Paul
Speaks To The Crowd
'Brothers
and fathers, listen now to my Defensed.'
2
When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,
They
became very quiet.
Then
Paul said:
'I
am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia,
But
brought up on this City.
Under
Gamaliel I was thoroughly Trained
In
the Law of our fathers
And
was just as zealous for God
As
any of you are today.
4 I
PERSECUTED THE FOLLOWERS OF THIS WAY
TO
THEIR DEATH
ARRESTING
BOTH MEN AND WOMEN
AND
THROWING THEM INTO PRISON,
5
AS ALSO THE HIGH PRIEST
AND
ALL THE COUNCIL CAN TESTIFY.
I
even obtained letters from them
To
their brothers in Damascus,
And
went there to bring these people as prisoners
To
Jerusalem to be Punished.
6
About noon as I came near Damascus,
SUDDENLY
A BRIGHT LIGHT FROM HEAVEN
FLASHED
AROUND ME.
7 I
FELL TO THE GROUND AND HEARD A VOICE SAY TO ME,
'SAUL!
SAUL! WHY DO YOU PERSECUTE ME?'
8
'WHO ARE YOU, LORD?' I asked.
'I
AM JESUS OF NAZARETH,
WHOM
YOU ARE PERSECUTING,' he replied.
9
My companions saw the light,
But
they did not understand the Voice
Of
Him who was speaking to me.
10
'WHAT SHALL I DO LORD?' I asked.
'GET
UP,' the Lord said,
AND
GO TO DAMASCUS,
THERE
YOU WILL BE TOLD
ALL
THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO DO.'
11My
companions led me by the hand into Damascus,
BECAUSE
THE BRILLIANCE OF THE LIGHT HAD BLINDED ME.
12A
man named Ananias came to see me.
He
was a devout Observer of the Law
And
highly respected by all the Jews living there.
13
He stood beside me and said,
'BROTHER
SAUL, RECEIVE YOUR SIGHT!'
And
at that very moment I was able to see him.
14
Then he said:
'THE
GOD OF OUR FATHERS HAS CHOSEN YOU
TO
KNOW HIS WILL AND TO SEE THE RIGHEOUS ONE
AND
TO HEAR WORDS FROM HIS MOUTH.
15
YOU WILL BE HIS WITNESS TO ALL MEN
OF
WHAT YU HAVE SEEN AND HEARD.
16
AND NOW WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
GET
UP, BE BAPTIZED
AND
WASH YOUR SINS AWAY,
CALLING
ON HIS NAME.'
17
When I returned to Jerusalem
And
was praying at the Temple,
I
FELL INTO A TRANCE
18
AND SAW THE LORD SPEAKING,
'QUICK!
He said to me.
'LEAVE
JERUSALEM IMMEDIATELY,
BECAUSE
THEY WILL NOT ACCEPT YOUR TESTIMONY
ABOUT
ME.'
19
'Lord,' I replied,
'These
men know
That
I went from one Synagogue to another
To
Imprison and Beat those who believed in You.
20
AND WHEN THE BLOOD
OF
YOUR MARTYR STEPHEN WAS SHED,
I
STOOD THERE GIVING MY APPROVAL
AND
GUARDING THE CLOTHES
OF
THOSE WHO WERE KILLING HIM.'
21
Then the Lord said to me,
'GO;
I WILL SEND YOU FAR AWAY TO THE GENTILES.'
Paul
the Roman Citizen
22
The Crowd listened to Paul
Until
he said this.
Then
they raised their voices and Shouted,
'RID
THE EARTH OF HIM!
HE'S
NOT FIT TO LIVE!'
23
As they were Shouting
And
Throwing off their cloaks
And
Flinging dust into the air,
24
The Commander
Ordered
Paul to be taken into the Barracks.
He
directed that he be Flogged and Questioned
In
order to find out
Why
the people were Shouting at him like this.
25
As they Stretched him out to Flog him,
Paul
said to the Centurion standing there,
'IS
IT LEGAL FOR YOU TO FLOG A ROMAN CITIZEN
WHO
HASN'T EVEN BEEN FOUND GUILTY?'
26
When the Centurion heard this,
He
went to the Commander and reported it.
'WHAT
ARE YOU GOING TO DO?' he asked.
'THIS
MAN IS A ROMAN CITIZEN.'
27
The Commander went to Paul and asked,
'TELL
ME, ARE YOU A ROMAN CITIZEN?'
YES,
I AM,' he answered.
28
Then the Commander said,
'I
HAD TO PAY A BIG PRICE FOR MY CITIZENSHIP.'
'BUT
I WAS BORN A CITIZEN,' Paul replied
29
Those who were about to Question him
Withdrew
Immediately.
The
Commander himself was Alarmed
When
he realized that he had put Paul,
A
Roman Citizen in Chains.
Before
The Sanhedrin
30
The next day,
Since
the Commander wanted to find out
Exactly
why Paul was being Accused by the Jews,
He
Released him
And
Ordered the Chief Priests
And
all the Sanhedrin to Assemble.
Then
he brought Paul
And
had him Stand before them.
(Acts
22)
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