Acts of the Apostles 22

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 "My brothers and fathers, listen to what I am about to say to you in my defense."	1 “Noble brothers and fathers, listen to the explanation that I now give to you.”
2 When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew they became all the more quiet. And he continued,	2 And when they heard him speaking to them in the Hebrew language, they offered a greater silence.
3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.	3 And he said: “I am a Jewish man, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but raised in this city beside the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous for the law, just as all of you also are to this day.
4 I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.	4 I persecuted this Way, even unto death, binding and delivering into custody both men and women,
5 Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well.	5 just as the high priest and all those greater by birth bear witness to me. Having received letters from them to the brothers, I journeyed to Damascus, so that I might lead them bound from there to Jerusalem, so that they might be punished.
6 "On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me.	6 But it happened that, as I was traveling and was approaching Damascus at midday, suddenly from heaven a great light shone around me.
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'	7 And falling to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
8 I replied, 'Who are you, sir?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.'	8 And I responded, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’
9 My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me.	9 And those who were with me, indeed, saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of him who was speaking with me.
10 I asked, 'What shall I do, sir?' The Lord answered me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.'	10 And I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ Then the Lord said to me: ‘Rise up, and go to Damascus. And there, you shall be told all that you must do.’
11 Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus.	11 And since I could not see, because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by my companions, and I went to Damascus.
12 "A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,	12 Then a certain Ananias, a man in accord with the law, having the testimony of all the Jews who were living there,
13 came to me and stood there and said, 'Saul, my brother, regain your sight.' And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him.	13 drawing near to me and standing close by, said to me, ‘Brother Saul, see!’ And in that same hour, I looked upon him.
14 Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice;	14 But he said: ‘The God of our fathers has preordained you, so that you would come to know his will and would see the Just One, and would hear the voice from his mouth.
15 for you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard.	15 For you shall be his witness to all men about those things which you have seen and heard.
16 Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name.'	16 And now, why do you delay? Rise up, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, by invoking his name.’
17 "After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance	17 Then it happened that, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, a mental stupor came over me,
18 and saw the Lord saying to me, 'Hurry, leave Jerusalem at once, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'	18 and I saw him saying to me: ‘Hurry! Depart quickly from Jerusalem! For they will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 But I replied, 'Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you.	19 And I said: ‘Lord, they know that I am beating and enclosing in prison, throughout every synagogue, those who have believed in you.
20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself stood by giving my approval and keeping guard over the cloaks of his murderers.'	20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was poured out, I stood nearby and was consenting, and I watched over the garments of those who put him to death.’
21 Then he said to me, 'Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles.'"	21 And he said to me, ‘Go forth. For I am sending you to far away nations.’ ”
22 They listened to him until he said this, but then they raised their voices and shouted, "Take such a one as this away from the earth. It is not right that he should live."	22 Now they were listening to him, until this word, and then they lifted up their voice, saying: “Take this kind away from the earth! For it is not fitting for him to live!”
23 And as they were yelling and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air,	23 And while they were shouting, and tossing aside their garments, and casting dust into the air,
24 the cohort commander ordered him to be brought into the compound and gave instruction that he be interrogated under the lash to determine the reason why they were making such an outcry against him.	24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into the fortress, and to be scourged and tortured, in order to discover the reason that they were crying out in this way against him.
25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion on duty, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been tried?"	25 And when they had tied him with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing near him, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and has not been condemned?”
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the cohort commander and reported it, saying, "What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen."	26 Upon hearing this, the centurion went to the tribune and reported it to him, saying: “What do you intend to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”
27 Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he answered.	27 And the tribune, approaching, said to him: “Tell me. Are you a Roman?” So he said, “Yes.”
28 The commander replied, "I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money." Paul said, "But I was born one."	28 And the tribune responded, “I obtained this citizenship at great cost.” And Paul said, “But I was born to it.”
29 At once those who were going to interrogate him backed away from him, and the commander became alarmed when he realized that he was a Roman citizen and that he had had him bound.	29 Therefore, those who were going to torture him, immediately withdrew from him. The tribune was similarly afraid, after he realized that he was a Roman citizen, for he had bound him.
30 The next day, wishing to determine the truth about why he was being accused by the Jews, he freed him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.	30 But on the next day, wanting to discover more diligently what the reason was that he was accused by the Jews, he released him, and he ordered the priests to convene, with the entire council. And, producing Paul, he stationed him among them.