who dwell there,
13 Came to my side and said, Brother Saul, let your eyes be open. And in that very hour I was able to see him.
having come near me, and having stood by, he said to me, Brother Saul, look up. And I looked up on him the same hour.
14 And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth.
And he said, The God of our fathers appointed thee to know his will, and to see the Righteous Man, and to hear a voice from his mouth,
15 For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears.
because thou will be a witness for him to all men of the things that thou have seen and heard.
16 And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name.
And now what is it going to be? Having arisen, immerse and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
17 And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear,
And it came to pass, my having returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, for me to became in a trance.
18 And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me.
And I saw him saying to me, Hurry and depart in haste out of Jerusalem, because they will not accept thy testimony about me.
19 And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you:
And I said, Lord, they know that I was imprisoning and beating in every synagogue those who believe in thee.
20 And when Stephen your witness was put to death, I was there, giving approval, and looking after the clothing of those who put him to death.
And when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I myself also was standing by, and approving his killing, and keeping the garments of those who killed him.
21 And he said to me, Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.
And he said to me, Depart, because I will send thee far away to Gentiles.
22 And they gave him a hearing as far as this word; then with loud voices they said, Away with this man from the earth; it is not right for him to be living.
And they heard him until this word. And they lifted up their voice, saying, Away with such a man from the earth, for he is not fit to live.
23 And while they were crying out, and pulling off their clothing, and sending dust into the air,
And of them crying out, and throwing off their garments, and casting dust into the air,
24 The chief captain gave orders for him to be taken into the army building, saying that he would put him to the test by whipping, so that he might have knowledge of the reason why they were crying out so violently against him.
the chief captain commanded him be brought into the fort, having said to examine him by scourging, so that he might know for what reason they shouted against him this way.
25 And when they had put leather bands round him, Paul said to the captain who was present, Is it the law for you to give blows to a man who is a Roman and has not been judged?
And as they stretched him out with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, Is it permitted for you to scourge a Roman man, and uncondemned?
26 And hearing this, the man went to the chief captain and gave him an account of it, saying, What are you about to do? for this man is a Roman.
And when the centurion heard, having come to the chief captain, he reported, saying, Look! What are thou about to do? For this man is a Roman.
27 And the chief captain came to him and said, Give me an answer, are you a Roman? And he said, Yes.
And the chief captain having come, he said to him, Tell me if thou are a Roman. And he said, Yes.
28 And the chief captain said, I got Roman rights for myself at a great price. And Paul said, But I had them by birth.
And the chief captain answered, Of a great sum I obtained this citizenship. And Paul said, But then I was born so.
29 Then those who were about to put him to the test went away: and the chief captain was in fear, seeing that he was a Roman, and that he had put chains on him.
Straightaway therefore those who were about to examine him withdrew from him. And the chief captain was also afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he was who bound him.
30 But on the day after, desiring to have certain knowledge of what the Jews had to say against him, he made him free, and gave orders for the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to come together, and he took Paul and put him before them.
But on the morrow, wanting to know the certainty of why he was accused by the Jews, he loosed him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to come. And having brought Paul down, he set him before them.
