1 “ Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.”

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

2 A nd when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said:

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

3 “ I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God 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 delivering into prisons both men and women,

“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 bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem 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 “ Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone 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 S o I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, 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 “ And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.

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

10 S o I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are 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 A nd since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I 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 “ Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there,

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

13 c ame to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour 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 T hen he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of 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 His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.

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

16 A nd now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

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 “ Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance

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

18 a nd saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning 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 S o I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on 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 martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing 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 T hen He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ” Paul’s Roman Citizenship

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

22 A nd they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit 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 T hen, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw 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, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him.

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 A nd as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood 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 that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you 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 hen the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” He said, “Yes.”

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

28 T he commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.” And Paul said, “But I was 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 hen immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. The Sanhedrin Divided

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 T he next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, 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.