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¹ "^(C1)Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you."

² And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^(C1)Hebrew language, they became even quieter; and he ^(*)said,

³ "^(C1)I am ^(C2)a Jew, born in ^(C3)Tarsus of ^(C4)Cilicia, but having been brought up in this city, having been instructed at the feet of ^(C5)Gamaliel according to the ^(C6)strictness of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^(C7)you all are today,^4 (C1)I persecuted this ^(C2)Way to the death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons,⁵ as also ^(C1)the high priest and all ^(C2)the Council of the elders ^(F1)can testify. From them I also ^(C3)received letters to ^(C4)the brothers, and started off for ^(C3)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ^(F2)as prisoners to be punished.

⁶ "^(C1)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,⁷ and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'⁸ "And I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am ^(C1)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.'⁹ "And those who were with me ^(C1)beheld the light, to be sure, but ^(C2)did not ^(F1)understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.¹⁰ "And I said, '^(C1)What should I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been determined for you to do.'¹¹ "But since I ^(C1)could not see because of the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹² "Now a certain ^(C1)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and ^(C2)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,¹³ came to me, and standing near, said to me, '^(C1)Brother Saul, regain your sight!' And ^(F1)(C2)at that very hour I regained my sight and saw him.¹⁴ "And he said, '^(C1)The God of our fathers has ^(C2)appointed you to know His will and to ^(C3)see the ^(C4)Righteous One and to hear a ^(F1)voice from His mouth.¹⁵ 'For you will be ^(C1)a witness for Him to all men of ^(C2)what you have seen and heard.¹⁶ 'Now why do you delay? ^(C1)Rise up and be baptized, and ^(C2)wash away your sins, ^(C3)calling on His name.'

¹⁷ "Now it happened when I ^(C1)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^(C2)fell into a trance,¹⁸ and I saw Him saying to me, '^(C1)Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness about Me.'¹⁹ "And I said, 'Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^(C1)I used to imprison and ^(C2)beat those who believed in You.²⁰ 'And ^(C1)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and guarding the garments of those who were slaying him.'²¹ "And He said to me, 'Go! For I will send you far away ^(C1)to the Gentiles.'"

Paul, a Citizen of Rome

²² And they were listening to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, "^(C1)Away with such a fellow from the earth, for ^(C2)he should not be allowed to live!"²³ And as they were crying out and ^(C1)throwing off their garments and ^(C2)tossing dust into the air,²⁴ the ^(F1)commander ordered him to be brought into ^(C1)the barracks, stating that he should be ^(C2)examined by flogging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.²⁵ But when they stretched him out ^(F1)with leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it ^(F2)lawful for you to flog ^(C1)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"²⁶ And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported to him, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman."²⁷ And the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."²⁸ And the commander answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." And Paul said, "But I have been born a citizen."²⁹ Therefore those who were about to ^(C1)examine him immediately withdrew from him; and the commander also ^(C2)was afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he had ^(C3)bound him.

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

³⁰ But on the next day, ^(C1)wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he ^(C2)released him and ordered the chief priests and all ^(C3)the Sanhedrin to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.