1 Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now
unto you. 2 (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to
them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
3 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.
4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and
delivering into prisons both men and women. 5 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.
6 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.
7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard A VOICE saying unto me,
Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou ME?
8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord?
And HE said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, WHOM thou persecutest.
9 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.
10 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.
11 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.
12 And one
Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all
the Jews which dwelt there, 13 Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me,
Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon
him.
14 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.
15 For thou shalt be HIS witness unto all men of what
thou hast seen and heard.
16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be
baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
17 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; 18 And saw HIM
saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for
they will not receive thy testimony concerning ME.
19 And I said, Lord,
they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that
believed on thee: 20 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.
21 And HE said unto me, Depart: for I will
send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
22 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.
23 And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw
dust into the air, 24 The chief captain commanded him to be brought into
the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging (whipping with a lash); that he
might know wherefore they cried so against him.
25 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? 26 When the
centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take
heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
27 Then the chief captain
came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman?
He said, Yea.
28 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this
freedom.
And Paul said, But I was free born.
29 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.
30 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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