Acts 22:1

THE MESSAGE

"My dear brothers and fathers, listen carefully to what I have to say before you jump to conclusions about me." When they heard him speaking Hebrew, they grew even quieter. No one wanted to miss a word of this. He continued, "I am a good Jew, born in Tarsus in the province of Cilicia, but educated here in Jerusalem under the exacting eye of Rabbi Gamaliel, thoroughly instructed in our religious traditions. And I've always been passionately on God's side, just as you are right now. "I went after anyone connected with this ‘Way,' went at them hammer and tongs, ready to kill for God. I rounded up men and women right and left and had them thrown in prison. You can ask the Chief Priest or anyone in the High Council to verify this; they all knew me well. Then I went off to our brothers in Damascus, armed with official documents authorizing me to hunt down the followers of Jesus there, arrest them, and bring them back to Jerusalem for sentencing. "As I arrived on the outskirts of Damascus about noon, a blinding light blazed out of the skies and I fell to the ground, dazed. I heard a voice: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?' "‘Who are you, Master?' I asked. "He said, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the One you're hunting down.' My companions saw the light, but they didn't hear the conversation. "Then I said, ‘What do I do now, Master?' "He said, ‘Get to your feet and enter Damascus. There you'll be told everything that's been set out for you to do.' And so we entered Damascus, but nothing like the entrance I had planned—I was blind as a bat and my companions had to lead me in by the hand. "And that's when I met Ananias, a man with a sterling reputation in observing our laws—the Jewish community in Damascus is unanimous on that score. He came and put his arm on my shoulder. ‘Look up,' he said. I looked, and found myself looking right into his eyes—I could see again! "Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has handpicked you to be briefed on his plan of action. You've actually seen the Righteous Innocent and heard him speak. You are to be a key witness to everyone you meet of what you've seen and heard. So what are you waiting for? Get up and get yourself baptized, scrubbed clean of those sins and personally acquainted with God.' "Well, it happened just as Ananias said. After I was back in Jerusalem and praying one day in the Temple, lost in the presence of God, I saw him, saw God's Righteous Innocent, and heard him say to me, ‘Hurry up! Get out of here as quickly as you can. None of the Jews here in Jerusalem are going to accept what you say about me.' "At first I objected: ‘Who has better credentials? They all know how obsessed I was with hunting out those who believed in you, beating them up in the meeting places and throwing them in jail. And when your witness Stephen was murdered, I was right there, holding the coats of the murderers and cheering them on. And now they see me totally converted. What better qualification could I have?' "But he said, ‘Don't argue. Go. I'm sending you on a long journey to outsider non-Jews.'" The 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?" When the centurion heard that, he went directly to the captain. "Do you realize what you've done? This man is a Roman citizen!" The captain came back and took charge. "Is what I hear right? You're a Roman citizen?" Paul said, "I certainly am." 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." 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!

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”

King James Version (1611)
Men, brethren, and fathers, heare ye my defence which I make now vnto you.

King James Version
Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.

English Standard Version
"Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you."

New American Standard Bible
"Brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you."

New Century Version
Paul said, "Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense to you."

Amplified Bible
"Brethren and fathers (kinsmen), hear my defense which I now offer to you."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you."

Legacy Standard Bible
"Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you."

Berean Standard Bible
"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you."

Contemporary English Version
"My friends and leaders of our nation, listen as I explain what happened!"

Complete Jewish Bible
"Brothers and fathers! Listen to me as I make my defense before you now!"

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

Easy-to-Read Version
Paul said, "My brothers and fathers, listen to me! I will make my defense to you."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Ye men, brethren and Fathers, heare my defence nowe towards you.

George Lamsa Translation
BRETHREN and fathers, hear my defense which I now make to you.

Good News Translation
"My fellow Jews, listen to me as I make my defense before you!"

Lexham English Bible
"Men—brothers and fathers—listen to my defense to you now!"

Literal Translation
Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense now to you.

American Standard Version
Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which I now make unto you.

Bible in Basic English
My brothers and fathers, give ear to the story of my life which I now put before you.

Hebrew Names Version
"Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make to you."

International Standard Version
"Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I am now making before you."Acts 7:2;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
Brethren and fathers, hear the defence which I make to you.

Murdock Translation
Brethren, and fathers, hearken to my defence before you.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Men, brethren, & fathers, heare ye mine aunswer whiche I make vnto you.

English Revised Version
Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which I now make unto you.

World English Bible
"Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make to you."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye now my defence unto you.

Weymouth's New Testament
"Brethren and fathers," he said, "listen to my defence which I now make before you."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Britheren and fadris, here ye what resoun Y yelde now to you.

