Acts 22

1 “Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense now to you.”

Paul said, “[Jewish] elders and my other fellow Jews, listen to me now while I reply to [those who are accusing me]!”

2 and they having heard that he was speaking to them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more silent, and he says,

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, indeed, am a man, a Jew, having been born in Tarsus of Cilicia, and brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, having been taught according to the exactness of a law of the fathers, being zealous of God, as all you are 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 And this Way I persecuted to death, binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women,

[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 also the chief priest testifies to me, and all the eldership; from whom also having received letters to the brothers, to Damascus, I was going on, to bring also those there bound to Jerusalem that they might 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 and it came to pass, in my going on and coming near to Damascus, about noon, suddenly out of Heaven there shone a great light 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 also fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying 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 And I answered, Who are You, Lord? And He said to me, I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you persecute—

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 and they who are with me saw the light, and became afraid, and they did not hear the voice of Him who is 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 and I said, What will I do, Lord? And the LORD said to me, Having risen, go on to Damascus, and there it will be told you concerning all things that have been appointed for you 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 And when I did not see from the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who are with me, I came to 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 and a certain one, Ananias, a pious man according to the Law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling [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 having come to me and stood by [me], said to me, Saul, brother, look up; and the same hour I looked up to 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 and he said, The God of our fathers chose you beforehand to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice out of His mouth,

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 because you will be His witness to all men 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, why do you linger? Having risen, immerse yourself, and wash away your sins, calling on the Name of the LORD.

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 And it came to pass, when I returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, I came 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 I saw Him saying to me, Hurry and go forth in haste out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive your testimony concerning 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 and I said, LORD, they know that I was imprisoning and was scourging those believing on You in every synagogue;

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 being poured forth, I was also standing by and assenting to his death, and keeping the garments of those putting him to death;

[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 and He said to me, Go, because I will send you to far-off nations.”

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 And they were hearing him to this word, and they lifted up their voice, saying, “Away from the earth with such a one; for it is not fit for him 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 And they crying out and casting up their garments, and throwing 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 chief captain commanded him to be brought into the stronghold, saying, “Let him be examined by scourges,” that he might know for what cause they were crying so 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 And as he was stretching him with the straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful to you to scourge a man, a Roman, uncondemned?”

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 And the centurion having heard, having gone near to the chief captain, told, saying, “Take heed what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman”;

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 and the chief captain having come near, said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes”;

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 and the chief captain answered, “I, with a great sum, obtained this citizenship”; but Paul said, “But I have even been born [so].”

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 Immediately, therefore, they departed from him, those being about to examine him, and the chief captain was also afraid, having learned that he is a Roman, and because he had bound him,

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 and the next day, intending to know the certainty for what reason he is accused by the Jews, he loosed him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their Sanhedrin to come, and having brought down Paul, he set [him] 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.