Acts of the Apostles 22

¹ 'My brothers, my fathers, listen to what I have to say to you in my defence.'

² When they realised he was speaking in Hebrew, the silence was even greater than before.

³ 'I am a Jew', Paul said, 'and was born at Tarsus in Cilicia. I was brought up here in this city. It wasunder Gamaliel that I studied and was taught the exact observance of the Law of our ancestors. In fact, I was asful of duty towards God as you al are today.

⁴ I even persecuted this Way to the death and sent women as wel as men to prison in chains

⁵ as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify. I even received letters from them to thebrothers in Damascus, which I took with me when I set off to bring prisoners back from there to Jerusalem forpunishment.

⁶ 'It happened that I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus when in the middle of the day a brightlight from heaven suddenly shone round me.

⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

⁸ I answered, "Who are you, Lord?" and he said to me, "I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you arepersecuting."

⁹ The people with me saw the light but did not hear the voice which spoke to me.

¹⁰ I said, "What am I to do, Lord?" The Lord answered, "Get up and go into Damascus, and there youwil be told what you have been appointed to do."

¹¹ Since the light had been so dazzling that I was blind, I got to Damascus only because my companionsled me by the hand.

¹² 'Someone called Ananias, a devout fol ower of the Law and highly thought of by al the Jews livingthere,

¹³ came to see me; he stood beside me and said, "Brother Saul, receive your sight." Instantly my sightcame back and I was able to see him.

¹⁴ Then he said, "The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Upright One andhear his own voice speaking,

¹⁵ because you are to be his witness before all humanity, testifying to what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶ And now why delay? Hurry and be baptised and wash away your sins, cal ing on his name."

¹⁷ 'It happened that, when I got back to Jerusalem, and was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance

¹⁸ and then I saw him. "Hurry," he said, "leave Jerusalem at once; they wil not accept the testimony you are giving about me."

¹⁹ "Lord," I answered, "they know that I used to go from synagogue to synagogue, imprisoning andflogging those who believed in you;

²⁰ and that when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I, too, was standing by, in fullagreement with his murderers, and in charge of their clothes."

²¹ Then he said to me, "Go! I am sending you out to the gentiles far away." '

²² So far they had listened to him, but at these words they began to shout, 'Rid the earth of the man! Heis not fit to live!'

²³ They were yel ing, waving their cloaks and throwing dust into the air,

²⁴ and so the tribune had him brought into the fortress and ordered him to be examined under the lash,to find out the reason for the outcry against him.

²⁵ But when they had strapped him down Paul said to the centurion on duty, 'Is it legal for you to flog aman who is a Roman citizen and has not been brought to trial?'

²⁶ When he heard this the centurion went and told the tribune; 'Do you realise what you are doing?' hesaid. 'This man is a Roman citizen.'

²⁷ So the tribune came and asked him, 'Tel me, are you a Roman citizen?' Paul answered 'Yes'.

²⁸ To this the tribune replied, 'It cost me a large sum to acquire this citizenship.' 'But I was born to it,'said Paul.

²⁹ Then those who were about to examine him hurriedly withdrew, and the tribune himself was alarmedwhen he realised that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

³⁰ The next day, since he wanted to know for sure what charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Pauland gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and sethim in front of them.