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1 “Brothers and fathers, please+ listen as I now offer ᵖyou my defense.+”
2 When the people heard him addressing them in Aramaic,+ they became even+ quieter. Then he continued:
3 “I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city as a student+ of Gamaliel, carefully trained in every detail+ of the Torah passed+ on by our ancestors,+ being for God very+ zealous, just as ᵖyou yourselves+ all are today.
4 I persecuted to the point of death the followers+ of this Way,+ arresting and throwing into prison both men and women,+
5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can themselves+ testify about me. Having received from them,+ for the brothers in Damascus,+ letters of authorization,+ I was on my way there+ with the intention+ of bringing the Way-followers even+ in that city+ back+ as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 Yet as I was traveling and drawing near to Damascus at about noon, from heaven+ a very bright light suddenly began to shine around me.
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul! Why are ˢyou persecuting+ me?’
8 “ ‘Who are ˢyou, Lord?’ I asked in reply.
“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom ˢyou are persecuting,’ he said to me.
9 As for the men who were with+ me, although they saw the light,+ they didn’t understand+ the voice+ of the one who was speaking to me.
10 “ ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘Get up and go into Damascus,’ the Lord said to me. ‘There ˢyou will be told about all the things that are appointed for ˢyou to do.’
11 “Because I had been blinded by+ the glorious radiance of that light, it was+ with the help of my companions leading me by the hand+ that I arrived in Damascus.
12 Now a man named Ananias,+ a devout observer of Torah,+ highly respected by all the Jews living there,
13 came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain ˢyour sight.’ And I looked up and was able to see him+ at that very+ moment.+
14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors+ appointed ˢyou in advance to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear him speaking with his own voice.+
15 For ˢyou will be a witness on his behalf to all kinds of people concerning what you have seen and heard.+
16 And now what are ˢyou waiting for? Get up, be baptized and have ˢyour sins washed away as you call on+ his name.’+
17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple courts, I fell into a trance and
18 saw the Lord+ saying to me: ‘Quick! Hurry up and leave Jerusalem,+ because they will not accept ˢyour testimony on my behalf.’
19 “ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘they themselves know very well that I was behind+ the imprisonments and beatings, from one synagogue to the next,+ of those who believe in ˢyou.
20 And when the blood of ˢyour witness Stephen was being shed, I myself was standing there, too, in full agreement, watching+ over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’
21 “ ‘Go,’ he said to me. ‘I am going to send ˢyou out far away, you see,+ to the Gentiles.’ ”
22 The crowd+ continued listening to Paul+ until he said this.+ Then they began to shout,+ “Rid the earth of this fellow! Such a man isn’t fit to live!”+
23 As they were yelling and showing their horror+ by throwing off their cloaks and tossing into the air handfuls+ of dust,+
24 the commanding officer gave an order for Paul+ to be brought into the soldiers’ quarters and interrogated+ by flogging,+ to find out exactly+ why it was that the crowd+ was shouting against him like this.
25 When the soldiers+ had stretched him out for the whips, however, Paul said to the officer+ who was standing there, “Is it legal for ᵖyou to flog a Roman citizen+ who hasn’t even had a trial?”
26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commanding officer and said to him, “What are ˢyou about to do? This man is a Roman citizen+!”
27 At that, the commanding officer went and asked Paul,+ “Tell me, are ˢyou a Roman citizen+?”
28 “I acquired my citizenship+ with a hefty sum of money,+” the commanding officer said in response.
“I, however, am a citizen by birth,” said Paul.
29 At that, those who were about to subject Paul+ to interrogation+ immediately drew back from him. The commanding officer was afraid, too, when he realized that Paul+ was a Roman citizen+ and that he had given the order+ for him to be put in chains.+
30 The next day, wanting to find out exactly why Paul+ was being denounced+ by his Jewish accusers,+ the commanding officer+ had him released and ordered the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin to convene. And after bringing Paul down, he had+ him stand before them.