22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense 53 that I now 54 make to you.” 22:2 (When they heard 55 that he was addressing 56 them in Aramaic, 57 they became even 58 quieter.) 59 Then 60 Paul said, 22:3 “I am a Jew, 61 born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up 62 in this city, educated with strictness 63 under 64 Gamaliel 65 according to the law of our ancestors, 66 and was 67 zealous 68 for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I 69 persecuted this Way 70 even to the point of death, 71 tying up 72 both men and women and putting 73 them in prison, 22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders 74 can testify about me. From them 75 I also received 76 letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way 77 to make arrests there and bring 78 the prisoners 79 to Jerusalem 80 to be punished. 22:6 As 81 I was en route and near Damascus, 82 about noon a very bright 83 light from heaven 84 suddenly flashed 85 around me. 22:7 Then I 86 fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 22:8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 22:9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand 87 the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 22:10 So I asked, 88 ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up 89 and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything 90 that you have been designated 91 to do.’ 22:11 Since I could not see because of 92 the brilliance 93 of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of 94 those who were with me. 22:12 A man named Ananias, 95 a devout man according to the law, 96 well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, 97 22:13 came 98 to me and stood beside me 99 and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ 100 And at that very moment 101 I looked up and saw him. 102 22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors 103 has already chosen 104 you to know his will, to see 105 the Righteous One, 106 and to hear a command 107 from his mouth, 22:15 because you will be his witness 108 to all people 109 of what you have seen and heard. 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? 110 Get up, 111 be baptized, and have your sins washed away, 112 calling on his name.’ 113 22:17 When 114 I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 115 22:18 and saw the Lord 116 saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 22:19 I replied, 117 ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues 118 who believed in you. 22:20 And when the blood of your witness 119 Stephen was shed, 120 I myself was standing nearby, approving, 121 and guarding the cloaks 122 of those who were killing him.’ 123 22:21 Then 124 he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
22:22 The crowd 125 was listening to him until he said this. 126 Then 127 they raised their voices and shouted, 128 “Away with this man 129 from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” 130 22:23 While they were screaming 131 and throwing off their cloaks 132 and tossing dust 133 in the air, 22:24 the commanding officer 134 ordered Paul 135 to be brought back into the barracks. 136 He told them 137 to interrogate Paul 138 by beating him with a lash 139 so that he could find out the reason the crowd 140 was shouting at Paul 141 in this way. 22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, 142 Paul said to the centurion 143 standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen 144 without a proper trial?” 145 22:26 When the centurion 146 heard this, 147 he went to the commanding officer 148 and reported it, 149 saying, “What are you about to do? 150 For this man is a Roman citizen.” 151 22:27 So the commanding officer 152 came and asked 153 Paul, 154 “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” 155 He replied, 156 “Yes.” 22:28 The commanding officer 157 answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” 158 “But I was even 159 born a citizen,” 160 Paul replied. 161 22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away 162 from him, and the commanding officer 163 was frightened when he realized that Paul 164 was 165 a Roman citizen 166 and that he had had him tied up. 167
22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer 168 wanted to know the true reason 169 Paul 170 was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council 171 to assemble. He then brought 172 Paul down and had him stand before them.
23:1 Paul looked directly 173 at the council 174 and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience 175 before God to this day.” 23:2 At that 176 the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near 177 Paul 178 to strike 179 him on the mouth. 23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! 180 Do 181 you sit there judging me according to the law, 182 and in violation of the law 183 you order me to be struck?” 23:4 Those standing near him 184 said, “Do you dare insult 185 God’s high priest?” 23:5 Paul replied, 186 “I did not realize, 187 brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’” 188
23:6 Then when Paul noticed 189 that part of them were Sadducees 190 and the others Pharisees, 191 he shouted out in the council, 192 “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection 193 of the dead!” 23:7 When he said this, 194 an argument 195 began 196 between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 23:8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) 197 23:9 There was a great commotion, 198 and some experts in the law 199 from the party of the Pharisees stood up 200 and protested strongly, 201 “We find nothing wrong 202 with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 23:10 When the argument became 203 so great the commanding officer 204 feared that they would tear Paul to pieces, 205 he ordered the detachment 206 to go down, take him away from them by force, 207 and bring him into the barracks. 208
23:11 The following night the Lord 209 stood near 210 Paul 211 and said, “Have courage, 212 for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, 213 so you must also testify in Rome.” 214
