Acts 22:26

26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. The officer said, "Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen."

Acts 22:26 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 22:26

When the centurion heard that
The question put by Paul, which strongly suggested that he was a Roman:

he went and told the chief captain; what Paul had said: saying, take
heed what thou dost;
or "art about to do"; lest some bad consequences should follow; lest he should affront the Roman people and senate, and lose his place, if not incur some corporeal punishment:

for this man is a Roman;
and it can never be answered to bind and beat a Roman.

Acts 22:26 In-Context

24 Then the commander ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the army building and beat him. He wanted to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this.

25 But as the soldiers were tying him up, preparing to beat him, Paul said to an officer nearby, "Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizenn who has not been proven guilty?"

26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. The officer said, "Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen."

27 The commander came to Paul and said, "Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?" He answered, "Yes."

28 The commander said, "I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen." But Paul said, "I was born a citizen."