Acts 22

1 "Brethren and fathers," he said, "listen to my defence which I now make 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 And on hearing him address them in Hebrew, they kept all the more quiet; and he said,

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 at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I was carefully trained at the feet of Gamaliel in the Law of our forefathers, and, like all of you to-day, was zealous for God.

“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 to death this new faith, continually binding 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 also and all the Elders can bear me witness. It was, too, from them that I received letters to the brethren in Damascus, and I was already on my way to Damascus, intending to bring those also who had fled there, in chains 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 "But on my way, when I was now not far from Damascus, about noon a sudden blaze of light from Heaven shone round 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 are you persecuting 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 art thou, Lord?' I asked. "'I am Jesus, the Nazarene,' He replied, 'whom you are persecuting.'

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 "Now the men who were with me, though they saw the light, did not hear the words of Him who spoke 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 asked, "'What am I to do, Lord?' "And the Lord said to me, "'Rise, and go into Damascus. There you shall be told of all that has 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 as I could not see because the light had been so dazzling, those who were with me had to lead me by the arm, and so 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 Ananias, a pious man who obeyed the Law and bore a good character with all the Jews of the city,

[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 to me and standing at my side said, "'Brother Saul, recover your sight.' "I instantly regained my sight and looked up at 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 forefathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the righteous One and hear Him speak.

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 For you shall be a witness for Him, 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 delay? Rise, get yourself baptized, and wash off your sins, calling upon 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 "After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in 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 I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "'Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they 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 replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee;

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 they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing 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 "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"

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 Until they heard this last statement the people listened to Paul, but now with a roar of disapproval they cried out, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! He ought not to be allowed 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 when they continued their furious shouts, throwing their clothes into the air and flinging dust about,

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 Tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and be examined by flogging, in order to ascertain the reason why they thus cried out 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, when they had tied him up with the straps, Paul said to the Captain who stood by, "Does the Law permit you to flog a Roman citizen--and one too who is 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 On hearing this question, the Captain went to report the matter to the Tribune. "What are you intending 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 So the Tribune came to Paul and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said.

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 large sum for my citizenship," said the Tribune. "But I was born free," said Paul.

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 So the men who had been on the point of putting him under torture immediately left him. And the Tribune, too, was frightened when he learnt that Paul was a Roman citizen, for he had had him bound.

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, wishing to know exactly what charge was being brought against him by the Jews, the Tribune ordered his chains to be removed; and, having sent word to the High Priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble, he brought Paul down and made 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.