16
And now, why wait any longer? Get up and be baptized and have your sins washed away by praying to him.'
17
"I went back to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the Temple, I had a vision,
18
in which I saw the Lord, as he said to me, "Hurry and leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your witness about me.'
19
"Lord,' I answered, "they know very well that I went to the synagogues and arrested and beat those who believe in you.
20
And when your witness Stephen was put to death, I myself was there, approving of his murder and taking care of the cloaks of his murderers.'
1
21
"Go,' the Lord said to me, "for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' "
22
The people listened to Paul until he said this; but then they started shouting at the top of their voices, "Away with him! Kill him! He's not fit to live!"
23
They were screaming, waving their clothes, and throwing dust up in the air.
24
The Roman commander ordered his men to take Paul into the fort, and he told them to whip him in order to find out why the Jews were screaming like this against him.
25
But when they had tied him up to be whipped, Paul said to the officer standing there, "Is it lawful for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn't even been tried for any crime?"
26
When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked him, "What are you doing? That man is a Roman citizen!"