Acts 22

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

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

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.

4And this Way I persecuted to death, binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women,

5as 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,

6and 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;

7I also fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?

8And I answered, Who are You, Lord? And He said to me, I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you persecute—

9and 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—

10and 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.

11And 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,

12and a certain one, Ananias, a pious man according to the Law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling [there],

13having come to me and stood by [me], said to me, Saul, brother, look up; and the same hour I looked up to him;

14and 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,

15because you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard;

16and now, why do you linger? Having risen, immerse yourself, and wash away your sins, calling on the Name of the LORD.

17And it came to pass, when I returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, I came into a trance,

18and I saw Him saying to me, Hurry and go forth in haste out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive your testimony concerning Me;

19and I said, LORD, they know that I was imprisoning and was scourging those believing on You in every synagogue;

20and 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;

21and He said to me, Go, because I will send you to far-off nations.”

22And 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.”

23And they crying out and casting up their garments, and throwing dust into the air,

24the 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.

25And 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?”

26And 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”;

27and the chief captain having come near, said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes”;

28and the chief captain answered, “I, with a great sum, obtained this citizenship”; but Paul said, “But I have even been born [so].”

29Immediately, 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,

30and 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.