Thematic Bible
Acts 22:1 (show verse)
"Men--brothers and fathers--listen to my defense to you now!"
Acts 22:2 (show verse)
And [when they] heard that he was addressing them in the Aramaic language, {they became even more silent}. And he said,
Acts 22:3 (show verse)
"I am a Jewish man born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the exactness of the law received from our fathers, being zealous for God, just as all [of] you are today.
Acts 22:4 (show verse)
{I} persecuted this Way to the death, tying up and delivering to prison both men and women,
Acts 22:5 (show verse)
as indeed the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me, from whom also I received letters to the brothers in Damascus, [and] was traveling [there] to lead away those who were there also tied up to Jerusalem so that they could be punished.
Acts 22:6 (show verse)
"And it happened that [as] I was traveling and approaching Damascus around noon, suddenly a very bright light from heaven flashed around me,
Acts 22:7 (show verse)
and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'
Acts 22:8 (show verse)
And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you are persecuting.'
Acts 22:9 (show verse)
(Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.)
Acts 22:10 (show verse)
So I said, 'What should I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Get up [and] proceed to Damascus, and there it will be told to you about all [the things] that have been appointed for you to do.'
Acts 22:11 (show verse)
And as I could not see as a result of the brightness of that light, I arrived in Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me.
Acts 22:12 (show verse)
And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who live [there],
Acts 22:13 (show verse)
came to me and stood by [me] [and] said to me, 'Brother Saul, regain [your] sight!' And [at that] same time I looked up at him [and saw him].
Acts 22:14 (show verse)
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,
Acts 22:15 (show verse)
because you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.
Acts 22:16 (show verse)
And now why are you delaying? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name!'
Acts 22:17 (show verse)
"And it happened that [when] I returned to Jerusalem and I was praying in the temple courts, I was in a trance,
Acts 22:18 (show verse)
and saw him saying to me, 'Hurry and depart {quickly} from Jerusalem, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'
Acts 22:19 (show verse)
And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue [to synagogue] I was imprisoning and beating those who believed in you.
Acts 22:20 (show verse)
And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself also was standing near and was approving, and was guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.'
Acts 22:21 (show verse)
And he said to me, 'Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles!'"
Acts 22:22 (show verse)
Now they were listening to him until this word, and they raised their voices, saying, "Away with such a man from the earth! For it is not fitting [for] him to live!"
Acts 22:23 (show verse)
And [while] they were screaming and throwing off [their] cloaks and throwing dust into the air,
Acts 22:24 (show verse)
the military tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying he was to be examined with a lash so that he could find out for what reason they were crying out against him in this way.
Acts 22:25 (show verse)
But when they had stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is it permitted for you to flog a man [who is] a Roman citizen and uncondemned?"
Acts 22:26 (show verse)
And [when] the centurion heard [this], he went to the military tribune [and] reported [it], saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen!"
Acts 22:27 (show verse)
So the military tribune came [and] said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" And he said, "Yes."
Acts 22:28 (show verse)
And the military tribune replied, "I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money." And Paul said, "But I indeed was born [a citizen].
Acts 22:29 (show verse)
Then immediately those who were about to examine him kept away from him, and the military tribune also was afraid [when he] realized that he was a Roman citizen and that {he had tied him up}.
Acts 22:30 (show verse)
But on the next day, [because he] wanted to know the true [reason] why he was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble, and he brought down Paul [and] had [him] stand before them.