Acts 22:5-30

22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders ¹  can testify about me. From them ²  I also received ³  letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way ⁴  to make arrests there and bring ⁵  the prisoners ⁶  to Jerusalem ⁷  to be punished. 22:6 As ⁸  I was en route and near Damascus, ⁹  about noon a very bright ¹⁰  light from heaven ¹¹  suddenly flashed ¹²  around me. 22:7 Then I ¹³  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 ¹⁴  the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 22:10 So I asked, ¹⁵  ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up ¹⁶  and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything ¹⁷  that you have been designated ¹⁸  to do.’ 22:11 Since I could not see because of ¹⁹  the brilliance ²⁰  of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of ²¹  those who were with me. 22:12 A man named Ananias, ²²  a devout man according to the law, ²³  well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, ²⁴  22:13 came ²⁵  to me and stood beside me ²⁶  and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ ²⁷  And at that very moment ²⁸  I looked up and saw him. ²⁹  22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors ³⁰  has already chosen ³¹  you to know his will, to see ³²  the Righteous One, ³³  and to hear a command ³⁴  from his mouth, 22:15 because you will be his witness ³⁵  to all people ³⁶  of what you have seen and heard. 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? ³⁷  Get up, ³⁸  be baptized, and have your sins washed away, ³⁹  calling on his name.’ ⁴⁰  22:17 When ⁴¹  I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance ⁴²  22:18 and saw the Lord ⁴³  saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 22:19 I replied, ⁴⁴  ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues ⁴⁵  who believed in you. 22:20 And when the blood of your witness ⁴⁶  Stephen was shed, ⁴⁷  I myself was standing nearby, approving, ⁴⁸  and guarding the cloaks ⁴⁹  of those who were killing him.’ ⁵⁰  22:21 Then ⁵¹  he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

The Roman Commander Questions Paul

22:22 The crowd ⁵²  was listening to him until he said this. ⁵³  Then ⁵⁴  they raised their voices and shouted, ⁵⁵  “Away with this man ⁵⁶  from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” ⁵⁷  22:23 While they were screaming ⁵⁸  and throwing off their cloaks ⁵⁹  and tossing dust ⁶⁰  in the air, 22:24 the commanding officer ⁶¹  ordered Paul ⁶²  to be brought back into the barracks. ⁶³  He told them ⁶⁴  to interrogate Paul ⁶⁵  by beating him with a lash ⁶⁶  so that he could find out the reason the crowd ⁶⁷  was shouting at Paul ⁶⁸  in this way. 22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, ⁶⁹  Paul said to the centurion ⁷⁰  standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen ⁷¹  without a proper trial?” ⁷²  22:26 When the centurion ⁷³  heard this, ⁷⁴  he went to the commanding officer ⁷⁵  and reported it, ⁷⁶  saying, “What are you about to do? ⁷⁷  For this man is a Roman citizen.” ⁷⁸  22:27 So the commanding officer ⁷⁹  came and asked ⁸⁰  Paul, ⁸¹  “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” ⁸²  He replied, ⁸³  “Yes.” 22:28 The commanding officer ⁸⁴  answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” ⁸⁵  “But I was even ⁸⁶  born a citizen,” ⁸⁷  Paul replied. ⁸⁸  22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away ⁸⁹  from him, and the commanding officer ⁹⁰  was frightened when he realized that Paul ⁹¹  was ⁹²  a Roman citizen ⁹³  and that he had had him tied up. ⁹⁴ 

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer ⁹⁵  wanted to know the true reason ⁹⁶  Paul ⁹⁷  was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council ⁹⁸  to assemble. He then brought ⁹⁹  Paul down and had him stand before them.

[22:5]  ¹ tn That is, the whole Sanhedrin. BDAG 861 s.v. πρεσβυτέριον has “an administrative group concerned with the interests of a specific community, council of elders – a. of the highest Judean council in Jerusalem, in our lit. usu. called συνέδριον…ὁ ἀρχιερεύς καὶ πᾶν τὸ πρ. Ac 22:5.”

[22:5]  ² tn Grk “from whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[22:5]  ³ tn Grk “receiving.” The participle δεξάμενος (dexameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “letters to the brothers, [and] I was going to Damascus.” Such a translation, however, might be confusing since the term “brother” is frequently used of a fellow Christian. In this context, Paul is speaking about fellow Jews.

[22:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “even there and bring…” or “there and even bring…” The ascensive καί (kai) shows that Paul was fervent in his zeal against Christians, but it is difficult to translate for it really belongs with the entire idea of arresting and bringing back the prisoners.

[22:5]  ⁶ tn BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b has “δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά bring someone as prisoner…Ac 9:2, 21; 22:5.”

[22:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “I was going…to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners that they might be punished.”

[22:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “It happened that as.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[22:6]  ⁹ tn Grk “going and nearing Damascus.”

[22:6]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.b has “φῶς a very bright light Ac 22:6.”

[22:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[22:6]  ¹² tn Or “shone.”

