“^aBrethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^1aHebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

3 “^aI am ^ba Jew, born in ^cTarsus of ^dCilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ¹under ^eGamaliel, ^2fstrictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^gyou all are today. 4 ^aI persecuted this ^bWay to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, 5 as also ^athe high priest and all ^bthe Council of the elders ¹can testify. From them I also ^creceived letters to ^dthe brethren, and started off for ^eDamascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ²as prisoners to be punished.

6 “^aBut it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all 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 ^aJesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 And those who were with me ^asaw the light, to be sure, but ^bdid not ¹understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘^aWhat shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’ 11 But since I ^acould not see because of the ¹brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

12 “A certain ^aAnanias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and ^bwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘^aBrother Saul, receive your sight!’ And ^1bat that very time I looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘^aThe God of our fathers has ^bappointed you to know His will and to ^csee the ^dRighteous One and to hear an ¹utterance from His mouth. 15 For you will be ^aa witness for Him to all men of ^bwhat you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you delay? ^aGet up and be baptized, and ^bwash away your sins, ^ccalling on His name.’

17 “It happened when I ^areturned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^bfell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘^aMake haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^aI used to imprison and ^bbeat those who believed in You. 20 And ^awhen the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away ^ato the Gentiles.’”

22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “^aAway with such a fellow from the earth, for ^bhe should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were crying out and ^athrowing off their cloaks and ^btossing dust into the air, 24 the ¹commander ordered him to be brought into ^athe barracks, stating that he should be ^bexamined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out ¹with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it ²lawful for you to scourge ^aa man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the ¹commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The ¹commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The ¹commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore those who were about to ^aexamine him immediately ¹let go of him; and the ²commander also ^bwas afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had ^3cput him in chains.

30 But on the next day, ^awishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he ^breleased him and ordered the chief priests and all ^cthe ¹Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

“^aBrethren and fathers (kinsmen) , hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

2 When they heard that he was addressing them in the ^aHebrew dialect, they became even more quiet. And he continued,

3 “^aI am ^ba Jew, born in ^cTarsus of ^dCilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of ^1eGamaliel ^faccording to the strictness of the law of our fathers, being ardent and passionate for God just as ^gall of you are today. 4 ^aI persecuted and pursued the followers of this ^1bWay to the death, binding them with chains and putting followers of Jesus both men and women into prisons, 5 as ^athe high priest and all the ^bCouncil of the elders (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) can testify; because from them I ^creceived letters to ^dthe brothers, and I was on my way to ^eDamascus in order to bring those believers who were there to Jerusalem in chains to be punished.

6 “^aBut as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a great blaze of light suddenly flashed from heaven and shone 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 replied, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am ^aJesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me ^1asaw the light, but ^bdid not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I asked, ‘^aWhat shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that is appointed and destined for you to do.’ 11 But since I ^acould not see because of the glorious intensity and dazzling brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

12 “And one ^aAnanias, a devout man according to ¹the standard of the Law, and ^bwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to see me, and standing near, he said to me, ‘^aBrother Saul, receive your sight!’ And ^bat that very moment I recovered my sight and looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘^aThe God of our fathers has ^bappointed you to know His will, and to progressively understand His plan with clarity and power and to ^csee the ^dRighteous One Jesus Christ, the Messiah and to hear a message from His own mouth. 15 For you will be ^aHis witness to all men testifying of ^bwhat you have seen and heard. 16 Now, why do you delay? ^aGet up and be baptized, and ^bwash away your sins by ^ccalling on His name for salvation.’

17 “Then it happened when I had ^areturned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple enclosure, that I ^bfell into a trance (vision) ; 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘^aHurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know without any doubt that in one synagogue after another ^aI used to imprison and ^bbeat those who believed in You and Your message of salvation. 20 And ^awhen the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby approving and consenting to his death, and guarding the coats of those who were killing him.’ 21 And the Lord said to me, ‘Go, I will send you far away ^ato the Gentiles.’”

22 They listened to Paul until he made this last statement, but now they raised their voices and shouted, “^aAway with such a man from the earth! ^bHe is not fit to live!” 23 And as they were shouting and ^athrowing off their coats getting ready to stone Paul and ^btossing dust into the air expressing their anger, 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into ^athe barracks, stating that he was to be ^1binterrogated with a whip in order to learn why the people were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they had stretched him out ¹with the leather straps in preparation for the whip, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it legal for you to whip ^aa man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned without a trial?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and said to him, “What are you about to do? This man is a ¹Roman!” 27 So the commander came and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The commander replied, “I ¹purchased this citizenship of mine for a large sum of money so how did you acquire yours?.” Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 So those who were about to ^ainterrogate him by torture immediately let him go; and the commander ^bwas also afraid when he realized that Paul was a Roman and he had ^cput him in chains.

