Acts 22:26-30

²⁶When the officer heard that, he went to the commander and reported it to him. He said to the commander, “This man is a Roman citizen ◄Surely you would not command us to whip him!/Do you really want us to whip him?► RHQ”

²⁷The commander was surprised when he heard that. He himself went into the barracks and said to Paul, “Tell me, are you (sg) really a Roman citizen?” Paul answered, “Yes, I am.”

²⁸Then the commander said, “ I am also a Roman citizen. I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.” Paul said, “But I was born a Roman citizen, so I did not need to pay anything.”

²⁹The soldiers were about to whip Paul and to ask him questions about what he had done. But when they heard what Paul said, they left him immediately. The commander also became afraid, because he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had illegally commanded soldiers to tie up Paul's hands.

³⁰The commander still wanted to know exactly why the Jews were accusing Paul. So the next day he told the soldiers to take the chains off Paul. He also summoned the chief priests and the other Jewish Council members. Then he took Paul to where the Council was meeting and commanded him to stand before them.