Acts 22:7-30
22:7 Then I
fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
22:8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’
22:9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand
the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
22:10 So I asked,
‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up
and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything
that you have been designated
to do.’
22:11 Since I could not see because of
the brilliance
of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of
those who were with me.
22:12 A man named Ananias,
a devout man according to the law,
well spoken of by all the Jews who live there,
22:13 came
to me and stood beside me
and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’
And at that very moment
I looked up and saw him.
22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors
has already chosen
you to know his will, to see
the Righteous One,
and to hear a command
from his mouth,
22:15 because you will be his witness
to all people
of what you have seen and heard.
22:16 And now what are you waiting for?
Get up,
be baptized, and have your sins washed away,
calling on his name.’
22:17 When
I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance
22:18 and saw the Lord
saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
22:19 I replied,
‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues
who believed in you.
22:20 And when the blood of your witness
Stephen was shed,
I myself was standing nearby, approving,
and guarding the cloaks
of those who were killing him.’
22:21 Then
he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
The Roman Commander Questions Paul
22:22 The crowd was listening to him until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Away with this man from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!”
22:23 While they were screaming and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust in the air,
22:24 the commanding officer ordered Paul to be brought back into the barracks. He told them to interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash so that he could find out the reason the crowd was shouting at Paul in this way.
22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen without a proper trial?”
22:26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commanding officer and reported it, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”
22:27 So the commanding officer came and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” He replied, “Yes.”
22:28 The commanding officer answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” “But I was even born a citizen,” Paul replied.
22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away from him, and the commanding officer was frightened when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had had him tied up.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to assemble. He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them.