Hechos 22
1 Mis hermanos y padres, escuchen la historia de mi vida que ahora pongo delante de ustedes.
Paul said, “[Jewish] elders and my other fellow Jews, listen to me now while I reply to [those who are accusing me]!”
2 Y oyéndole hablar en hebreo, se volvieron más callados, y él dijo:
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 Soy un judío de Tarso en Cilicia por nacimiento, pero tuve mi educación en esta ciudad a los pies de Gamaliel, siendo entrenado en el mantenimiento de cada detalle de la ley de nuestros padres; entregado a la causa de Dios con todo mi corazón, como hoy lo son todos ustedes.
“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 Y perseguía este Camino, incluso hasta la muerte, encadenaba y los arrestaba y metia a la cárcel, tomando hombres y mujeres.
[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 De lo cual el sumo sacerdote me es testigo, y todos los ancianos, de quienes tengo cartas para los hermanos; y fui a Damasco, para llevar a los que estaban allí como prisioneros a Jerusalén para que fuesen castigados.
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 Y sucedió que mientras estaba en mi viaje, acercándome a Damasco, a la mitad del día, de repente vi una gran luz del cielo que brillaba a mi alrededor.
About noon, my companions and I were getting near Damascus. Suddenly a bright light from the sky flashed all around me.
7 cuando caí al suelo, una voz vino a mis oídos diciéndome: Saulo, Saulo, ¿por qué me persigues?
[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 Y yo, respondiendo, dije: ¿Quién eres tú? ¿Señor? Y él me dijo: Yo soy Jesús de Nazaret, a quien tú persigues.
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 Y los que estaban conmigo, vieron la luz, pero la voz del que me hablaba no les llegó a oídos.
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 Y yo dije: ¿Qué tengo que hacer, Señor? Y el Señor me dijo: Levántate, y vete a Damasco; y allí se te dirá todo lo que está ordenado que hagas.
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 Y como no pude ver a causa de la gloria de esa luz, los que estaban conmigo me llevaron de la mano, y así vine a Damasco.
[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 Y un tal Ananías, un hombre temeroso de Dios, que guardaba la ley, y de quien todos los judíos en ese lugar tenían una alta opinión,
[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 vino a mi lado y dijo: Hermano Saulo, que se abran tus ojos. Y en esa misma hora pude verlo.
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 Y él dijo: Has sido marcado por el Dios de nuestros padres para conocer su propósito, y para que veas al que es justo y para escuchar las palabras de Su boca.
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 Porque serás testigo para él a todos los hombres de lo que has visto y oído.
He wants you to tell people everywhere what you have seen and heard [from him].
16 Y ahora, ¿por qué estás esperando? levántate y toma el bautismo para lavar tus pecados invocando su nombre.
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 Y sucedió que cuando regresé a Jerusalén, mientras oraba en el Templo, tuve una visión,
“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 y lo vi que me decía: apurate, Sal de Jerusalén enseguida porque ellos no recibirán tu testimonio sobre mí.
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 Y yo dije: Señor, ellos mismos saben que crucé las sinagogas poniendo en prisión y azotando a todos los que tenían fe en ti.
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 Y cuando Esteban tu testigo fue muerto, yo estaba allí, dando mi aprobación, y buscando después de la ropa de aquellos que lo mataron.
[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 Y él me dijo: Ve, porque yo te enviaré lejos a los 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 Y ellos le escucharon en cuanto a esta palabra; Luego, a grandes voces, dijeron: ¡Fuera con este hombre de la tierra! no es correcto para él estar vivo.
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 Y mientras ellos estaban gritando, y quitándose la ropa, y enviando polvo al aire,
While they continued shouting, [“Kill him!”] they took off their cloaks and threw dust into the air, [which showed how angry they were].
24 el jefe de la guardia dio órdenes para que fuera llevado al edificio del ejército, diciendo que lo pondría a prueba azotando, entonces que él podría tener conocimiento de la razón por la que estaban clamando tan violentamente contra él.
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 Y cuando le pusieron ataduras de cuero, Pablo le dijo al capitán que estaba presente: ¿Es la ley que le den golpes a un hombre que es romano y no ha sido juzgado?
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 Al oír esto, el hombre fue donde el comandante y le dio cuenta de lo sucedido, diciendo: ¿Qué vas a hacer? porque este hombre es romano.
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 Entonces el comandante se acercó a él y le dijo: Dame una respuesta, ¿eres romano? Y él dijo: Sí.
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 Y el capitán principal dijo: obtuve derechos romanos para mí a un gran precio. Y Pablo dijo: Pero los tuve por nacimiento.
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 Entonces los que estaban a punto de ponerlo a prueba se fueron; y el comandante temió, viendo que era romano, y que le había puesto cadenas.
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 Pero al día siguiente, deseando tener cierto conocimiento de lo que los judíos tenían que decir contra él, lo liberó, y dio órdenes para que los sumos sacerdotes y todo el Sanedrín vinieran, y tomó a Pablo y lo puso delante de ellos.
[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.
