Acts 22
22
Paul Speaks to the People
1Paul said, “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense to you.” 2When they heard him speaking the Hebrew language, they became very quiet. Paul said, 3“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in the country of Cilicia, but I grew up in this city. I was a student of Gamaliel, who carefully taught me everything about the law of our ancestors. I was very serious about serving God, just as are all of you here today. 4I persecuted the people who followed the Way of Jesus, and some of them were even killed. I arrested men and women and put them in jail. 5The high priest and the whole council of elders can tell you this is true. They gave me letters to the brothers in Damascus. So I was going there to arrest these people and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.
6“About noon when I came near Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed all around me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The voice said, ‘I am Jesus from Nazareth whom you are persecuting.’ 9Those who were with me did not understand the voice, but they saw the light. 10I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘Get up and go to Damascus. There you will be told about all the things I have planned for you to do.’ 11I could not see, because the bright light had made me blind. So my companions led me into Damascus.
12“There a man named Ananias came to me. He was a religious man; he obeyed the law of Moses, and all the Jews who lived there respected him. 13He stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, see again!’ Immediately I was able to see him. 14He said, ‘The God of our ancestors chose you long ago to know his plan, to see the Righteous One, and to hear words from him. 15You will be his witness to all people, telling them about what you have seen and heard. 16Now, why wait any longer? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, trusting in him to save you.’
17“Later, when I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple, and I saw a vision. 18I saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem now! The people here will not accept the truth about me.’ 19But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I put the believers in jail and beat them. 20They also know I was there when Stephen, your witness, was killed. I stood there agreeing and holding the coats of those who were killing him!’ 21But the Lord said to me, ‘Leave now. I will send you far away to the other nations.’ ”
22The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they began shouting, “Get rid of him! He doesn’t deserve to live!” 23They shouted, threw off their coats, and threw dust into the air.
24Then the commander ordered 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. 25But as the soldiers were tying him up, preparing to beat him, Paul said to an officer nearby, “Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen who has not been proven guilty?”
26When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. The officer said, “Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen.”
27The commander came to Paul and said, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?”
He answered, “Yes.”
28The commander said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”
But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.”
29The men who were preparing to question Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was frightened because he had already tied Paul, and Paul was a Roman citizen.
Paul Speaks to Leaders
30The next day the commander decided to learn why the Jews were accusing Paul. So he ordered the leading priests and the council to meet. The commander took Paul’s chains off. Then he brought Paul out and stood him before their meeting.
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Acts 22: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Acts 22
22
1“Brothers and fathers,” Paul began, “listen to me now. I want to give you reasons for my actions.”
2When they heard that he was speaking to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Then Paul said, 3“I am a Jew. I was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but I grew up here in Jerusalem. I studied with Gamaliel. I was well trained by him in the law given to our people long ago. I wanted to serve God as much as any of you do today. 4I hurt the followers of the Way of Jesus. I sent many of them to their death. I arrested men and women. I threw them into prison. 5The high priest and the whole Council can be witnesses of this themselves. I even had some official letters they had written to their friends in Damascus. So I went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
6“I had almost reached Damascus. About noon a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice speak to me. ‘Saul! Saul!’ it said. ‘Why are you opposing me?’
8“ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,’ he replied. ‘I am the one you are opposing.’ 9The light was seen by my companions. But they didn’t understand the voice of the one speaking to me.
10“ ‘What should I do, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said. ‘Go into Damascus. There you will be told everything you have been given to do.’ 11The brightness of the light had blinded me. So my companions led me by the hand into Damascus.
12“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a godly Jew who obeyed the law. All the Jews living there respected him very much. 13He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that very moment I was able to see him.
14“Then he said, ‘The God of our people has chosen you. He wanted to tell you his plans for you. You have seen the Blameless One. You have heard words from his mouth. 15Now you will tell everyone about what you have seen and heard. 16So what are you waiting for? Get up and call on his name. Be baptized. Have your sins washed away.’
17“I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple. Then it seemed to me that I was dreaming. 18I saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem at once. The people here will not accept what you tell them about me.’
19“ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know what I used to do. I went from one synagogue to another and put believers in prison. I also beat them. 20Stephen was a man who told other people about you. I stood there when he was killed. I had agreed that he should die. I even guarded the coats of those who were killing him.’
21“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go. I will send you far away to people who are not Jews.’ ”
Paul the Roman Citizen
22The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they shouted, “Kill him! He isn’t fit to live!”
23They shouted and threw off their coats. They threw dust into the air. 24So the commanding officer ordered that Paul be taken into the fort. He gave orders for Paul to be whipped and questioned. He wanted to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. 25A commander was standing there as they stretched Paul out to be whipped. Paul said to him, “Does the law allow you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”
26When the commander heard this, he went to the commanding officer and reported it. “What are you going to do?” the commander asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”
27So the commanding officer went to Paul. “Tell me,” he asked. “Are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes, I am,” Paul answered.
28Then the officer said, “I had to pay a lot of money to become a citizen.”
“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.
29Right away those who were about to question him left. Even the officer was alarmed. He realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.
Paul Is Taken to the Sanhedrin
30The commanding officer wanted to find out exactly what the Jews had against Paul. So the next day he let Paul out of prison. He ordered a meeting of the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin. Then he brought Paul and had him stand in front of them.
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