30 But on the next day, ^awanting to know the real reason why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he ^breleased him and ordered the chief priests and the whole ^cCouncil (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) to assemble; and brought Paul down and presented him before them.

“^1aBrothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^1aHebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

3 “^aI am ^ba Jew, born in ^cTarsus of ^dCilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ¹under ^eGamaliel, ^2fstrictly according to the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^gyou all are today. 4 ^aI persecuted this ^bWay to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, 5 as also ^athe high priest and all ^bthe Council of the elders ¹can testify. From them I also ^creceived letters to ^dthe brothers, and started off for ^eDamascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ²as prisoners to be punished.

6 “^aBut it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus at about noon, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all 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 ^aJesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 And those who were with me ^asaw the light, but ^bdid not ¹understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘^aWhat shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that has been appointed for you to do.’ 11 But since I ^acould not see because of the ¹brightness of that light, I came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.

12 “Now a certain ^aAnanias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law and ^bwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing nearby he said to me, ‘^aBrother Saul, receive your sight!’ And ^1bat that very moment I looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘^aThe God of our fathers has ^bappointed you to know His will and to ^csee the ^dRighteous One and to hear a ¹message from His mouth. 15 For you will be ^aa witness for Him to all people of ^bwhat you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you delay? ^aGet up and be baptized, and ^bwash away your sins by ^ccalling on His name.’

17 “It happened when I ^areturned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^bfell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘^aHurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^aI used to imprison and ^bbeat those who believed in You. 20 And ^awhen the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away ^ato the Gentiles.’”

22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “^aAway with such a man from the earth, for ^bhe should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were shouting and ^athrowing off their cloaks and ^btossing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that he be brought into ^athe barracks, saying that he was to be ^binterrogated by flogging so that he would find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out ¹with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it ²lawful for you to flog ^aa man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The commander came and said to ¹Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore, those who were about to ^ainterrogate him immediately backed away from him; and the commander also ^bwas afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had ^1cput him in chains.

30 Now on the next day, ^awanting to know for certain why Paul had been accused by the Jews, he ^breleased him and ordered the chief priests and all ^cthe ¹Council to assemble, and he brought Paul down and placed him before them.

“^aMen, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^aHebrew language, they became even quieter; and he *said,

3 “^aI am ^ba Jew, born in ^cTarsus of ^dCilicia, but having been brought up in this city, having been instructed at the feet of ^eGamaliel according to the ^fstrictness of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^gyou all are today, 4 ^aI persecuted this ^bWay to the death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons, 5 as also ^athe high priest and all ^bthe Council of the elders ¹can testify. From them I also ^creceived letters to ^dthe brothers, and started off for ^eDamascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ²as prisoners to be punished.

6 “^aBut it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all 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 ^aJesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 And those who were with me ^abeheld the light, to be sure, but ^bdid not ¹understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘^aWhat should I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been determined for you to do.’ 11 But since I ^acould not see because of the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

12 “Now a certain ^aAnanias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and ^bwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing near, said to me, ‘^aBrother Saul, regain your sight!’ And ^1bat that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘^aThe God of our fathers has ^bappointed you to know His will and to ^csee the ^dRighteous One and to hear a ¹voice from His mouth. 15 For you will be ^aa witness for Him to all men of ^bwhat you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you delay? ^aRise up and be baptized, and ^bwash away your sins, ^ccalling on His name.’

17 “Now it happened when I ^areturned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^bfell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘^aHurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^aI used to imprison and ^bbeat those who believed in You. 20 And ^awhen the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and guarding the garments of those who were slaying him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away ^ato the Gentiles.’”

22 And they were listening to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “^aAway with such a fellow from the earth, for ^bhe should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were crying out and ^athrowing off their garments and ^btossing dust into the air, 24 the ¹commander ordered him to be brought into ^athe barracks, stating that he should be ^bexamined by flogging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out ¹with leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it ²lawful for you to flog ^aa man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported to him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 And the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 And the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I have been born a citizen.” 29 Therefore those who were about to ^aexamine him immediately withdrew from him; and the commander also ^bwas afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he had ^cbound him.

30 But on the next day, ^awishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he ^breleased him and ordered the chief priests and all ^cthe Sanhedrin to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.