1 wch. 7:2 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you. ”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them inxch. 21:40 the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:
3 ych. 9:11; 21:39; Rom. 11:1; 2 Cor. 11:22; Phil. 3:5 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educatedzDeut. 33:3; 2 Kgs. 4:38; [Luke 10:39] at the feet ofach. 5:34 Gamaliel1Or city at the feet of Gamaliel, educatedbch. 26:5 according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers,c[John 16:2; Phil. 3:6]; See ch. 21:20 being zealous for GoddRom. 10:2 as all of you are this day. 4 ever. 19; See ch. 8:3 I persecutedf[ch. 5:20]; See ch. 9:2 this Waygch. 26:10; [ver. 20; ch. 8:1] to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 ashch. 9:1 the high priest andiLuke 22:66 (Gk.); 1 Tim. 4:14 (Gk.) the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters tojch. 28:21 the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 kFor ver. 6-11, see ch. 9:3-8; 26:12-18 As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? ’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord? ’ And he said to me, ‘I amlch. 26:9 Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting. ’ 9 m[Dan. 10:7]; See ch. 9:7 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand1Or hear with understanding the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said,nSee ch. 16:30 ‘What shall I do, Lord? ’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do. ’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
12 Andoch. 9:10 one Ananias, a devout manpch. 24:14 according to the law,qch. 10:22 well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 rch. 9:17 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight. ’ Andsch. 9:18 at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said,tSee ch. 3:13 ‘The God of our fathersuch. 9:15; 26:16 appointed you to know his will,vver. 18; ch. 9:17; 26:16; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:8; [ver. 15] to seewSee ch. 3:14 the Righteous One andx[Gal. 1:12] to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 forych. 23:11 you will be a witness for him to everyone of whatzver. 14; ch. 4:20 you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait?ach. 9:18 Rise and be baptized andb1 Cor. 6:11; Heb. 10:22; [Ps. 51:2]; See ch. 2:38 wash away your sins,cSee ch. 9:14 calling on his name. ’
17 dch. 9:26; 26:20 When I had returned to Jerusalem andech. 3:1; Luke 18:10 was praying in the temple, I fell intofch. 10:10; 11:5; [2 Cor. 12:1-4] a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, g[ch. 9:29] ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me. ’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after anotherhver. 4 I imprisoned andich. 26:11; See Matt. 10:17 beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephenj[Rev. 2:13] your witness was being shed,kch. 7:58 I myself was standing by andlch. 8:1; [ch. 26:10]; See Rom. 1:32 approving andkch. 7:58 watching over the garments of those who killed him. ’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send youmSee ch. 2:39; 9:15 far away to the Gentiles. ’ ”
22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said,nSee ch. 21:36 “Away with such a fellow from the earth! Foroch. 25:24 he should not be allowed to live. ” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought intopch. 21:34; 23:10 the barracks, saying that he should beqver. 29 examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips,1Or when they had tied him up with leather strips Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flogrch. 16:37 a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned? ” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen. ” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen? ” And he said, “Yes. ” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum. ” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth. ” 29 So those who were aboutsver. 24 to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune alsotch. 16:38 was afraid,u[ch. 23:27] for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and thatvch. 21:33 he had bound him.
30 But on the next day,wver. 24; ch. 23:28 desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.