22 1 "Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you." 2 When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they grew even more quiet. And he said:
3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, just as all of you are this day." 4 "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify. From them I even received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to bring those there as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished."
6 "As I was traveling and drawing near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly flashed around me." 7 "And 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?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'"
9 "Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me." 10 "And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that has been appointed for you to do.'" 11 "Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me led me by the hand into Damascus." 12 "And a man named Ananias, devout according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, 13 came to me, and standing beside me said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very moment I looked up and saw him." 14 "And he said, 'The Father of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth; a a v14 "The Righteous One" is one of the New Testament's titles for Jesus — the sinless one Paul met on the Damascus road. 15 for you will be his witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard." 16 "And now why do you wait? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'"
17 "When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance" 18 "and saw him saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'" 19 "And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you." 20 "And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by, approving and guarding the garments of those who killed him.'"
21 "And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"
22 They listened to him up to that point. Then they raised their voices and shouted, "Rid the earth of such a man! He should not be allowed to live!"
23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks and flogged for interrogation, so he might find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But as they stretched him out for the lashes, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen who has not been condemned?"
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it, saying, "What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen."
27 So 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 sum." And Paul said, "But I was born a citizen."
29 So those who were about to examine him drew back from him at once, and the commander was afraid, realizing that he had bound a Roman citizen. 30 The next day, wanting to know for certain why he was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the council to assemble. Then he brought Paul down and set him before them.