1“Men, brothers and fathers, listen to my defense before you now.”
2When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet, and he said:
3“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, just as you all are today.
4I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,
5as also the high priest and all the council of elders can bear me witness. I even obtained letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, to bring those also who were there bound to Jerusalem to be punished.
6Now it happened, as I was going and approaching Damascus, about noon, suddenly a strong light from heaven shone around me.
7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
8So I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Natsorean, whom you are persecuting.’
9Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not understand the voice of the One speaking to me.
10So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about all that has been appointed to you to do.’
11And since I could not see, because of the brightness of that light, I entered Damascus being led by the hand of those who were with me.
12Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus,
13came to me, and standing by me said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I looked up at him.
14Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear words from His mouth.
15For you shall be a witness for Him to all men of the things that you have seen and heard.
16And now, why hesitate? Get up, be baptized and wash away your sins, invoking the name of the Lord.’
17“Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I came to be in a trance
18and saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry up and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive your testimony concerning me.’
19So I said: ‘Lord, they know that I used to imprison and beat those believing into you, from one synagogue to another;
20and when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing there and agreeing to his murder, even guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’
21And He said to me, ‘Get going, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”
22Well they kept listening to him until this statement, and then they raised their voice and shouted, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for it isn't fitting for him to live!”
23As they were shouting, tearing off clothes and throwing dust into the air,
24the commander ordered him to be taken into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with lashes, in order to learn for what crime they kept shouting against him like that.
25But as they stretched him out with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”
26Well when the centurion heard that, he went and reported to the commander saying, “Consider what you are about to do, because this man is a Roman!”
27So the commander went and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” So he said, “Yes.”
28The commander replied, “I acquired this citizenship at considerable cost.” And Paul said, “But I was so born.”
29So those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately; and even the commander was apprehensive when he realized that he had put chains on a Roman.
30But the next day, desiring to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds and ordered the chief priests and all their council to come, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
