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Acts 22 :: New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB95)

Paul's Defense before the Jews

Act 22:1

Act 22:1“Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

Act 22:2

Act 22:2And when they heard that he was addressing them in the [fn]Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

Act 22:3

Act 22:3“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated [fn]under Gamaliel, [fn]strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.

Act 22:4

Act 22:4“I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons,

Act 22:5

Act 22:5as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders [fn]can testify. From them I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem [fn]as prisoners to be punished.

Act 22:6

Act 22:6“But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,

Act 22:7

Act 22:7and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’

Act 22:8

Act 22:8“And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’

Act 22:9

Act 22:9“And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not [fn]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

Act 22:10

Act 22:10“And I said, ‘What 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.’

Act 22:11

Act 22:11“But since I could not see because of the [fn]brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

Act 22:12

Act 22:12“A certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

Act 22:13

Act 22:13came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And [fn]at that very time I looked up at him.

Act 22:14

Act 22:14“And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an [fn]utterance from His mouth.

Act 22:15

Act 22:15‘For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

Act 22:16

Act 22:16‘Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’

Act 22:17

Act 22:17“It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance,

Act 22:18

Act 22:18and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’

Act 22:19

Act 22:19“And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You.

Act 22:20

Act 22:20‘And when 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.’

Act 22:21

Act 22:21“And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

Act 22:22

Act 22:22They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”

Act 22:23

Act 22:23And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,

Act 22:24

Act 22:24the [fn]commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

Act 22:25

Act 22:25But when they stretched him out [fn]with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it [fn]lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?”

Act 22:26

Act 22:26When the centurion heard this, he went to the [fn]commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.”

Act 22:27

Act 22:27The [fn]commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.”

Act 22:28

Act 22:28The [fn]commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.”

Act 22:29

Act 22:29Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately [fn]let go of him; and the [fn]commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had [fn]put him in chains.

Act 22:30

Act 22:30But on the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the [fn]Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
See the NASB95 Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NASB95 Footnotes
I.e. Jewish Aramaic
Literally: at the feet of
Literally: according to the strictness of the ancestral law
Literally: testifies for me
Literally: having been bound
Or, hear (with comprehension)
Literally: glory
Or, instantly; lit at the very hour
Or, message; lit voice
I.e. chiliarch, in command of one thousand troops
Or, for the whip
Interrogation by torture was a procedure used with slaves
V 24, note 1
V 24, note 1
V 24, note 1
Literally: withdrew from
V 24, note 1
Literally: bound him
Or, Sanhedrin
*
See the NASB95 Preface for an explanation on the use of the asterisk.
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