1 P aul said, “Brothers and fathers, listen to what I have to say to you.”

Brethren and fathers, hear my defence which I now make to you.

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

And hearing that he addressed them in the Hebrew tongue, they kept the more quiet; and he says,

3 “ 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.

I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to exactness of the law of fathers, being zealous for God, as ye are all this day;

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

who have persecuted this way unto death, binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women;

5 T he 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

as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the elderhood: from whom also, having received letters to the brethren, I went to Damascus to bring those also who were there, bound, to Jerusalem, to be punished.

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

And it came to pass, as I was journeying and drawing near to Damascus, that, about mid-day, there suddenly shone out of heaven a great light round about me.

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

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

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

And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus the Nazaraean, whom thou persecutest.

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

But they that were with me beheld the light,, but heard not the voice of him that was speaking to me.

10 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.’

And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Rise up, and go to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which it is appointed thee to do.

11 “ 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.

And as I could not see, through the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came to Damascus.

12 A nanias lived there. He obeyed the Law and was respected by all the Jews.

And a certain Ananias, a pious man according to the law, borne witness to by all the Jews who dwelt,

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

coming to me and standing by me, said to me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And I, in the same hour, received my sight and saw him.

14 T hen 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.

And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen thee beforehand to know his will, and to see the just one, and to hear a voice out of his mouth;

15 Y ou are to tell all men what you have seen and heard.

for thou shalt be a witness for him to all men of what thou hast seen and heard.

16 W hat 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

And now why lingerest thou? Arise and get baptised, and have thy sins washed away, calling on his name.

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

And it came to pass when I had returned to Jerusalem, and as I was praying in the temple, that I became in ecstasy,

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

and saw him saying to me, Make haste and go quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.

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

And I said, Lord, they themselves know that I was imprisoning and beating in every synagogue those that believe on thee;

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

and when the blood of thy witness Stephen was shed, I also myself was standing by and consenting, and kept the clothes of them who killed him.

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

And he said to me, Go, for I will send thee to the nations afar off.

22 T hey 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!”

And they heard him until this word, and lifted up their voice, saying, Away with such a one as that from the earth, for it was not fit he should live.

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

And as they were crying, and throwing away their clothes, and casting dust into the air,

24 T he 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.

the chiliarch commanded him to be brought into the fortress, saying that he should be examined by scourging, that he might ascertain for what cause they cried thus against him.

25 A s 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?”

But as they stretched him forward with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man a Roman and uncondemned?

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

And the centurion, having heard it, went and reported it to the chiliarch, saying, What art thou going to do? for this man is a Roman.

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

And the chiliarch coming up said to him, Tell me, Art thou a Roman? And he said, Yes.

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

And the chiliarch answered, I, for a great sum, bought this citizenship. And Paul said, But I was also born.

29 T hose 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

Immediately therefore those who were going to examine him left him, and the chiliarch also was afraid when he ascertained that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

30 T he 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.

And on the morrow, desirous to know the certainty why he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and having brought Paul down set him before them.