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The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 22
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Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto
you.
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(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them,
they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
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I am verily a man
which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in
this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect
manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye
all are this day.
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And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering
into prisons both men and women.
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As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate
of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren,
and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto
Jerusalem, for to be punished.
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And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come
nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a
great light round about me.
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And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
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And I answered, Who art
thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou
persecutest.
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And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid;
but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
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And I said, What shall I do, LORD? And the Lord said unto me,
Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all
things which are appointed for thee to do.
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And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led
by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
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And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a
good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
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Came unto me, and
stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same
hour I looked up upon him.
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And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou
shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the
voice of his mouth.
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For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast
seen and heard.
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And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away
thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
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And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem,
even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
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And saw
him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem:
for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
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And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every
synagogue them that believed on thee:
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And when the blood of thy
martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto
his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
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And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto
the Gentiles.
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And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up
their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it
is not fit that he should live.
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And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw
dust into the air,
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The chief captain commanded him to be brought
into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging;
that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.
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And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion
that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman,
and uncondemned?
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When the centurion heard that, he went and
told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this
man is a Roman.
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Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art
thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
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And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this
freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
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Then straightway they departed from him which should have
examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew
that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
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On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty
wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands,
and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and
brought Paul down, and set him before them.
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