| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1“Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.” |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater. |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5The high priest and the whole council of elders can testify that this is so. For I received letters from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the followers of the Way from there to Jerusalem, in chains, to be punished. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6“As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me. |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8“‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’ |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11“I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions. |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him! |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’ |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17“After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance. |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’ |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19“‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20And I was in complete agreement when your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.’ |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21“But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’ ” |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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!” |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air. Paul Reveals His Roman Citizenship |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25When they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul said to the officer standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been tried?” |
| 26[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 26When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!” |
| 27[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 27So the commander went over and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I certainly am,” Paul replied. |
| 28[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 28“I am, too,” the commander muttered, “and it cost me plenty!” Paul answered, “But I am a citizen by birth!” |
| 29[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. Paul before the High Council |
| 30[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 30The next day the commander ordered the leading priests into session with the Jewish high council. He wanted to find out what the trouble was all about, so he released Paul to have him stand before them. |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
|
