Act 22 | NASB1995 | STEP | “ Brethren and fathers , hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

3 ^d“I am ^ea Jew, born in ^fTarsus of ^gCilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^{▼▼ Lit at the feet of}under ⁱGamaliel, ^{▼▼ Lit according to the strictness of the ancestral law
,} ^kstrictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^lyou all are today. 4 ^m“I persecuted this ⁿWay to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, 5 as also ^othe high priest and all ^pthe Council of the elders ^{▼▼ Lit testifies for me}can testify. From them I also ^rreceived letters to ^sthe brethren, and started off for ^tDamascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ^{▼▼ Lit having been bound}as prisoners to be punished.

6 ^v“But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, 7 and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ 8 “And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am ^wJesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 “And those who were with me ^xsaw the light, to be sure, but ^ydid not ^{▼▼ Or hear (with comprehension)}understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 “And I said, ‘ ^aaWhat shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’ 11 “But since I ^abcould not see because of the ^{▼▼ Lit glory}brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

12 “A certain ^adAnanias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and ^aewell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘ ^afBrother Saul, receive your sight!’ And ^{▼▼ Or instantly; lit at the very hour
,} ^ahat that very time I looked up at him. 14 “And he said, ‘ ^aiThe God of our fathers has ^ajappointed you to know His will and to ^aksee the ^alRighteous One and to hear an ^{▼▼ Or message; lit voice}utterance from His mouth. 15 ‘For you will be ^ana witness for Him to all men of ^aowhat you have seen and heard. 16 ‘Now why do you delay? ^apGet up and be baptized, and ^aqwash away your sins, ^arcalling on His name.’

17 “It happened when I ^asreturned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^atfell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘ ^auMake haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 “And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^avI used to imprison and ^awbeat those who believed in You. 20 ‘And ^axwhen the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ 21 “And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away ^ayto the Gentiles.’”

22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, ^az“Away with such a fellow from the earth, for ^bahe should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were crying out and ^bbthrowing off their cloaks and ^bctossing dust into the air, 24 the ^{▼▼ I.e. chiliarch, in command of one thousand troops}commander ordered him to be brought into ^bethe barracks, stating that he should be ^bfexamined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out ^{▼▼ Or for the whip}with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it ^{▼▼ Interrogation by torture was a procedure used with slaves}lawful for you to scourge ^bia man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the ^{▼▼ V 24, note 1}commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The ^{▼▼ V 24, note 1}commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The ^{▼▼ V 24, note 1}commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore those who were about to ^bmexamine him immediately ^{▼▼ Lit withdrew from}let go of him; and the ^{▼▼ V 24, note 1}commander also ^bpwas afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had ^{▼▼ Lit bound him
,} ^brput him in chains.

30 But on the next day, ^bswishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he ^btreleased him and ordered the chief priests and all ^buthe ^{▼▼ Or Sanhedrin}Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.