Read the Bible

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.” ² When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic,^(F1) they became even quieter.^{(C1) 3} He^(C1) continued, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel^(C2) according to the law of our ancestors. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.^{(C3) 4} I persecuted this Way^(C1) to the death, arresting and putting both men and women in jail,^{(C2) 5} as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to arrest those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.^(C1)

Paul’s Testimony

⁶ “As^(C1) I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

⁸ “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ ⁹ Now those who were with me saw the light,^(F1) but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.^(C1)

¹⁰ “I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’

“The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’

¹¹ “Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light,^(F1) I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus.^{(C1) 12} Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there,^{(C1) 13} came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. ¹⁴ And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed^(C1) you to know his will, to see^(C2) the Righteous One,^(C3) and to hear the words from his mouth, ¹⁵ since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.^{(C1) 16} And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins,^(C1) calling on his name.’^(C2)

¹⁷ “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance^{(C1) 18} and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹ “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten.^{(C1) 20} And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval^(F1) and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’^(C1)

²¹ “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’

Paul’s Roman Protection

²² They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!” ^(C1)

²³ As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air,^{(C1) 24} the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?” ^(C1)

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes,” he said.

²⁸ The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul said.

²⁹ So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.^(C1)

Paul before the Sanhedrin

³⁰ The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him^(F1) and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene.^(C1) He brought Paul down and placed him before them.