1 ` Men, brethren, and fathers, hear my defence now unto you;' --

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

2 a nd they having heard that in the Hebrew dialect he was speaking to them, gave the more silence, and he saith, --

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

3 ` I, indeed, am a man, a Jew, having been born in Tarsus of Cilicia, and brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, having been taught according to the exactitude of a law of the fathers, being zealous of God, as all ye are to-day.

“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 ` And this way I persecuted unto death, binding and delivering up to 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 chief priest doth testify to me, and all the eldership; from whom also having received letters unto the brethren, to Damascus, I was going on, to bring also those there bound to Jerusalem that they might 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 a nd it came to pass, in my going on and coming nigh to Damascus, about noon, suddenly out of the heaven there shone a great light round about me,

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

7 I fell also to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?

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

8 ` And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? and he said unto me, I am Jesus the Nazarene whom thou dost persecute --

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

9 a nd they who are with me the light did see, and became afraid, and the voice they heard not of him who is 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 unto me, Having risen, go on to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee concerning all things that have been appointed for thee 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 ` And when I did not see from the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who are with me, I came to 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 nd a certain one, Ananias, a pious man according to the law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling,

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

13 h aving come unto me and stood by, said to me, Saul, brother, look up; and I the same hour did look up to 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 did choose thee beforehand to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice out 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 b ecause thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard;

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

16 a nd now, why tarriest thou? having risen, baptize thyself, and wash away thy sins, calling upon 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 ` And it came to pass when I returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, I came 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, Haste and go forth in haste out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive thy 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 a nd I said, Lord, they -- they know that I was imprisoning and was scourging in every synagogue those believing on thee;

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 thy witness Stephen was being poured forth, I also was standing by and assenting to his death, and keeping the garments of those putting him to death;

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 unto me, Go, because to nations far off I will send thee.'

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

22 A nd they were hearing him unto this word, and they lifted up their voice, saying, `Away from the earth with such an one; for it is not fit for him 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 they crying out and casting up their garments, and throwing 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 chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, saying, `By scourges let him be examined;' that he might know for what cause they were crying 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 he was stretching him with the thongs, Paul said unto the centurion who was standing by, `A man, a Roman, uncondemned -- is it lawful to you to scourge;'

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 a nd the centurion having heard, having gone near to the chief captain, told, saying, `Take heed what thou art 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 a nd the chief captain having come near, said to him, `Tell me, art thou a Roman?' and he said, `Yes;'

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

28 a nd the chief captain answered, `I, with a great sum, did obtain this citizenship;' but Paul said, `But I have been even born.'

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

29 I mmediately, therefore, they departed from him who are about to examine him, and the chief captain also was afraid, having learned that he is a Roman, and because he had bound him,

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 a nd on the morrow, intending to know the certainty wherefore he is accused by the Jews, he did loose him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their sanhedrim to come, and having brought down Paul, he set 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.