| New International Version | NET Bible |
| 1"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense." | 1"Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense that I now make to you." |
| 2When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: | 2(When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter.) Then Paul said, |
| 3"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any 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 the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, | 4I persecuted this Way even to the point of death, tying up both men and women and putting them in prison, |
| 5as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners 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"About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven 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 say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' | 7Then I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' |
| 8"'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. "'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. | 8I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.' |
| 9My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him 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"'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked. " 'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all 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.' |
| 11My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. | 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. |
| 12"A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by 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, |
| 13He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see 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. |
| 14"Then he said: 'The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear 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, |
| 15You will be his witness 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 what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, 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"When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at 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 the Lord speaking to me. 'Quick!' he said. 'Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here 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"'Lord,' I replied, 'these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. | 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 martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing 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"Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; 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.'" |
| 22The 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!" | 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 shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, | 23While they were screaming and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust in the air, |
| 24the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at 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 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?" | 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 to the commander and reported it. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "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 went to Paul and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes, I am," he answered. | 27So the commanding officer came and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" He replied, "Yes." |
| 28Then the commander said, "I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship." "But I was born a citizen," Paul replied. | 28The commanding officer answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." "But I was even born a citizen," Paul replied. |
| 29Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. | 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 commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand 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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