Update Bible Version
Men: brothers and fathers, hear the defense which I now make to you.

Webster's Bible Translation
Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense [which I make] now to you.

New English Translation
"Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense that I now make to you."

New King James Version
"Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now."

New Living Translation
"Brothers and esteemed fathers," Paul said, "listen to me as I offer my defense."

New Life Bible
Paul said, "Brothers and fathers, listen to what I have to say to you."

New Revised Standard
"Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Brethren and fathers! Hear ye, the defence, which I now make unto you: -

Douay-Rheims Bible
Men, brethren and fathers, hear ye the account which I now give unto you.

Revised Standard Version
"Brethren and fathers, hear the defense which I now make before you."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Ye men brethre and fathers heare myne answere which I make vnto you.

Young's Literal Translation
`Men, brethren, and fathers, hear my defence now unto you;' --

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ye men, brethren, and fathers, heare myne answere which I make vnto you.

Mace New Testament (1729)
My brethren, and fathers, pray hear what I have to say for my self.

Simplified Cowboy Version
"Listen to me all y'all cowboys and old-timers," Paul said. "Let me tell y'all what really happened."

Contextual Overview

¹"My dear brothers and fathers, listen carefully to what I have to say before you jump to conclusions about me." When they heard him speaking Hebrew, they grew even quieter. No one wanted to miss a word of this. He continued, "I am a good Jew, born in Tarsus in the province of Cilicia, but educated here in Jerusalem under the exacting eye of Rabbi Gamaliel, thoroughly instructed in our religious traditions. And I've always been passionately on God's side, just as you are right now. "I went after anyone connected with this ‘Way,' went at them hammer and tongs, ready to kill for God. I rounded up men and women right and left and had them thrown in prison. You can ask the Chief Priest or anyone in the High Council to verify this; they all knew me well. Then I went off to our brothers in Damascus, armed with official documents authorizing me to hunt down the followers of Jesus there, arrest them, and bring them back to Jerusalem for sentencing. "As I arrived on the outskirts of Damascus about noon, a blinding light blazed out of the skies and I fell to the ground, dazed. I heard a voice: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?' "‘Who are you, Master?' I asked. "He said, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the One you're hunting down.' My companions saw the light, but they didn't hear the conversation. "Then I said, ‘What do I do now, Master?' "He said, ‘Get to your feet and enter Damascus. There you'll be told everything that's been set out for you to do.' And so we entered Damascus, but nothing like the entrance I had planned—I was blind as a bat and my companions had to lead me in by the hand. "And that's when I met Ananias, a man with a sterling reputation in observing our laws—the Jewish community in Damascus is unanimous on that score. He came and put his arm on my shoulder. ‘Look up,' he said. I looked, and found myself looking right into his eyes—I could see again! "Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has handpicked you to be briefed on his plan of action. You've actually seen the Righteous Innocent and heard him speak. You are to be a key witness to everyone you meet of what you've seen and heard. So what are you waiting for? Get up and get yourself baptized, scrubbed clean of those sins and personally acquainted with God.' "Well, it happened just as Ananias said. After I was back in Jerusalem and praying one day in the Temple, lost in the presence of God, I saw him, saw God's Righteous Innocent, and heard him say to me, ‘Hurry up! Get out of here as quickly as you can. None of the Jews here in Jerusalem are going to accept what you say about me.' "At first I objected: ‘Who has better credentials? They all know how obsessed I was with hunting out those who believed in you, beating them up in the meeting places and throwing them in jail. And when your witness Stephen was murdered, I was right there, holding the coats of the murderers and cheering them on. And now they see me totally converted. What better qualification could I have?' "But he said, ‘Don't argue. Go. I'm sending you on a long journey to outsider non-Jews.'" The 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?" When the centurion heard that, he went directly to the captain. "Do you realize what you've done? This man is a Roman citizen!" The captain came back and took charge. "Is what I hear right? You're a Roman citizen?" Paul said, "I certainly am." 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." 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!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

brethren: Acts 7:2, Acts 13:26, Acts 23:1, Acts 23:6, Acts 28:17

my: Greek all, Acts 19:33, Acts 24:10, Acts 25:8, Acts 25:16, Acts 26:1, Acts 26:2, Acts 26:24, Luke 12:11, Luke 21:14, Romans 2:15, 1 Corinthians 9:3, 2 Corinthians 7:11, 2 Corinthians 12:19, Philippians 1:7, Philippians 1:17, 2 Timothy 4:16, 1 Peter 3:15

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 30:23 - my brethren Matthew 23:9 - call Mark 5:19 - Go home Acts 1:16 - Men Acts 13:15 - Ye men Acts 13:16 - give Acts 15:13 - Men Acts 18:14 - when Acts 22:5 - the brethren Romans 1:20 - without Philippians 1:12 - that 2 Timothy 2:25 - instructing

Cross-References

Genesis 22:7
Isaac said to Abraham his father, "Father?" "Yes, my son." "We have flint and wood, but where's the sheep for the burnt offering?"

