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Acts 22 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Act 22:1

“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”

Act 22:2

When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic,[fn] they became even quieter.

Act 22:3

He continued, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of our ancestral law. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.

Act 22:4

“I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and putting both men and women in jail,

Act 22:5

“as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to arrest those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.

Paul’s Testimony
Act 22:6

“As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me.

Act 22:7

“I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? ’

Act 22:8

“I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord? ’

“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’

Act 22:9

“Now those who were with me saw the light,[fn] but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

Act 22:10

“I said, ‘What should I do, Lord? ’

“The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’

Act 22:11

“Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light,[fn] I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus.

Act 22:12

“Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there,

Act 22:13

“came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him.

Act 22:14

“And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the words from his mouth,

Act 22:15

“since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.

Act 22:16

“And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

Act 22:17

“After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance

Act 22:18

“and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

Act 22:19

“But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten.

Act 22:20

“And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval[fn] and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’

Act 22:21

“He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

Paul’s Roman Protection
Act 22:22

They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live! ”

Act 22:23

As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air,

Act 22:24

the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this.

Act 22:25

As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned? ”

Act 22:26

When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”

Act 22:27

The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen? ”

“Yes,” he said.

Act 22:28

The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul said.

Act 22:29

So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.

Paul before the Sanhedrin
Act 22:30

The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him[fn] and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene. He brought Paul down and placed him before them.

CSB Footnotes
Or Hebrew
Other mss add and were afraid
Lit the glory of that light
Other mss add of his murder
Other mss add from his chains
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Acts Chapter 22 — Additional Translations: