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17 Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 ‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You. 20 And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval to his death and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” 22 The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!” 23 As they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him. 25 But as he stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?” 26 On hearing this, the centurion went and reported it to the commander. “Consider what you are about to do,” he said. “This man is a Roman citizen.” 27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered. 28 “I paid a high price for my citizenship,” said the commander. “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. 29 At once those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains. 30 The next day the commander, wanting to learn the real reason Paul was accused by the Jews, released him from the bonds and ordered the chief priests and their whole Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them. Acts 22:17-30, Majority Standard Bible. Public domain.
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