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

Paul said, “Brothers and fathers, listen to what I have to say to you.”

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

When they heard him speak to them in their own language, they stopped making noise. Then he said,

3 “ 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.

“I am a Jew. I was born in the city of Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. When I was a young man, I lived here in Jerusalem. I went to Gamaliel’s school and learned all about the Law of our early fathers. I worked hard for God as you all do today.

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

“I worked hard and killed men and women who believed as I believe today. I put them in chains and sent them to prison.

5 a s 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.

The head religious leader and the leaders of the people can tell you this is true. I got letters from them to take to our Jewish brothers in the city of Damascus. I was going there to put the Christians in chains and bring them to Jerusalem where they would be beaten. The Change in Paul’s Life on the Damascus Road

6 “ 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,

“I was near Damascus. All at once, about noon, I saw a bright light from heaven shining around me.

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

I fell to the ground. A voice said to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you work so hard against Me?’

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

I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the One you are working against.’

9 A nd 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.

Those who were with me saw the light. But they did not hear Him speaking to me.

10 A nd 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.’

I asked, ‘Lord, what should I do?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up! Go to Damascus. You will be told what to do there.’

11 B ut 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.

“I could not see because of the bright light. Those who were with me had to lead me by the hand until we came to Damascus.

12 “ 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,

Ananias lived there. He obeyed the Law and was respected by all the Jews.

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

He came and stood near me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ At once I was able to see him.

14 A nd 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.

Then Ananias said, ‘The God of our fathers chose you to know what He wants done. He chose you to see Jesus Christ, the One Right with God, and to hear His voice.

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

You are to tell all men what you have seen and heard.

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

What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on His name.’ Paul Is Called to Work with the People Who Are Not Jews

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

“I came back to Jerusalem. When I was praying in the house of God, I had a dream.

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

I saw Him as He said to me, ‘Get out of Jerusalem! They will not listen to you when you tell them about Me!’

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

I said, ‘Lord, they know I took Christians out of every Jewish place of worship. I had them beaten and put in prison.

20 A nd 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.’

Also when Stephen was killed, I stood there and watched them throw stones at him. Those who threw the stones had me watch their coats.’

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

The Lord said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the people who are not Jews.’ ”

22 T hey 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!”

They listened to him until he said that. Then they all cried out with loud voices, “Kill him! Take such a man from the earth! He should not live!”

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

They kept on calling out. Then they pulled off their coats and threw dust in the air. Paul Tells Who He Is

24 t he 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.

The captain told them to bring Paul into the soldiers’ building. He told his soldiers to find out from Paul, by beating him, why the people were crying out against him.

25 B ut 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?”

As they tied him up, Paul said to the soldier, “Does the law say that you can beat a Roman citizen when no one has said he is guilty?”

26 W hen 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.”

When the soldier heard this, he told it to the captain. He said, “Listen! What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen.”

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

The captain came and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” Paul said, “Yes!”

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

The captain said, “I had to pay a lot of money to be a citizen.” Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.”

29 T herefore 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.

Those who were going to beat him left him at once. The captain was also afraid when he heard that Paul was a Roman citizen because he had him tied. Paul Stands in Front of the Religious Leaders’ Court

30 B ut 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.

The next day they took off the chains that were holding Paul. The captain wanted to know why the Jews wanted to kill him. So the captain told the head religious leaders to gather for their court. They brought Paul and put him in front of them.