1“Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.”
3Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today.
6“As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me.
8“‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked.
“And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene,*22:8 Or Jesus of Nazareth. the one you are persecuting.’
10“I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’
“And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’
11“I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions.
14“Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak.
17“After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance.
19“‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.
21“But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’”
22The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!”
24The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him lashed with whips to make him confess his crime. He wanted to find out why the crowd had become so furious.
26When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”
27So the commander went over and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes, I certainly am,” Paul replied.
28“I am, too,” the commander muttered, “and it cost me plenty!”
Paul answered, “But I am a citizen by birth!”
29The soldiers who were about to interrogate Paul quickly withdrew when they heard he was a Roman citizen, and the commander was frightened because he had ordered him bound and whipped.
30The next day the commander ordered the leading priests into session with the Jewish high council.*22:30 Greek Sanhedrin. He wanted to find out what the trouble was all about, so he released Paul to have him stand before them.