Parallel Bible results for "acts 22"

Acts 22

Lexham English Bible LEB

1 "Men--brothers and fathers--listen to my defense to you now!"

2 And [when they] heard that he was addressing them in the Aramaic language, {they became even more silent}. And he said,

3 "I am a Jewish man born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the exactness of the law received from our fathers, being zealous for God, just as all [of] you are today.

4 {I} persecuted this Way to the death, tying up and delivering to prison both men and women,

5 as indeed the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me, from whom also I received letters to the brothers in Damascus, [and] was traveling [there] to lead away those who were there also tied up to Jerusalem so that they could be punished.

6 "And it happened that [as] I was traveling and approaching Damascus around noon, suddenly a very bright light from heaven 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 And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you are persecuting.'

9 (Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.)

10 So I said, 'What should I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Get up [and] proceed to Damascus, and there it will be told to you about all [the things] that have been appointed for you to do.'

11 And as I could not see as a result of the brightness of that light, I arrived in Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me.

12 And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who live [there],

13 came to me and stood by [me] [and] said to me, 'Brother Saul, regain [your] sight!' And [at that] same time I looked up at him [and saw him].

14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth,

15 because you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.

16 And now why are you delaying? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name!'

17 "And it happened that [when] I returned to Jerusalem and I was praying in the temple courts, I was in a trance,

18 and saw him saying to me, 'Hurry and depart {quickly} from Jerusalem, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'

19 And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue [to synagogue] I was imprisoning and beating those who believed in you.

20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself also was standing near and was approving, and was guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.'

21 And he said to me, 'Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles!'"

22 Now they were listening to him until this word, and they raised their voices, saying, "Away with such a man from the earth! For it is not fitting [for] him to live!"

23 And [while] they were screaming and throwing off [their] cloaks and throwing dust into the air,

24 the military tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying he was to be examined with a lash so that he could find out for what reason they were crying out against him in this way.

25 But when they had stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is it permitted for you to flog a man [who is] a Roman citizen and uncondemned?"

26 And [when] the centurion heard [this], he went to the military tribune [and] reported [it], saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen!"

27 So the military tribune came [and] said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" And he said, "Yes."

28 And the military tribune replied, "I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money." And Paul said, "But I indeed was born [a citizen].

29 Then immediately those who were about to examine him kept away from him, and the military tribune also was afraid [when he] realized that he was a Roman citizen and that {he had tied him up}.

30 But on the next day, [because he] wanted to know the true [reason] why he was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble, and he brought down Paul [and] had [him] stand before them.

New International Version NIV

1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”

2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said:

3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,

5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.

7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

8 “ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.

9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

10 “ ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’

11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

12 “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.

13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.

15 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard.

16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance

18 and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’

19 “ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.

20 And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”

23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air,

24 the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this.

25 As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”

26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered.

28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

29 Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

30 The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.