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NASB | Acts 22:28 The commander answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." And Paul said, "But I was actually born a citizen." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 22:28 The commander replied, "I purchased 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." |
Bible Question: Paul says he is a Roman citizen, but in Romans he states he's never been to Rome. How can he be a citizen then? |
Bible Answer: The Roman empire stretched far and wide and it often chose certain major cities to dictate afilitions with the Roman Empire. Persons born in these cities would be given instant freeman citizenship status. One of these cities was Tarsus, of Cilicia which Paul once described as "no small city" (Acts 21:39) He was indeed a Roman citizen as in the empire of Rome but never visited the city Rome. A similair example can be found in the Brittish Empire which stretched far and wide and a person born in a foreign land demarcated as Brittish soil (ie certain places in India) would be called "Brittish" although they were never in Great Brittain. |