Acts 22:13-30 ▼

13 came to me, and standing near, said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ And at that very hour I regained my sight and saw him.

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 a voice from His mouth.

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

16 Now why do you delay? Rise up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’

17 “Now it happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance,

18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness about Me.’

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.

20 And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and guarding the garments of those who were slaying him.’

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

22 And they were listening 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!”

23 And as they were crying out and throwing off their garments and tossing dust into the air,

24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by flogging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

25 But when they stretched him out with leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?”

26 And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported to him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.”

27 And the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.”

28 And the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I have been born a citizen.”

29 Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately withdrew from him; and the commander also was afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

30 But 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 Sanhedrin to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.