" aBrethren and fathers
, hear
my defense
which I now
offer to you."
And when they heard that he was addressing
them in the 1 aHebrew
dialect
, they became
even more
quiet
; and he *said
,
" aI am ba Jew
, born
in cTarsus
of dCilicia
, but brought
up in this
city
, educated
1under
eGamaliel
, 2 fstrictly
according
to the law
of our fathers
, being
zealous
for God
just
as gyou all
are today
.
" aI persecuted this
bWay
to the death
, binding
and putting
both
men
and women
into prisons
,
as also athe high
priest
and all
bthe Council
of the elders
1can testify
. From them I also
creceived
letters
to dthe brethren
, and started
off for cDamascus
in order to bring
even
those
who were there
to Jerusalem
2as prisoners
to be punished
.
" aBut it happened that as I was on my way
, approaching
Damascus
about
noontime
, a very
bright
light
suddenly
flashed
from heaven
all
around
me,
and I fell to the ground
and heard
a voice
saying
to me, `Saul
, Saul
, why
are you persecuting
Me?'
"And I answered, `Who
are You, Lord
?' And He said
to me, `I am
aJesus
the Nazarene
, whom
you are persecuting
.'
"And those who
were with me asaw
the light
, to be sure
, but bdid not 1understand
the voice
of the One who was speaking
to me.
"And I said, ` aWhat
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
.'
"But since I acould not see
because
of the 1brightness
of that light
, I was led
by the hand
by those
who were with me and came
into Damascus
.
"A certain aAnanias
, a man
who was devout
by the standard
of the Law
, and bwell
spoken
of by all
the Jews
who lived
there,
came to me, and standing
near
said
to me, ` aBrother
Saul
, receive
your sight
!' And 1 bat that very
time
I looked
up at him.
"And he said, ` aThe God
of our fathers
has bappointed
you to know
His will
and to csee
the dRighteous
One
and to hear
an 1utterance
from His mouth
.
`For you will be aa witness for Him to all
men
of bwhat
you have seen
and heard
.
`Now why
do you delay
? aGet
up and be baptized
, and bwash
away
your sins
, ccalling
on His name
.'
"It happened when I areturned
to Jerusalem
and was praying
in the temple
, that I bfell
into a trance
,
and I saw Him saying
to me, ` aMake
haste
, and get
out of Jerusalem
quickly
, because
they will not accept
your testimony
about
Me.'
"And I said, `Lord
, they themselves
understand
that in one synagogue
after
another
aI used to imprison
and bbeat
those
who believed
in You.
`And awhen 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.'
"And He said to me, `Go
! For I will send
you far
away
ato the Gentiles
.' "
They listened to him up to this
statement
, and then they raised
their voices
and said
, " aAway
with such
a fellow
from the earth
, for bhe should
not be allowed
to live
!"
And as they were crying out and athrowing
off
their cloaks
and btossing
dust
into the air
,
the 1commander ordered
him to be brought
into athe barracks
, stating
that he should be bexamined
by scourging
so
that he might find
out the reason
why
they were shouting
against him that way
.
But when they stretched
him out 1with thongs
, Paul
said
to the centurion
who was standing
by, "Is it 2lawful
for you to scourge
aa man
who is a Roman
and uncondemned
?"
When the centurion heard
this, he went
to the 1commander
and told
him, saying
, "What
are you about
to do
? For this
man
is a Roman
."
The 1commander came
and said
to him, "Tell
me, are you a Roman
?" And he said
, "Yes
."
The 1commander answered
, "I acquired
this
citizenship
with a large
sum
of money
." And Paul
said
, "But I was actually
born
a citizen."
Therefore those
who were about
to aexamine
him immediately
1let
go
of him; and the 2commander
also
bwas afraid
when he found
out that he was a Roman
, and because
he had 3 cput
him in chains
.
But on the next day
, awishing
to know
for certain
why
he had been accused
by the Jews
, he breleased
him and ordered
the chief
priests
and all
cthe 1Council
to assemble
, and brought
Paul
down
and set
him before
them.