Acts 22
1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”
Paul said, “[Jewish] elders and my other fellow Jews, listen to me now while I reply to [those who are accusing me]!”
2 When they heard him speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more silent. Then Paul declared,
When the crowd of people heard Paul speaking to them in [their own] Hebrew language, they became even more quiet and really listened. Then Paul said to them,
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 am just as zealous for God as any of you here today.
“I am a Jew, [as are all of you]. I was born in Tarsus [city], in Cilicia [province], but I grew up here in Jerusalem. [When I was young, for many years] I studied the laws [that Moses gave to our ancestors]. I was taught by [the famous teacher] Gamaliel [MTY] {[The famous teacher] Gamaliel taught [MTY] me}. [I have] carefully [obeyed those laws, because] I have wanted to obey God. I [am sure that] many of you also carefully obey [those laws].
4 I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison,
[That is why] I previously persecuted those who believe the message [that people call] the Way [that Jesus taught. I continually looked for ways] to kill [them. Whenever I found] men or women [who believed that message], I [commanded that] they should be seized and thrown {[people to] seize them and throw them} into jail.
5 as 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.
The supreme priest knows this, and so do the [other respected men who belong to our Jewish] Council. They gave me letters to [take to] their fellow Jews in Damascus [city. By means of those letters, they authorized me to] go to there and find people who believed in [Jesus. They had written in the letters that I was to bring those people] as prisoners to Jerusalem, so that they would be punished here {[the leaders here] could punish them}. [So I went on my way to Damascus].
6 About noon as I was approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.
About noon, my companions and I were getting near Damascus. Suddenly a bright light from the sky flashed all around me.
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’
[The light was so bright that] I fell to the ground. Then I heard the voice [of someone] speaking to me [from up in the sky. The one who was speaking to me said], ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you [(sg)] do things to harm me?’
8 ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.
I answered, ‘Who are you?’ He replied, ‘I am Jesus from Nazareth. I [am the one] whom you [(sg)] are harming [by doing things to harm my followers].’
9 My companions saw the light, but they could not understand the voice of the One speaking to me.
The men who were [traveling] with me saw the [very bright] light, [and they heard a voice], but they did not understand what the voice said to me.
10 Then 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.’
Then I asked, ‘Lord, what [do you want] me to do?’ The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus! [A man] there will tell you [(sg)] all that I have planned for you to do.’
11 Because the brilliance of the light had blinded me, my companions led me by the hand into Damascus.
[After that, I could not see], because the [very bright] light had caused me to become blind. So my companions took me by the hand and led me until [we(exc) arrived] in Damascus.
12 There a man named Ananias, a devout observer of the law who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there,
[A couple of days] later, a man whose name was Ananias came to [see] me. He was a man who [greatly respected God and] carefully obeyed [our Jewish] laws. All the Jews living in Damascus said good things about him.
13 came and stood beside me. ‘Brother Saul,’ he said, ‘receive your sight.’ And at that moment I could see him.
He came and stood beside me and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, see [again]!’ Instantly I could see! I saw Ananias [standing there beside me].
14 Then 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.
Then he said: ‘The God whom [we(inc) worship and] whom our ancestors [worshipped] has chosen you and will show you what he wants [you to do. He has allowed you] to see the righteous one, [the Messiah], and you have heard him speaking [to you].
15 You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
He wants you to tell people everywhere what you have seen and heard [from him].
16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’
So now (do not delay!/why delay?) [RHQ] Stand up, let [me] baptize you, and by praying to the Lord [Jesus ask God] to forgive you [(sg)] for your sins!’”
17 Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
“Later, I returned to Jerusalem. [One day] I went to the Temple courtyard. While I was praying there, I saw a vision [in which]
18 and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’
I saw the Lord speaking to me. He said to me, ‘[Do not stay here]! Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people [here] will not (believe/listen to) what you [(sg)] tell [them] 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.
But I [protested and] said to him, ‘Lord, they know that I went to many of our meeting houses looking for people who believe in you. I was putting in jail those [whom I found] who believed in you, and I was even beating them.
20 And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’
[They remember that] when Stephen was killed [MTY] {when people killed [MTY] Stephen} because he told people about you, I stood there [watching it all] and approving [what they were doing]. I [even] guarded the outer garments that those who were murdering him [had thrown aside. So if I stay here, the fact that I have changed how I think about you will surely impress those leaders of our people].’
21 Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
But the Lord said to me, ‘No, [do not stay here]! Leave [Jerusalem, because] I am going to send you [(sg)] far away [from here] to non-Jewish people!’”
22 The 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!”
The people listened [quietly] to what Paul was saying until [he mentioned the Lord sending him to non-Jewish people]. Then they began shouting [angrily], “Kill him! [He does not deserve to live any longer]!” [They said that because they could not believe that God would save anyone except Jews].
23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,
While they continued shouting, [“Kill him!”] they took off their cloaks and threw dust into the air, [which showed how angry they were].
24 the 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.
So the commander [commanded] that Paul be taken {[soldiers] to take Paul} into the barracks. He told [the soldiers] that they should strike Paul with a whip [that had pieces of bone/metal on the end of it], in order to make him tell what he had done that made the Jews shout so angrily. [So the soldiers took Paul into the barracks].
25 But 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?”
Then they stretched his arms out [and tied them] so that they could whip him [on his back. But] Paul said to the officer who was standing nearby [watching], “[You(sg) should think carefully about this]! You will certainly be [RHQ] acting unlawfully if you whip me, a Roman [citizen whom] no [one has put on trial and] condemned!”
26 On 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.”
When the officer heard that, he went to the commander and reported it to him. He said [to the commander], “This man is a Roman [citizen] (Surely you would not [command us to whip him]!/Do you really want [us to whip him]?) [RHQ]”
27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered.
The commander [was surprised when he heard that. He himself] went [into the barracks] and said to Paul, “Tell me, are you [(sg) really] a Roman [citizen]?” Paul answered, “Yes, I [am].”
28 “I paid a high price for my citizenship,” said the commander. “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.
Then the commander said, “[I am also a Roman citizen]. I paid a lot of money to become a [Roman] citizen.” Paul said, “But I was born a [Roman] citizen, [so I did not need to pay anything].”
29 Then 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.
The soldiers [were about to whip Paul and to ask him questions about what he had done. But when they heard what Paul said, they] left him immediately. The commander also became afraid, because he realized that Paul was a Roman [citizen] and that he had [illegally commanded soldiers to] tie up Paul’s [hands].
30 The 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 to assemble. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.
[The commander still] wanted to know exactly why the Jews were accusing Paul. So the next day he [told the soldiers to] take the chains off Paul. He also summoned the chief priests and the [other Jewish] Council [members]. Then he took Paul [to where the Council was meeting] and [commanded] him to stand before them.
