1 H ommes frères et pères, écoutez ce que j'ai maintenant à vous dire pour ma défense!

“ Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

2 L orsqu'ils entendirent qu'il leur parlait en langue hébraïque, ils redoublèrent de silence. Et Paul dit:

And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he said,

3 j e suis Juif, né à Tarse en Cilicie; mais j'ai été élevé dans cette ville-ci, et instruit aux pieds de Gamaliel dans la connaissance exacte de la loi de nos pères, étant plein de zèle pour Dieu, comme vous l'êtes tous aujourd'hui.

“ I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.

4 J 'ai persécuté à mort cette doctrine, liant et mettant en prison hommes et femmes.

I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons,

5 L e souverain sacrificateur et tout le collège des anciens m'en sont témoins. J'ai même reçu d'eux des lettres pour les frères de Damas, où je me rendis afin d'amener liés à Jérusalem ceux qui se trouvaient là et de les faire punir.

as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished.

6 C omme j'étais en chemin, et que j'approchais de Damas, tout à coup, vers midi, une grande lumière venant du ciel resplendit autour de moi.

“ But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,

7 J e tombai par terre, et j'entendis une voix qui me disait: Saul, Saul, pourquoi me persécutes-tu?

and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’

8 J e répondis: Qui es-tu, Seigneur? Et il me dit: Je suis Jésus de Nazareth, que tu persécutes.

And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’

9 C eux qui étaient avec moi virent bien la lumière, mais ils n'entendirent pas la voix de celui qui parlait. Alors je dis: Que ferai-je, Seigneur?

And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

10 E t le Seigneur me dit: Lève-toi, va à Damas, et là on te dira tout ce que tu dois faire.

And I said, ‘ What 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.’

11 C omme je ne voyais rien, à cause de l'éclat de cette lumière, ceux qui étaient avec moi me prirent par la main, et j'arrivai à Damas.

But 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 O r, un nommé Ananias, homme pieux selon la loi, et de qui tous les Juifs demeurant à Damas rendaient un bon témoignage, vint se présenter à moi,

“A certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

13 e t me dit: Saul, mon frère, recouvre la vue. Au même instant, je recouvrai la vue et je le regardai.

came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘ Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very time I looked up at him.

14 I l dit: Le Dieu de nos pères t'a destiné à connaître sa volonté, à voir le Juste, et à entendre les paroles de sa bouche;

And he said, ‘ The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth.

15 c ar tu lui serviras de témoin, auprès de tous les hommes, des choses que tu as vues et entendues.

For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

16 E t maintenant, que tardes-tu? Lève-toi, sois baptisé, et lavé de tes péchés, en invoquant le nom du Seigneur.

Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’

17 D e retour à Jérusalem, comme je priais dans le temple, je fus ravi en extase,

“It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance,

18 e t je vis le Seigneur qui me disait: Hâte-toi, et sors promptement de Jérusalem, parce qu'ils ne recevront pas ton témoignage sur moi.

and I saw Him saying to me, ‘ Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’

19 E t je dis: Seigneur, ils savent eux-mêmes que je faisais mettre en prison et battre de verges dans les synagogues ceux qui croyaient en toi, et que,

And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You.

20 l orsqu'on répandit le sang d'Étienne, ton témoin, j'étais moi-même présent, joignant mon approbation à celle des autres, et gardant les vêtements de ceux qui le faisaient mourir.

And when 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.’

21 A lors il me dit: Va, je t'enverrai au loin vers les nations...

And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

22 I ls l'écoutèrent jusqu'à cette parole. Mais alors ils élevèrent la voix, disant: Ote de la terre un pareil homme! Il n'est pas digne de vivre.

They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “ Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”

23 E t ils poussaient des cris, jetaient leurs vêtements, lançaient de la poussière en l'air.

And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,

24 L e tribun commanda de faire entrer Paul dans la forteresse, et de lui donner la question par le fouet, afin de savoir pour quel motif ils criaient ainsi contre lui.

the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

25 L orsqu'on l'eut exposé au fouet, Paul dit au centenier qui était présent: Vous est-il permis de battre de verges un citoyen romain, qui n'est pas même condamné?

But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?”

26 A ces mots, le centenier alla vers le tribun pour l'avertir, disant: Que vas-tu faire? Cet homme est Romain.

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 E t le tribun, étant venu, dit à Paul: Dis-moi, es-tu Romain? Oui, répondit-il.

The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.”

28 L e tribun reprit: C'est avec beaucoup d'argent que j'ai acquis ce droit de citoyen. Et moi, dit Paul, je l'ai par ma naissance.

The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.”

29 A ussitôt ceux qui devaient lui donner la question se retirèrent, et le tribun, voyant que Paul était Romain, fut dans la crainte parce qu'il l'avait fait lier.

Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains.

30 L e lendemain, voulant savoir avec certitude de quoi les Juifs l'accusaient, le tribun lui fit ôter ses liens, et donna l'ordre aux principaux sacrificateurs et à tout le sanhédrin de se réunir; puis, faisant descendre Paul, il le plaça au milieu d'eux.

But on the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.