Acts 22

Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.

Dear brothers, fathers, and fellow men, please listen to my heartfelt plea for understanding that I present to you now.

(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)

When they realized he was speaking to them in Hebrew, they fell into a deeper silence, hanging onto his every word.

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.

Truly, I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia. Yet, I was raised here, learning from Gamaliel, and educated in our ancestral laws. I passionately served God, just as you all do today.

And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.

I relentlessly persecuted the followers of this Way, even to their death, shackling and imprisoning both men and women.

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.

The high priest and the council of elders can vouch for me. They gave me letters to our brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the believers there back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment.

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.

As I neared Damascus on my journey, around midday, a brilliant light from the heavens suddenly enveloped me.

And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

I collapsed, overwhelmed, and heard a voice, filled with sorrow, asking, "Saul, Saul, why are you hurting me?"

And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

I asked, overwhelmed, "Who are you, my Lord?" And the voice gently replied, "It's me, Jesus from Nazareth, the one you've been opposing."

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.

Those with me indeed saw the radiant light and were terrified, yet they didn't hear the voice that spoke to me.

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.

In my confusion, I asked, "What's my next step, God?" He gently replied, "Get up, head to Damascus. There, you'll find the answers and understand your purpose."

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.

Overwhelmed by the blinding brilliance, I was unable to see. Guided by the hands of my companions, I arrived in Damascus.

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,

Ananias, a deeply religious man respected by all local Jews, lived there.

Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.

He approached me, standing tall, and gently said, "Brother Saul, let your eyes see again." In that very moment, I lifted my gaze to meet his.

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.

He said, "The God of our ancestors has selected you to understand His desires, to witness the Righteous One, and to hear His divine words."

For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.

You are to share your experiences and knowledge with everyone, acting as his messenger.

And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Why are you waiting? Stand up, get baptized, cleanse yourself from your sins, and call out to the Lord.

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;

When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I suddenly found myself in a deep spiritual trance.

And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.

I saw him urgently telling me, "Leave Jerusalem quickly, they won't accept your words about me."

And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:

With a heavy heart, I confessed to the Lord, "They are aware, Lord, that I once jailed and brutally punished those who had faith in you in every place of worship."

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.

As Stephen, the martyr, bled out, I stood there, agreeing with his execution, even holding the clothes of those who killed him.

And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.

He told me, "Go, I'm sending you on a long journey to connect with the non-Jews."

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.

They listened to him until he said this. Then, filled with outrage, they cried out, "Rid the earth of this man! He doesn't deserve to live!"

And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,

In their intense anguish, they screamed, shedding their garments and flinging handfuls of dust skyward.

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.

The head officer ordered him to be taken into the fortress. He wanted him to be interrogated under the whip's lash, to understand why there was such an outcry against him.

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?

As they tied Paul up, he turned to the nearby soldier and asked, "Is it right to punish a Roman citizen who hasn't been found guilty?"

When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.

Upon hearing this, the centurion rushed to the chief captain, urgently warning him, "Be careful with your actions, this man is a Roman!"

Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.

The commanding officer approached, asking him with curiosity, "Are you a Roman?" He replied affirmatively, "Yes, I am."

And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.

The commanding officer proudly declared, "I paid a hefty price for my citizenship." To which Paul calmly replied, "But I was born a citizen."

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.

Immediately, those who were supposed to interrogate him left in haste. The chief captain too, was filled with fear upon realizing he was a Roman, especially since he had unjustly bound him.

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.

The next day, wanting to understand why the Jews were accusing him, he freed Paul from his chains. He ordered the high priests and their council to gather, and presented Paul before them.