[22:7]  ¹³ tn This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the connective τέ (te), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. To indicate the logical sequence for the modern English reader, τέ was translated as “then.”

[22:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “did not hear” (but see Acts 9:7). BDAG 38 s.v. ἀκούω 7 has “W. acc. τὸν νόμον understand the law Gal 4:21; perh. Ac 22:9; 26:14…belong here.” If the word has this sense here, then a metonymy is present, since the lack of effect is put for a failure to appreciate what was heard.

[22:10]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “So I said.”

[22:10]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.

[22:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “about all things.”

[22:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “assigned,” “ordered.” BDAG 991 s.v. τάσσω 2.a has “act. and pass., foll. by acc. w. inf.…περὶ πάντων ὧν τέτακταί σοι ποιῆσαι concerning everything that you have been ordered to do 22:10.” There is an allusion to a divine call and commission here.

[22:11]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 106 s.v. ἀπό 5.a has “οὐκ ἐνέβλεπον ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τοῦ φωτός I could not see because of the brilliance of the light Ac 22:11.”

[22:11]  ²⁰ tn Or “brightness”; Grk “glory.”

[22:11]  ²¹ tn Grk “by” (ὑπό, Jupo), but this would be too awkward in English following the previous “by.”

[22:12]  ²² tn Grk “a certain Ananias.”

[22:12]  ²³ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[22:12]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 534 s.v. κατοικέω 1.a translates this present participle “ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν (sc. ἐκεῖ) κατοικούντων ᾿Ιουδαίων by all the Jews who live there Ac 22:12.”

[22:13]  ²⁵ tn Grk “coming.” The participle ἐλθών (elqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:13]  ²⁶ tn Grk “coming to me and standing beside [me] said to me.” The participle ἐπιστάς (epistas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:13]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Brother Saul, look up” (here an idiom for regaining one’s sight). BDAG 59 s.v. ἀναβλέπω places this usage under 1, “look up Ac 22:13a. W. εἰς αὐτόν to show the direction of the glance…22:13b; but perh. this vs. belongs under 2a.” BDAG 59 s.v. 2.a.α states, “of blind persons, who were formerly able to see, regain sight.” The problem for the translator is deciding between the literal and the idiomatic usage and at the same time attempting to retain the wordplay in Acts 22:13: “[Ananias] said to me, ‘Look up!’ and at that very moment I looked up to him.” The assumption of the command is that the effort to look up will be worth it (through the regaining of sight).

[22:13]  ²⁸ tn Grk “hour,” but ὥρα (Jwra) is often used for indefinite short periods of time (so BDAG 1102-3 s.v. ὥρα 2.c: “αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ at that very time, at once, instantly…Lk 2:38, 24:33; Ac 16:18; 22:13”). A comparison with the account in Acts 9:18 indicates that this is clearly the meaning here.

[22:13]  ²⁹ tn Grk “I looked up to him.”

[22:14]  ³⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[22:14]  ³¹ tn L&N 30.89 has “‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance’…‘the God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will’ Ac 22:14.”

[22:14]  ³² tn Grk “and to see.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[22:14]  ³³ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ (Acts 3:14).

[22:14]  ³⁴ tn Or “a solemn declaration”; Grk “a voice.” BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c states, “that which the voice gives expression to: call, cry, outcry, loud or solemn declaration (… = order, command)…Cp. 22:14; 24:21.”

[22:15]  ³⁵ tn Or “a witness to him.”

[22:15]  ³⁶ tn Grk “all men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").

[22:16]  ³⁷ tn L&N 67.121 has “to extend time unduly, with the implication of lack of decision – ‘to wait, to delay.’ νῦν τί μέλλεις… ἀναστὰς βάπτισαι ‘what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized’ Ac 22:16.”

[22:16]  ³⁸ tn Grk “getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.

[22:16]  ³⁹ sn The expression have your sins washed away means “have your sins purified” (the washing is figurative).

[22:16]  ⁴⁰ sn The expression calling on his name describes the confession of the believer: Acts 2:17-38, esp. v. 38; Rom 10:12-13; 1 Cor 1:2.

[22:17]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “It happened to me that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[22:17]  ⁴² tn BDAG 309 s.v. ἔκστασις 2 has “γενέσθαι ἐν ἐκστάσει fall into a trance Ac 22:17.”

[22:18]  ⁴³ tn Or “Jesus”; Grk “him.” The referent (the Lord, cf. v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “And I said.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai, in καγώ [kagw]) has not been translated here.

[22:19]  ⁴⁵ tn For the distributive sense of the expression κατὰ τὰς συναγωγάς (kata ta" sunagwga") BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d has “of places viewed serially, distributive use w. acc.…κατ᾿ οἶκαν from house to house…Ac 2:46b; 5:42…Likew. the pl.…κ. τὰς συναγωγάς 22:19.” See also L&N 37.114.

[22:20]  ⁴⁶ sn Now Paul referred to Stephen as your witness, and he himself had also become a witness. The reversal was now complete; the opponent had now become a proponent.

