22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense¹ that I now² make to you.” 22:2 (When they heard³ that he was addressing⁴ them in Aramaic,⁵ they became even⁶ quieter.)⁷ Then⁸ Paul said, 22:3 “I am a Jew,⁹ born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up¹⁰ in this city, educated with strictness¹¹ under¹² Gamaliel¹³ according to the law of our ancestors,¹⁴ and was¹⁵ zealous¹⁶ for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I¹⁷ persecuted this Way¹⁸ even to the point of death,¹⁹ tying up²⁰ both men and women and putting²¹ them in prison, 22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders²² can testify about me. From them²³ I also received²⁴ letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way²⁵ to make arrests there and bring²⁶ the prisoners²⁷ to Jerusalem²⁸ to be punished. 22:6 As²⁹ I was en route and near Damascus,³⁰ about noon a very bright³¹ light from heaven³² suddenly flashed³³ around me. 22:7 Then I³⁴ fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 22:8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,³⁵ whom you are persecuting.’ 22:9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand³⁶ the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 22:10 So I asked,³⁷ ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up³⁸ and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything³⁹ that you have been designated⁴⁰ to do.’ 22:11 Since I could not see because of⁴¹ the brilliance⁴² of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of⁴³ those who were with me. 22:12 A man named Ananias,⁴⁴ a devout man according to the law,⁴⁵ well spoken of by all the Jews who live there,⁴⁶ 22:13 came⁴⁷ to me and stood beside me⁴⁸ and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’⁴⁹ And at that very moment⁵⁰ I looked up and saw him.⁵¹ 22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors⁵² has already chosen⁵³ you to know his will, to see⁵⁴ the Righteous One,⁵⁵ and to hear a command⁵⁶ from his mouth, 22:15 because you will be his witness⁵⁷ to all people⁵⁸ of what you have seen and heard. 22:16 And now what are you waiting for?⁵⁹ Get up,⁶⁰ be baptized, and have your sins washed away,⁶¹ calling on his name.’⁶² 22:17 When⁶³ I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance⁶⁴ 22:18 and saw the Lord⁶⁵ saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 22:19 I replied,⁶⁶ ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues⁶⁷ who believed in you. 22:20 And when the blood of your witness⁶⁸ Stephen was shed,⁶⁹ I myself was standing nearby, approving,⁷⁰ and guarding the cloaks⁷¹ of those who were killing him.’⁷² 22:21 Then⁷³ he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

22:22 The crowd⁷⁴ was listening to him until he said this.⁷⁵ Then⁷⁶ they raised their voices and shouted,⁷⁷ “Away with this man⁷⁸ from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!”⁷⁹ 22:23 While they were screaming⁸⁰ and throwing off their cloaks⁸¹ and tossing dust⁸² in the air, 22:24 the commanding officer⁸³ ordered Paul⁸⁴ to be brought back into the barracks.⁸⁵ He told them⁸⁶ to interrogate Paul⁸⁷ by beating him with a lash⁸⁸ so that he could find out the reason the crowd⁸⁹ was shouting at Paul⁹⁰ in this way. 22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash,⁹¹ Paul said to the centurion⁹² standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen⁹³ without a proper trial?”⁹⁴ 22:26 When the centurion⁹⁵ heard this,⁹⁶ he went to the commanding officer⁹⁷ and reported it,⁹⁸ saying, “What are you about to do?⁹⁹ For this man is a Roman citizen.”¹⁰⁰ 22:27 So the commanding officer¹⁰¹ came and asked¹⁰² Paul,¹⁰³ “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”¹⁰⁴ He replied,¹⁰⁵ “Yes.” 22:28 The commanding officer¹⁰⁶ answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.”¹⁰⁷ “But I was even¹⁰⁸ born a citizen,”¹⁰⁹ Paul replied.¹¹⁰ 22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away¹¹¹ from him, and the commanding officer¹¹² was frightened when he realized that Paul¹¹³ was¹¹⁴ a Roman citizen¹¹⁵ and that he had had him tied up.¹¹⁶

22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer¹¹⁷ wanted to know the true reason¹¹⁸ Paul¹¹⁹ was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council¹²⁰ to assemble. He then brought¹²¹ Paul down and had him stand before them.