| Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you." | 1"Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense that I now make to you." |
| 2When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter. | 2(When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter.) Then Paul said, |
| 3He continued, "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the law of our ancestors. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. | 3"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated with strictness under Gamaliel according to the law of our ancestors, and was zealous for God just as all of you are today. |
| 4I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and putting both men and women in jail, | 4I persecuted this Way even to the point of death, tying up both men and women and putting them in prison, |
| 5as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to arrest those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished. | 5as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to make arrests there and bring the prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. |
| 6"As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. | 6As I was en route and near Damascus, about noon a very bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. |
| 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' | 7Then I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' |
| 8"I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' "He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.' | 8I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.' |
| 9Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. | 9Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. |
| 10"I said, 'What should I do, Lord?' "The Lord told me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.' | 10So I asked, 'What should I do, Lord?' The Lord said to me, 'Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything that you have been designated to do.' |
| 11"Since I couldn't see because of the brightness of the light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus. | 11Since I could not see because of the brilliance of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me. |
| 12Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there, | 12A man named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, |
| 13came and stood by me and said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight.' And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. | 13came to me and stood beside me and said to me, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight!' And at that very moment I looked up and saw him. |
| 14And he said, 'The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the words from his mouth, | 14Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear a command from his mouth, |
| 15since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard. | 15because you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. |
| 16And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' | 16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.' |
| 17"After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance | 17When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance |
| 18and saw him telling me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' | 18and saw the Lord saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' |
| 19"But I said, 'Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten. | 19I replied, 'Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues who believed in you. |
| 20And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.' | 20And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing nearby, approving, and guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.' |
| 21"He said to me, 'Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' " | 21Then he said to me, 'Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" |
| 22They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, "Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!" | 22The crowd was listening to him until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, "Away with this man from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!" |
| 23As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air, | 23While they were screaming and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust in the air, |
| 24the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. | 24the commanding officer ordered Paul to be brought back into the barracks. He told them to interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash so that he could find out the reason the crowd was shouting at Paul in this way. |
| 25As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, "Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?" | 25When they had stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing nearby, "Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen without a proper trial?" |
| 26When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, "What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen." | 26When the centurion heard this, he went to the commanding officer and reported it, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen." |
| 27The commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said. | 27So the commanding officer came and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" He replied, "Yes." |
| 28The commander replied, "I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money." "But I was born a citizen," Paul said. | 28The commanding officer answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." "But I was even born a citizen," Paul replied. |
| 29So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him. | 29Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away from him, and the commanding officer was frightened when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had had him tied up. |
| 30The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene. He brought Paul down and placed him before them. | 30The next day, because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to assemble. He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them. |
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