[22:20]  ⁴⁷ sn When the blood of your witness Stephen was shed means “when your witness Stephen was murdered.”

[22:20]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “and approving.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[22:20]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “outer garments.”

[22:20]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “who were putting him to death.” For the translation of ἀναιρούντων (anairountwn) as “putting to death” see BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2.

[22:21]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[22:22]  ⁵² tn Grk “They were listening”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ⁵³ tn Grk “until this word.”

[22:22]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “And.” To indicate the logical sequence, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” here.

[22:22]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “and said.”

[22:22]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “this one.”

[22:22]  ⁵⁷ tn BDAG 491 s.v. καθήκω has “to be appropriate, come/reach to, be proper/fitting…Usu. impers. καθήκει it comes (to someone)…foll. by acc. and inf….οὐ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν he should not be allowed to live Ac 22:22.”

[22:23]  ⁵⁸ tn The participle κραυγαζόντων (kraugazontwn) has been translated temporally.

[22:23]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “outer garments.”

[22:23]  ⁶⁰ sn The crowd’s act of tossing dust in the air indicated they had heard something disturbing and offensive. This may have been a symbolic gesture, indicating Paul’s words deserved to be thrown to the wind, or it may have simply resulted from the fact they had nothing else to throw at him at the moment.

[22:24]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.

[22:24]  ⁶² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:24]  ⁶³ tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”

[22:24]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “into the barracks, saying.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the participle εἴπας (eipas), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. The direct object “them” has been supplied; it is understood in Greek.

[22:24]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:24]  ⁶⁶ sn To interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash. Under the Roman legal system it was customary to use physical torture to extract confessions or other information from prisoners who were not Roman citizens and who were charged with various crimes, especially treason or sedition. The lashing would be done with a whip of leather thongs with pieces of metal or bone attached to the ends.

[22:24]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:24]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:25]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “for the thongs” (of which the lash was made). Although often translated as a dative of means (“with thongs”), referring to thongs used to tie the victim to the whipping post, BDAG 474-75 s.v. ἱμάς states that it “is better taken as a dat. of purpose for the thongs, in which case οἱ ἱμάντες = whips (Posidonius: 87 fgm. 5 Jac.; POxy. 1186, 2 τὴν διὰ τῶν ἱμάντων αἰκείαν. – Antiphanes 74, 8, Demosth. 19, 197 and Artem. 1, 70 use the sing. in this way).”

[22:25]  ⁷⁰ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[22:25]  ⁷¹ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:25]  ⁷² tn Or “a Roman citizen and uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

[22:26]  ⁷³ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[22:26]  ⁷⁴ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[22:26]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:26]  ⁷⁶ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[22:26]  ⁷⁷ tn Or perhaps, “What do you intend to do?” Although BDAG 627 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.α lists this phrase under the category “be about to, be on the point of,” it is possible it belongs under 1.c.γ, “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…τί μέλλεις ποιεῖν; what do you intend to do?”

[22:26]  ⁷⁸ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:27]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:27]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “and said to.”

[22:27]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:27]  ⁸² tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:27]  ⁸³ tn Grk “He said.”

[22:28]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:28]  ⁸⁵ sn Sometimes Roman citizenship was purchased through a bribe (Dio Cassius, Roman History 60.17.4-9). That may well have been the case here.

[22:28]  ⁸⁶ tn BDAG 495-96 s.v. καί 2.b has “intensive: even…Ac 5:39; 22:28.”

[22:28]  ⁸⁷ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:28]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:29]  ⁸⁹ tn BDAG 158 s.v. ἀφίστημι 2.b has “keep away…ἀπό τινος… Lk 4:13; Ac 5:38; 2 Cor 12:8…cp. Ac 22:29.” In context, the point would seem to be not that the interrogators departed or withdrew, but that they held back from continuing the flogging.

[22:29]  ⁹⁰ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

[22:29]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:29]  ⁹² tn This is a present tense (ἐστιν, estin) retained in indirect discourse. It must be translated as a past tense in contemporary English.

[22:29]  ⁹³ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:29]  ⁹⁴ sn Had him tied up. Perhaps a reference to the chains in Acts 21:33, or the preparations for the lashing in Acts 22:25. A trial would now be needed to resolve the matter. The Roman authorities’ hesitation to render a judgment in the case occurs repeatedly: Acts 22:30; 23:28-29; 24:22; 25:20, 26-27. The legal process begun here would take the rest of Acts and will be unresolved at the end. The process itself took four years of Paul’s life.

[22:30]  ⁹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

[22:30]  ⁹⁶ tn Grk “the certainty, why.” BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2 has “τὸ ἀ. the certainty = the truth (in ref. to ferreting out the facts…ἵνα τὸ ἀ. ἐπιγνῶ) γνῶναι 21:34; 22:30.”

[22:30]  ⁹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:30]  ⁹⁸ tn Grk “the whole Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[22:30]  ⁹⁹ tn Grk “and bringing.” The participle καταγαγών (katagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to clarify the logical sequence.