Acts 22
Expanded Bible
Paul Speaks to the People
22 Paul said, “[L Men,] Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense to you.” 2 When they heard him ·speaking [addressing them in] the Hebrew [or Aramaic; 21:40] language, they became ·very [even more] quiet. Paul said, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus [9:11] in the ·country [province] of Cilicia [6:9], but I ·grew up [was brought up; or was educated] in this city [C Jerusalem]. I was ·a student of [L instructed at the feet of; C idiom indicating the role of a disciple] Gamaliel [C a famous teacher of the Pharisees; 5:34], who ·carefully [or strictly] taught me everything about the law of our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers]. I was ·very serious about serving [L zealous/passionate for] God, just as are all of you here today. 4 I persecuted the people who followed ·the Way of Jesus [L this Way; C another name for the Christian movement; 9:2; 18:25; 19:23], ·and some of them were even killed [L up to the point of death; 7:60]. I ·arrested [L bound] men and women and put them in jail. 5 The high priest and the whole council of elders can ·tell you this is true [testify about me]. They gave me letters to the brothers [C their fellow Jewish leaders] in Damascus. So I was going there to ·arrest [L bind] these people and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “About noon when I came near Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly ·flashed [shone] all around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ ·The voice [L He] said, ‘I am Jesus ·of Nazareth [or the Nazarene] whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Those who were with me did not ·understand [or hear; C the word can mean either “hear” or “understand,” but 9:7 suggests the latter] the voice [L that was speaking to me], but they saw the light. 10 I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘Get up and go to Damascus. There you will be told about all the things ·I have planned [or assigned; appointed] for you to do.’ 11 I could not see, because ·the bright light had made me blind [L of the glory/brilliance of that light]. So ·my companions [L those with me] led me [L by the hand] into Damascus.
12 “There a man named Ananias came to me. He was a ·religious [devout; God-fearing] man; ·he obeyed the law of Moses [L …according to the law], and all the Jews who lived there ·respected [spoke well of] him. 13 He [L came to me and] stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, ·see again [L look up; C an idiom for regaining sight]!’ ·Immediately [L At that hour] I ·was able to see [L looked up at] him. 14 He said, ‘The God of our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers] ·chose [appointed] you long ago to know his ·plan [will; purpose], to see the Righteous One [C Jesus], and to hear ·words [a divine message; L a voice] from ·him [L his mouth]. 15 You will be his witness to all people, telling them about what you have seen and heard. 16 Now, ·why wait any longer [what are you waiting for]? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, ·trusting in him to save you [L calling on his name].’
17 “Later, when I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple, and I ·saw a vision [or fell into a trance]. 18 I saw ·the Lord [L him] saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem ·now [or quickly]! The people here will not accept ·the truth [L your testimony/witness] about me.’ 19 But I said, ‘Lord, they [L themselves; very well] know that in every synagogue I put ·the believers [L those who believe in you] in jail and beat them. 20 They also know I was there when Stephen, your ·witness [or martyr], ·was killed [L had his blood shed]. I [myself; indeed] stood there agreeing and ·holding [guarding; keeping] the coats of those who were killing him!’ 21 But the Lord said to me, ‘·Leave now [Go!]. I will send you far away to the ·other nations [Gentiles].’”
22 ·The crowd [L They] listened to ·Paul [him] until he said ·this [L this word]. Then they ·began shouting [L raised their voice saying], “·Get rid of him [Kill him; L Remove this one from the earth]! He doesn’t deserve to live!” 23 They ·shouted [yelled; screamed], threw off their coats, and threw dust into the air [C demonstrations of anger and disgust].
24 Then the ·commander [tribune] ordered the soldiers to take ·Paul [L him] into the ·army building [barracks] and ·beat him [L question him by whipping/flogging]. ·He wanted [L …in order] to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this [C flogging was commonly used to gain information]. 25 But as the soldiers were ·tying him up [or stretching him out (on the posts)], preparing to ·beat [whip; flog] him, Paul said to an officer nearby, “Do you have the right to ·beat [whip; flog] a Roman citizen who ·has not been proven guilty [L is uncondemned; C this was against Roman law]?”
26 When the ·officer [L centurion; 21:32] heard this, he went to the ·commander [tribune] and reported it. The officer said, “·Do you know what you are doing [or What are you about to do]? This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The ·commander [tribune] came to ·Paul [L him] and said, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?”
He answered, “Yes.”
28 The ·commander [tribune] ·said [L responded], “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”
But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.”
29 [L Therefore] The men who were preparing to question Paul ·moved away from him [withdrew] immediately. The ·commander [tribune] was frightened because he had already ·tied [bound] ·Paul [L him], and Paul was a Roman citizen.
Paul Speaks to the Jewish Council
30 The next day ·the commander [L he] ·decided [desired] to learn [with certainty; the true reason] why the Jews were accusing ·Paul [L him]. So he ordered the ·leading [T chief] priests and the ·council [Sanhedrin; C Jewish high court comprised of 70 Jewish leaders; 4:15] to meet. ·The commander [L He] ·took Paul’s chains off [L released him]. Then he brought Paul out and stood him before their meeting.
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