Acts:22

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* »Men , brothers and fathers , hear my defense to you now .« * They heard him speak in the Hebrew tongue and became quiet . * »I am a Jew , born in Tarsus in Cilicia , but brought up here in Jerusalem as a student of Gamaliel . I received instruction in the Law of our ancestors and was just as zealous for God as are all of you . * »I persecuted the people who followed this Way to the point of death . I arrested men and women and threw them into prison . * »The High Priest and the whole Council can prove that I am telling the truth . I received letters from them written to fellow Jews in Damascus , so I went there to arrest these people and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem to be punished . * »While I was traveling I came near Damascus about midday . Suddenly a bright light from the sky flashed around me . * »I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me : ‘Saul , Saul ! Why do you persecute me ?’ * »Who are you , Lord ?« I asked . »I am Jesus of Nazareth , whom you persecute ,« he said to me . * »Everyone with me saw the light . They did not hear the voice of the one speaking to me . * »I asked : What shall I do , Lord ? He said : ‘Go to Damascus . There you will be told what God wants you to do .’ * »I was blind because of the bright light . So my companions took me by the hand and led me to Damascus . * »A man named Ananias was in that city . He is a religious man who obeyed our Law and was highly respected by all the Jews living there . * »He came and stood by me , and said : ‘Brother Saul , see again !’ At that very moment I saw again and looked at him . * »He said : ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will . You are to see his righteous servant , and to hear him speak with his own voice . * ‘You will be a witness for him to tell everyone what you have seen and heard . * ‘Wait no longer ! Get up and be baptized and have your sins washed away by praying to him .’ * »I went back to Jerusalem . Then I have a vision while I prayed in the temple . * »I saw the Lord . He said to me : ‘Hurry and leave Jerusalem because the people here will not accept your witness about me .’ * »I answered , ‘Lord they know very well that I went to the synagogues and arrested and beat those who believe in you . * ‘»When your witness Stephen was put to death , I was there , approving of his murder and taking care of the coats of his murderers .’« * »The Lord said : ‘Go ! I will send you far away to the people of the nations .’ * The people listened to Paul until he said this . Then they shouted at the top of their voices : »Away with him ! Kill him ! He is not fit to live !« * They were screaming , throwing off their clothes , and throwing dust up in the air . * The Roman commander ordered his men to take Paul into the barracks . He told them to whip him in order to find out why the Jews were screaming like this against him . * When they tied him up to be whipped Paul said to the officer standing there , »Is it lawful for you to whip a Roman citizen who has not been tried for a crime ?« * When the officer heard this , he went to the commander and asked him : »What are you doing ? That man is a Roman citizen !« * The commander went to Paul and asked him : »Tell me , are you a Roman citizen ?« »Yes ,« answered Paul . * The commander said : »I became one by paying a large amount of money .« »I am one by birth ,« Paul answered . * At once the men who were going to question Paul drew back from him . The commander was frightened when he found out that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had put him in chains . * The commander wanted to find out for sure what the Jews were accusing Paul of . The next day he had Paul ’s chains taken off and ordered the chief priests and the whole Council to meet . Then he took Paul and made him stand before them .

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