Genesis 22:11
Just then an angel of God called to him out of Heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Yes, I'm listening."

Genesis 22:12
"Don't lay a hand on that boy! Don't touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn't hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me."

Genesis 22:14
Abraham named that place God -Yireh ( God -Sees-to-It). That's where we get the saying, "On the mountain of God , he sees to it."

Exodus 3:4
God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He said, "Yes? I'm right here!"

Exodus 16:4
God said to Moses, "I'm going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day's ration. I'm going to test them to see if they'll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration."

2 Samuel 24:1
Once again God 's anger blazed out against Israel. He tested David by telling him, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah." So David gave orders to Joab and the army officers under him, "Canvass all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and get a count of the population. I want to know the number."

Proverbs 17:3
As silver in a crucible and gold in a pan, so our lives are assayed by God .

1 Corinthians 10:13
No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

Hebrews 11:17
By faith, Abraham, at the time of testing, offered Isaac back to God. Acting in faith, he was as ready to return the promised son, his only son, as he had been to receive him—and this after he had already been told, "Your descendants shall come from Isaac." Abraham figured that if God wanted to, he could raise the dead. In a sense, that's what happened when he received Isaac back, alive from off the altar.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Men, brethren, and fathers,.... A common form of address used by the Jews; see Acts 7:2 but that the apostle should introduce his speech to these people in this manner, after they had treated him so inhumanly, as to drag him out of the temple, and beat him so unmercifully, is remarkable, and worthy of observation, when they scarcely deserved the name of "men"; and yet he not only gives them this, but calls them "brethren", they being his countrymen and kinsmen according to the flesh; and fathers, there being some among them, who might be men in years, and even members of the sanhedrim, and elders of the people, that were now got among the crowd: this shows how ready the apostle was to put up with affronts, and to forgive injuries done him:

hear ye my defence, which I make now unto you; in opposition to the charges brought against him, of speaking ill of the people of the Jews, the law of Moses, and of the temple, and in order to clear himself of these imputations, and vindicate his character and conduct.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Men, brethren, and fathers - This defense was addressed to the Jews, and Paul commenced it with an expression of sincere respect for them. Stephen began his defense with the same form of address. See the notes on Acts 7:2.

My defence - Against the charges brought against me. Those charges were, that he had endeavored to prejudice people everywhere against the Jews, the Law, and the temple, Acts 21:28. In order to meet this charge, Paul stated:

1. That he was a Jew by birth, and had enjoyed all the advantages of a Jewish education, Acts 22:3;
2. He recounted the circumstances of his conversion, and the reason why he believed that he was called to preach the gospel, Acts 22:4-16;
3. He proceeded to state the reasons why he went among the Gentiles, and evidently intended to vindicate his conduct there, Acts 22:17-21; but at this point, at the name Gentiles, his defense was interrupted by the enraged multitude, and he was not permitted to proceed.

What would have been his defense, therefore, had he been suffered to finish it, it is impossible to know with certainty. On another occasion, however, he was permitted to make a similar defense, and perhaps to complete the train of thought which he had purposed to pursue here. See Acts 22:0.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER XXII.

Paul, in his address to the people, gives an account of his

birth and education, 1-3.

His prejudices against Christianity, 4, 5.

And of his miraculous conversion, and call to the apostleship,

6-21.

The Jews, hearing him say that God had sent him to preach the

Gospel to the Gentiles, become exceedingly outrageous, and

clamour for his life, 22, 23.

The chief captain orders him to be examined by scourging; but

he, pleading his privilege as a Roman citizen, escapes the

torture, 24-29.

The next day the chief captain brings Paul before the chief

priests and their council, 30.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXII.

Verse Acts 22:1. Men, brethren, and fathers — A Hebrew form of expression for brethren and fathers: for two classes only are addressed. Acts 7:2.

Hear ye my defense — Μου της απολογιας, This apology of mine; in this sense the word apology was anciently understood: hence the Apologies of the primitive fathers, i.e. their defenses of the Christian religion. And this is as proper literal meaning; but it is now used only as implying an excuse for improper conduct. That this is an abuse of the term requires no proof.