Acts 22
22
1 “Men—brothers and fathers—hear my defence to you now.” 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more silent. And he said:
3 “I am a Jewish man* born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the exactness of the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God,* just as all of you are today. 4 I pursued this Way to the death, binding and consigning both men and women to prisons, 5 as indeed the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness; from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and was journeying towards Damascus to bring those who were there also bound to Jerusalem, in order that they might be punished.
6 “And it occurred that, as I was journeying and drawing near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly enveloped me. 7 And I collapsed to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ * 8 And I responded, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light, but did not comprehend the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise; and go to Damascus, and there you will be told concerning all the things that have been appointed for you to do.’ 11 And while I could not see from the resplendence of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and I came to Damascus.
12 And a certain Ananias, a pious man according to the Law, well attested by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and stood by me, and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour, I looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear an utterance from His mouth, 15 for you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now, what are you waiting for? Rise, be baptised and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’
17 “And it occurred that, after I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple,* I was in a trance, 18 and saw Him saying to me, ‘Take quick action and get out of Jerusalem with haste, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I was imprisoning and beating those who believe in You. 20 And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself also was standing near and consenting and guarding the garments of those who were killing him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you afar to the Gentiles.’ ”
Paul and the Military Tribune
22 Now they were listening to him up to this word. And they raised their voices, saying, “Remove such a person from the earth! For it is not proper for him to live.” 23 And as they were crying out and casting off their garments and throwing dust into the air, 24 the military tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying he was to be examined under torture, in order that he might ascertain the reason for which they were crying out against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the lashes, Paul said to the centurion who was standing there, “Is it right for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 Upon hearing this, the centurion went to the military tribune and reported it, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the military tribune came near and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he affirmed, “Yes.” 28 And the military tribune answered, “I purchased this citizenship for a large sum.” And Paul said, “But I indeed was born with the privilege of citizenship.”* 29 Then immediately, those who were going to examine him withdrew from him; and the military tribune also was afraid, having ascertained that he was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.
Paul’s Apologia Before the Sanhedrin
30 But on the following day, intending to know for certain why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him, and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to come together; and having brought down Paul, he set him before them.
Notes
3 Greek Jewish
3 Three ancient Greek manuscripts omit the genitive phrase for God
7 In order to form a parallel with 26:14, one ancient Greek manuscript inserts at the end of v. 7 the expression: It is hard for you to kick against the goads
17 Or outer courts of the temple
28 Greek But I indeed was born
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Acts 22: AFINTLIT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Acts 22
22
1 “Men—brothers and fathers—hear my defence to you now.” 2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more silent. And he said:
3 “I am a Jewish man* born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the exactness of the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God,* just as all of you are today. 4 I pursued this Way to the death, binding and consigning both men and women to prisons, 5 as indeed the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness; from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and was journeying towards Damascus to bring those who were there also bound to Jerusalem, in order that they might be punished.
6 “And it occurred that, as I was journeying and drawing near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly enveloped me. 7 And I collapsed to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ * 8 And I responded, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light, but did not comprehend the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise; and go to Damascus, and there you will be told concerning all the things that have been appointed for you to do.’ 11 And while I could not see from the resplendence of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and I came to Damascus.
12 And a certain Ananias, a pious man according to the Law, well attested by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and stood by me, and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour, I looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear an utterance from His mouth, 15 for you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now, what are you waiting for? Rise, be baptised and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’
17 “And it occurred that, after I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple,* I was in a trance, 18 and saw Him saying to me, ‘Take quick action and get out of Jerusalem with haste, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I was imprisoning and beating those who believe in You. 20 And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself also was standing near and consenting and guarding the garments of those who were killing him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you afar to the Gentiles.’ ”
Paul and the Military Tribune
22 Now they were listening to him up to this word. And they raised their voices, saying, “Remove such a person from the earth! For it is not proper for him to live.” 23 And as they were crying out and casting off their garments and throwing dust into the air, 24 the military tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying he was to be examined under torture, in order that he might ascertain the reason for which they were crying out against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the lashes, Paul said to the centurion who was standing there, “Is it right for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 Upon hearing this, the centurion went to the military tribune and reported it, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the military tribune came near and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he affirmed, “Yes.” 28 And the military tribune answered, “I purchased this citizenship for a large sum.” And Paul said, “But I indeed was born with the privilege of citizenship.”* 29 Then immediately, those who were going to examine him withdrew from him; and the military tribune also was afraid, having ascertained that he was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.
Paul’s Apologia Before the Sanhedrin
30 But on the following day, intending to know for certain why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him, and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to come together; and having brought down Paul, he set him before them.
Notes
3 Greek Jewish
3 Three ancient Greek manuscripts omit the genitive phrase for God
7 In order to form a parallel with 26:14, one ancient Greek manuscript inserts at the end of v. 7 the expression: It is hard for you to kick against the goads
17 Or outer courts of the temple
28 Greek But I indeed was born
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).