Acts of the Apostles 22

NEW JERUSALEM	KING JAMES BIBLE
1 'My brothers, my fathers, listen to what I have to say to you in my defence.'	1 Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
2 When they realised he was speaking in Hebrew, the silence was even greater than before.	2 (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
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.	3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
4 I even persecuted this Way to the death and sent women as wel as men to prison in chains	4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
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.	5 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
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.	6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"	7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
8 I answered, "Who are you, Lord?" and he said to me, "I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you arepersecuting."	8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
9 The people with me saw the light but did not hear the voice which spoke to me.	9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake 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."	10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee 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.	11 And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
12 'Someone called Ananias, a devout fol ower of the Law and highly thought of by al the Jews livingthere,	12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
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.	13 Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon 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,	14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
15 because you are to be his witness before all humanity, testifying to what you have seen and heard.	15 For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
16 And now why delay? Hurry and be baptised and wash away your sins, cal ing on his name."	16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
17 'It happened that, when I got back to Jerusalem, and was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance	17 And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in 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."	18 And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
19 "Lord," I answered, "they know that I used to go from synagogue to synagogue, imprisoning andflogging those who believed in you;	19 And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
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."	20 And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
21 Then he said to me, "Go! I am sending you out to the gentiles far away." '	21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
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!'	22 And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
23 They were yel ing, waving their cloaks and throwing dust into the air,	23 And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw 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.	24 The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so 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?'	25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?
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.'	26 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
27 So the tribune came and asked him, 'Tel me, are you a Roman citizen?' Paul answered 'Yes'.	27 Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
28 To this the tribune replied, 'It cost me a large sum to acquire this citizenship.' 'But I was born to it,'said Paul.	28 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
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.	29 Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
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.	30 On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.