Act 21:28-36, Act 22, Act 28 | ESV | STEP | crying out , Men of Israel , help ! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover , he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place .

28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who ^ais teaching everyone everywhere against the people and ^bthe law and ^cthis place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and ^dhas defiled ^ethis holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen ^fTrophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and ^gdragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 ^hAnd as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of ⁱthe cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 ^jHe at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him ^kto be bound ^lwith two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. 34 ^mSome in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ⁿthe barracks. 35 And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mob of the people followed, crying out, ^o“Away with him!”

Acts 22

1 ^p“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”

2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in ^qthe Hebrew language, ^{▼▼Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic)} they became even more quiet. And he said:

3 ^s“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^tat the feet of ^uGamaliel ^{▼▼Or city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated} ^waccording to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, ^xbeing zealous for God ^yas all of you are this day. 4 ^zI persecuted ^aathis Way ^abto the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as ^acthe high priest and ^adthe whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to ^aethe brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

6 ^af“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone 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 ^agJesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 ^ahNow those who were with me saw the light but did not understand ^{▼▼Or hear with understanding} the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ^aj‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

12 “And ^akone Ananias, a devout man ^alaccording to the law, ^amwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 ^ancame to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And ^aoat that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ^ap‘The God of our fathers ^aqappointed you to know his will, ^arto see ^asthe Righteous One and ^atto hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for ^auyou will be a witness for him to everyone of what ^avyou have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? ^awRise and be baptized and ^axwash away your sins, ^aycalling on his name.’

17 ^az“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ^bawas praying in the temple, I fell into ^bba trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ^bc‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another ^bdI imprisoned and ^bebeat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen ^bfyour witness was being shed, ^bgI myself was standing by and ^bhapproving and ^biwatching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you ^bjfar away to the Gentiles.’”

Paul and the Roman Tribune

22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, ^bk“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For ^blhe should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into ^bmthe barracks, saying that he should be ^bnexamined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, ^{▼▼Or when they had tied him up with leather strips} Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog ^bpa man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about ^bqto examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also ^brwas afraid, ^bsfor he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that ^bthe had bound him.

Paul Before the Council

30 But on the next day, ^budesiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.

Acts 28

Paul on Malta

1 After we were brought safely through, ^bvwe then learned that ^bwthe island was called Malta. 2 ^bxThe native people ^{▼▼Greek barbaroi (that is, non–Greek speakers); also verse 4} showed us unusual ^bzkindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. 3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. 4 When ^cathe native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ^cb“No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, ^ccJustice ^{▼▼Or justice} has not allowed him to live.” 5 He, however, ^ceshook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, ^cfthey changed their minds and ^cgsaid that he was a god.

7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and ^chprayed, and ^ciputting his hands on him, healed him. 9 And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10 They also honored us greatly, ^{▼▼Greek honored us with many honors} and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome

11 After three months we set sail in ^cka ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods ^{▼▼That is, the Greek gods Castor and Pollux} as a figurehead. 12 Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found ^cmbrothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verses 15, 21} and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 And ^cothe brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, ^cpPaul thanked God and took courage. 16 And when we came into Rome, ^cqPaul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

Paul in Rome

17 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, ^crthough I had done nothing against our people or ^csthe customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 When they had examined me, they ^ctwished to set me at liberty, ^cubecause there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19 But because the Jews objected, I was compelled ^cvto appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against ^cwmy nation. 20 For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is ^cxbecause of ^cythe hope of Israel that I am wearing ^czthis ^dachain.” 21 And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of ^dbthe brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. 22 But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this ^dcsect we know that everywhere ^ddit is spoken against.”

23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening ^dehe expounded to them, testifying to ^dfthe kingdom of God and ^dgtrying to convince them about Jesus ^dhboth from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 And ^disome were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: ^dj“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

26 ^dk“‘Go to this people, and say,
^dl“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
27 ^dmFor this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and ^dnturn, and I would heal them.’
28 Therefore let it be known to you that ^dothis ^dpsalvation of God ^dqhas been sent to the Gentiles; ^drthey will listen.” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add verse 29: And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, having much dispute among themselves}

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, ^{▼▼Or in his own hired dwelling} and ^duwelcomed all who came to him, 31 ^dvproclaiming ^dwthe kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ^dxwith all boldness and ^dywithout hindrance.