21
"But the Lord told me, 'Go! I'll send you on a mission. You'll go far away to people who aren't Jewish.'"
22
Up to that point the mob listened. Then they began to shout, "Kill him! The world doesn't need a man like this. He shouldn't have been allowed to live this long!"
23
The mob was yelling, taking off their coats, and throwing dirt into the air.
24
So the officer ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the barracks and told them to question Paul as they whipped him. The officer wanted to find out why the people were yelling at Paul like this.
25
But when the soldiers had Paul stretch out [to tie him to the whipping post] with the straps, Paul asked the sergeant who was standing there, "Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn't had a trial?"
26
When the sergeant heard this, he reported it to his commanding officer. The sergeant asked him, "What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen."
27
The officer went to Paul and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" Paul answered, "Yes."
28
The officer replied, "I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen." Paul replied, "But I was born a Roman citizen."
29
Immediately, the soldiers who were going to question Paul stepped away from him. The officer was afraid when he found out that he had tied up a Roman citizen.
30
The officer wanted to find out exactly what accusation the Jews had against Paul. So the officer released Paul the next day and ordered the chief priests and the entire Jewish council to meet. Then the officer brought Paul and had him stand in front of them.