23:12 When morning came, 215 the Jews formed 216 a conspiracy 217 and bound themselves with an oath 218 not to eat or drink anything 219 until they had killed Paul. 23:13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy. 220 23:14 They 221 went 222 to the chief priests 223 and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath 224 not to partake 225 of anything until we have killed Paul. 23:15 So now you and the council 226 request the commanding officer 227 to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine 228 his case 229 by conducting a more thorough inquiry. 230 We are ready to kill him 231 before he comes near this place.” 232
23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, 233 he came and entered 234 the barracks 235 and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called 236 one of the centurions 237 and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer, 238 for he has something to report to him.” 23:18 So the centurion 239 took him and brought him to the commanding officer 240 and said, “The prisoner Paul called 241 me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 23:19 The commanding officer 242 took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want 243 to report to me?” 23:20 He replied, 244 “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council 245 tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this, 246 because more than forty of them 247 are lying in ambush 248 for him. They 249 have bound themselves with an oath 250 not to eat or drink anything 251 until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.” 252 23:22 Then the commanding officer 253 sent the young man away, directing him, 254 “Tell no one that you have reported 255 these things to me.” 23:23 Then 256 he summoned 257 two of the centurions 258 and said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea 259 along with seventy horsemen 260 and two hundred spearmen 261 by 262 nine o’clock tonight, 263 23:24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride 264 so that he may be brought safely to Felix 265 the governor.” 266 23:25 He wrote 267 a letter that went like this: 268
23:26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor 269 Felix, 270 greetings. 23:27 This man was seized 271 by the Jews and they were about to kill him, 272 when I came up 273 with the detachment 274 and rescued him, because I had learned that he was 275 a Roman citizen. 276 23:28 Since I wanted to know 277 what charge they were accusing him of, 278 I brought him down to their council. 279 23:29 I found he 280 was accused with reference to controversial questions 281 about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment. 282 23:30 When I was informed 283 there would be a plot 284 against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges 285 against him before you.
23:31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, 286 took 287 Paul and brought him to Antipatris 288 during the night. 23:32 The next day they let 289 the horsemen 290 go on with him, and they returned to the barracks. 291 23:33 When the horsemen 292 came to Caesarea 293 and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented 294 Paul to him. 23:34 When the governor 295 had read 296 the letter, 297 he asked 298 what province he was from. 299 When he learned 300 that he was from Cilicia, 301 23:35 he said, “I will give you a hearing 302 when your accusers arrive too.” Then 303 he ordered that Paul 304 be kept under guard in Herod’s palace. 305
24:1 After five days the high priest Ananias 306 came down with some elders and an attorney 307 named 308 Tertullus, and they 309 brought formal charges 310 against Paul to the governor. 24:2 When Paul 311 had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, 312 saying, “We have experienced a lengthy time 313 of peace through your rule, 314 and reforms 315 are being made in this nation 316 through your foresight. 317 24:3 Most excellent Felix, 318 we acknowledge this everywhere and in every way 319 with all gratitude. 320 24:4 But so that I may not delay 321 you any further, I beg 322 you to hear us briefly 323 with your customary graciousness. 324 24:5 For we have found 325 this man to be a troublemaker, 326 one who stirs up riots 327 among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader 328 of the sect of the Nazarenes. 329 24:6 He 330 even tried to desecrate 331 the temple, so we arrested 332 him. 24:7 [[EMPTY]] 333 24:8 When you examine 334 him yourself, you will be able to learn from him 335 about all these things we are accusing him of doing.” 336 24:9 The Jews also joined in the verbal attack, 337 claiming 338 that these things were true.
24:10 When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know 339 that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense. 340 24:11 As you can verify 341 for yourself, not more than twelve days ago 342 I went up to Jerusalem 343 to worship. 24:12 They did not find me arguing 344 with anyone or stirring up a crowd 345 in the temple courts 346 or in the synagogues 347 or throughout the city, 348 24:13 nor can they prove 349 to you the things 350 they are accusing me of doing. 351 24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship 352 the God of our ancestors 353 according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law 354 and that is written in the prophets. 24:15 I have 355 a hope in God (a hope 356 that 357 these men 358 themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 359 24:16 This is the reason 360 I do my best to always 361 have a clear 362 conscience toward God and toward people. 363 24:17 After several years 364 I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor 365 and to present offerings, 366 24:18 which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified, 367 without a crowd or a disturbance. 368 24:19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia 369 who should be here before you and bring charges, 370 if they have anything against me. 24:20 Or these men here 371 should tell what crime 372 they found me guilty of 373 when I stood before the council, 374 24:21 other than 375 this one thing 376 I shouted out while I stood before 377 them: ‘I am on trial before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.’” 378
24:22 Then Felix, 379 who understood the facts 380 concerning the Way 381 more accurately, 382 adjourned their hearing, 383 saying, “When Lysias the commanding officer comes down, I will decide your case.” 384