Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, August 13th, 2025
the Week of Proper 14 / Ordinary 19
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Acts 22:27

The captain came back and took charge. "Is what I hear right? You're a Roman citizen?" Paul said, "I certainly am."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Citizens;   Claudius Lysius;   Minister, Christian;   Paul;   Roman Empire;   Soldiers;   Trial;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Courts of Justice;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Tarsus;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Paul;   Philippians, letter to the;   Rome;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Ordination;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Lysias, Claudius;   Stripes;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Citizenship;   Felix;   Lysias Claudius;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Citizen, Citizenship;   Roman Law;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Damascus;   Paul the Apostle;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Captain;   Scourging;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Washing;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Claudius;   Paul;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Army;   Citizenship;   Jesus Christ, the Arrest and Trial of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
King James Version (1611)
Then the chiefe captaine came; and said vnto him, Tell me, art thou a Romane? He said, Yea.
King James Version
Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
English Standard Version
So the tribune came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" And he said, "Yes."
New American Standard Bible
The commander came and said to Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."
New Century Version
The commander came to Paul and said, "Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?" He answered, "Yes."
Amplified Bible
So the commander came and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
The commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."
Legacy Standard Bible
And the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."
Berean Standard Bible
The commander went to Paul and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he answered.
Contemporary English Version
The commander went to Paul and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," Paul answered.
Complete Jewish Bible
The commander came and said to Sha'ul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said.
Darby Translation
And the chiliarch coming up said to him, Tell me, Art *thou* a Roman? And he said, Yes.
Easy-to-Read Version
The commander came to Paul and said, "Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?" He answered, "Yes."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the chiefe captaine came, and sayd to him, Tel me, art thou a Romane? And he said, Yea.
George Lamsa Translation
Then the captain came and said to him, Tell me, are you a Roman? Paul said, Yes.
Good News Translation
So the commander went to Paul and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," answered Paul.
Lexham English Bible
So the military tribune came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" And he said, "Yes."
Literal Translation
And coming up, the chiliarch said to him, Tell me, are you a Roman? And he said, Yes.
American Standard Version
And the chief captain came and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? And he said, Yea.
Bible in Basic English
And the chief captain came to him and said, Give me an answer, are you a Roman? And he said, Yes.
Hebrew Names Version
The commanding officer came and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes."
International Standard Version
So the tribune went and asked Paul,him
">[fn] "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said.
Etheridge Translation
And the tribune approached him, and said to him, Tell me, art thou a Roman ? He said to him, Yes.
Murdock Translation
And the Chiliarch came to him, and said to him: Tell me; Art thou a Roman? And he said to him: Yes.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then the vpper captaine came, & saide vnto him: Tel me, art thou a Romane? He sayde, yea.
English Revised Version
And the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? And he said, Yea.
World English Bible
The commanding officer came and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes."
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Then the tribune came and said to him, Tell me, Art thou a Roman?
Weymouth's New Testament
So the Tribune came to Paul and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the tribune cam niy, and seide to hym, Seie thou to me, whether thou art a Romayn?
Update Bible Version
And the colonel came and said to him, Tell me, are you a Roman? And he said, Yes.
Webster's Bible Translation
Then the chief captain came, and said to him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yes.
New English Translation
So the commanding officer came and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" He replied, "Yes."
New King James Version
Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes."
New Living Translation
So the commander went over and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes, I certainly am," Paul replied.
New Life Bible
The captain came and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" Paul said, "Yes!"
New Revised Standard
The tribune came and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" And he said, "Yes."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the captain, coming up, said to him - Tell me! Art, thou, a, Roman? And, he, said - Yea!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the tribune coming, said to him: Tell me. Art thou a Roman? But he said: Yea.
Revised Standard Version
So the tribune came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" And he said, "Yes."
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Then the vpper captayne came and sayde to him: tell me art thou a Romayne? He sayde: Yee.
Young's Literal Translation
and the chief captain having come near, said to him, `Tell me, art thou a Roman?' and he said, `Yes;'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then came ye vpper captayne, and sayde vnto him: Tell me, art thou a Romayne? He sayde: Yee.
Mace New Testament (1729)
then the head officer came to him, and said, tell me, are you a Roman?
Simplified Cowboy Version
The commander told them to hold up and went over to Paul and asked, "Are you a Roman citizen?""Yes, sir," Paul said matter-of-factly.

Contextual Overview

22The people in the crowd had listened attentively up to this point, but now they broke loose, shouting out, "Kill him! He's an insect! Stomp on him!" They shook their fists. They filled the air with curses. That's when the captain intervened and ordered Paul taken into the barracks. By now the captain was thoroughly exasperated. He decided to interrogate Paul under torture in order to get to the bottom of this, to find out what he had done that provoked this outraged violence. As they spread-eagled him with thongs, getting him ready for the whip, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is this legal: torturing a Roman citizen without a fair trial?" 26 When the centurion heard that, he went directly to the captain. "Do you realize what you've done? This man is a Roman citizen!" 27 The captain came back and took charge. "Is what I hear right? You're a Roman citizen?" Paul said, "I certainly am." 28 The captain was impressed. "I paid a huge sum for my citizenship. How much did it cost you?" "Nothing," said Paul. "It cost me nothing. I was free from the day of my birth." 29 That put a stop to the interrogation. And it put the fear of God into the captain. He had put a Roman citizen in chains and come within a whisker of putting him under torture! 30 The next day, determined to get to the root of the trouble and know for sure what was behind the Jewish accusation, the captain released Paul and ordered a meeting of the high priests and the High Council to see what they could make of it. Paul was led in and took his place before them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Acts 22:25 - Is it

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then the chief captain came, and said unto him,.... To Paul:

tell me, art thou a Roman? he had told him before that he was a Jew of Tarsus, and which was true, and had said nothing of his being a Roman; wherefore the chief captain desires that he would tell him the whole truth of the matter, whether he was a Roman or not:

he said yea; that he was one.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile