Dual Panel1"MY brothers and my fathers, listen to what I have to say in my own defence."
2As soon as they heard him addressing them in Hebrew the silence became intense.
3"I myself am a Jew," Paul went on. "I was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but I was brought up here in this city, I received my training at the feet of Gamaliel, and I was schooled in the strictest observance of our fathers' Law. I was as much on fire with zeal for God as you all are today.
4I am also the man who persecuted this Way to the death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,
5as the High Priest and the whole council can readily testify. Indeed, it was after receiving letters from them to their brothers in Damascus that I set out for that city, intending to arrest any followers of the Way I could find there and bring them hack to Jerusalem as prisoners for punishment.
6Then this happened to me. As I was on my journey and getting near to Damascus, about midday a great light from the sky suddenly blazed around me.
7I fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'
8I replied, 'Who are you, Lord?' He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.'
9My companions naturally saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was talking to me.
10"What am I to do, Lord?" I asked. And the Lord told me, 'Get up and go on to Damascus and there you will be told of all that has been determined for you to do.'
11I was blinded by the brightness of that light and my companions had to take me by the hand and so I came to Damascus.
12There, there was a man called Ananias, a reverent observer of the Law and a man highly respected by all the Jews who lived there.
13He came to visit me and as he stood by my side said, 'Saul, brother, you may see again!' At once I regained my sight and looked at him.
14'The God of our fathers,' he went on, 'has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, to hear words from his own lips,
15for you will be his witness before all men of what you have seen and heard.
16And now what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized! Be clean from your sins as you call on his name.'
17"Then it happened that after my return to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, I fell into a trance
18and saw Jesus, and he said to me, 'Make haste and leave Jerusalem at once, for they will not accept your testimony about me.'
19And I said, 'Lord, they know how I have been through the synagogues imprisoning and beating all those who believe in you.
20They know also that when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed I stood by, giving my approvalwhy, I was even in charge of the outer garments of those who killed him.'
21But he said to me, "Go, for I will send you far away to the gentiles'."
22They had listened to him until he said this, but now they raised a great shout, "Away with him, rid the earth of such a man! He is not fit to live!"
23As they were yelling and flapping their clothes and hurling dust into the air,
24the colonel gave orders to bring Paul into the barracks and directed that he should be examined by scourging, so that he might discover the reason for such an uproar against him.
25But when they had strapped him up, Paul spoke to the centurion standing by, "Is it legal for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen, and untried at that?"
26On hearing this the centurion went in to the colonel and reported to him, saying, "Do you realize what you were about to do? This man is a Roman citizen!"
27Then the colonel himself came up to Paul, and said, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" And he said, "Yes."
28Whereupon the colonel replied, "It cost me a good deal to get my citizenship." "Ah," replied Paul, "but I was born a citizen."
29Then those who had been about to examine him left hurriedly, while even the colonel himself was alarmed at discovering that Paul was a Roman and that he had had him bound.
30Next day the colonel, determined to get to the bottom of Paul's accusation by the Jews, released him and ordered the assembly of the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrim Then he took Paul down and placed him in front of them.