Act 22 | NASB2020 | STEP | “ Brothers and fathers , hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

1 “ ^{▼▼Lit Men, brothers
,} ^bBrothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^{▼▼I.e., Jewish Aramaic
,} ^dHebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

3 “ ^eI am ^fa Jew, born in ^gTarsus of ^hCilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^{▼▼Lit at the feet of}under ^jGamaliel, ^{▼▼Lit according to the strictness of the ancestral law
,} ^lstrictly according to the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^myou all are today. 4 ⁿI persecuted this ^oWay to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, 5 as also ^pthe high priest and all ^qthe Council of the elders ^{▼▼Lit testifies for me}can testify. From them I also ^sreceived letters to ^tthe brothers, and started off for ^uDamascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ^{▼▼Lit having been bound}as prisoners to be punished.

6 “ ^wBut it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus at about noon, 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 ^xJesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 And those who were with me ^ysaw the light, but ^zdid not ^{▼▼Or hear (with comprehension)}understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘ ^abWhat shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that has been appointed for you to do.’ 11 But since I ^accould not see because of the ^{▼▼Lit glory}brightness of that light, I came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.

12 “Now a certain ^aeAnanias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law and ^afwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing nearby he said to me, ‘ ^agBrother Saul, receive your sight!’ And ^{▼▼Or instantly; lit at the very hour
,} ^aiat that very moment I looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘ ^ajThe God of our fathers has ^akappointed you to know His will and to ^alsee the ^amRighteous One and to hear a ^{▼▼Lit voice}message from His mouth. 15 For you will be ^aoa witness for Him to all people of ^apwhat you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you delay? ^aqGet up and be baptized, and ^arwash away your sins by ^ascalling on His name.’

17 “It happened when I ^atreturned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^aufell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘ ^avHurry 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 ^awI used to imprison and ^axbeat those who believed in You. 20 And ^aywhen the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away ^azto the Gentiles.’”

22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “ ^baAway with such a man from the earth, for ^bbhe should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were shouting and ^bcthrowing off their cloaks and ^bdtossing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that he be brought into ^bethe barracks, saying that he was to be ^bfinterrogated by flogging so that he would find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out ^{▼▼Or for the whip}with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it ^{▼▼Interrogation by torture was a procedure used with slaves}lawful for you to flog ^bia man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The commander came and said to ^{▼▼Lit him}Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore, those who were about to ^bkinterrogate him immediately backed away from him; and the commander also ^blwas afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had ^{▼▼Lit bound him
,} ^bnput him in chains.

30 Now on the next day, ^bowanting to know for certain why Paul had been accused by the Jews, he ^bpreleased him and ordered the chief priests and all ^bqthe ^{▼▼Or Sanhedrin}Council to assemble, and he brought Paul down and placed him before them.