Paul Defends Himself Before Being Thrown into the Castle's Prison |
Acts 22:1-30 The Acts of the Apostles [in Smaller Chunks] |
[Paul said,] You men, brethren, & fathers, hear my defense [that] I make to you now. (And when they heard that [Paul spoke] in the Hebrew tongue, [a.k.a. language,] to them, they kept [even] more [silent.] |
And [Paul said,]) I am [truly] a man, [who is] a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, & [still] brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel. And taught according to the perfect manner, [a.k.a. customs or traditions,] of the Law of the [forefathers,] & was zealous toward God, as you all are this day. |
And I persecuted [the followers of] this Way, unto the death. [John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I Am the Way, the Truth, & the Life. No man [comes] to the Father, [except] by Me.] |
[I was:] binding, [a.k.a. tying or chaining up,] & delivering both men & women into prisons. [Acts 26:9-11 I [truly] thought [within] myself, that I [should] do many things contrary, [a.k.a. in opposition,] to the Name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which [things,] I also did in Jerusalem, having received authority from the chief priests. And I shut up in prison many of the saints, & when they were put to death, I gave my voice, [a.k.a. testified,] against them. And in every synagogue, I punished them [often,] & compelled them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly [angry] against them, I persecuted them even to [foreign] cities.] |
The high priest also [bears] witness, [a.k.a. testifies, about] me. And all the [council] of elders: from whom I also received letters to the brethren, & went to Damascus, to bring [those, who] were there, bound to Jerusalem, [in order] to be punished. |
And it [happened,] that as I made my journey, & [had] come [near] to Damascus [around] noon, suddenly a great light shone from heaven [all around] me. And I fell to the ground, & heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why [do] you [persecute] Me? And I answered, Who [are] You, Lord? |
And He said to me, I Am Jesus of Nazareth, Whom you [persecute.] And [those, who] were with me, indeed saw the light, & were afraid. But they [didn't hear] the voice of Him, [Who spoke] to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? |
And the Lord said to me, Arise, & go into Damascus. And it shall be told [to] you there, of all the things [that] are appointed for you to do. And when I couldn't see, [because] [of] the glory of that light, [I] [was] led by the hand of [those, who] were with me, & I came into Damascus. |
And a devout man, according to the Law, one, Ananias, [who had] a good [reputation] [with] all the Jews, [who lived] there, came to me, & stood. And said to me, Brother, Saul, receive your sight. And that same hour I looked upon him. |
And [Ananias] said, The God of our [forefathers has] chosen you, [so] that you [should] know His will, & see that Just One, & [should] hear the voice of His mouth. [Acts 3:13-15 The God of: Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob, the God of our [forefathers, has] glorified His Son Jesus; Whom you delivered up & denied Him, in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let [Jesus] go. But you denied the Holy & Just One, & desired a murderer to be granted to you, & killed the Prince of Life, Whom God [has] raised from the dead: [of which,] we are witnesses.] |
For you shall be His witness to all men of what you [have] seen & heard. [1 Corinthians 15:3-10 *For first, I delivered to you all of [what] I also received, & how Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. And that [Jesus] was buried, & He rose again the 3rd day, according to the Scriptures. And that [Jesus] was seen [by:] Cephas, & then [by] the 12. After that, [Jesus] was seen at once, [by over] 500 brethren, of whom the greater part, [a.k.a. the majority,] remain [until] this [day,] but some [have] fallen asleep, [a.k.a. died.] After that, [Jesus] was seen [by] James, & then by all the apostles. And last of all, He was seen by me, [a.k.a. Paul, formerly called Saul,] also [like someone] born: out of due time, [a.k.a. like a child past-due.] For I am the least of the apostles, & am not [worthy] to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am; & His grace [that] was bestowed upon me, was not [done] in vain. But I [labored] more abundantly than all [of] them, [still] not I, but the grace of God, which was [within] me.] |
And now, why [do] you [linger?] Arise, & be baptized, & wash away your sins, calling on the Name of the Lord. And it [happened,] that, when I [had] come to Jerusalem again, & even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; & saw Him saying to me, Make haste, [a.k.a. Hurry up,] & get yourself out of Jerusalem quickly: for they won't receive, [a.k.a. accept,] your testimony, [about] Me. |
And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned & beat [those, who] believed [in] You, in every synagogue. And when the blood of your martyr, Stephen, was shed, I was also standing [near] by, & [consented] to his death, & kept, [a.k.a. looked after,] the [garments] of [those, who killed Stephen.] And He said to me, Depart: for I will send you far [from] [here] to the Gentiles. |
And they [paid attention] to [Paul's words,] & then lifted up their voices, & said, Away with such a fellow from the earth. For it isn't fit, [a.k.a. right,] that he should live. And they cast off their clothes & threw dust into the air, as they cried out.. |
The chief captain, [a.k.a. commander,] commanded [Paul] to be brought into the castle, & [said] that [Paul,] should be examined, [a.k.a. questioned, along] [with] [whipping.] And as they bound him with [straps,] Paul said to the Centurion, [who] stood [near] by, Is it lawful for you to [whip] a man, [who] is a Roman, & uncondemned? |
When the Centurion heard that, he went & told the [commander,] saying, [Pay attention] [to] what you [do:] for this man is a Roman. Then, the [commander] came, & said to [Paul,] Tell me, [are] you a Roman? [Paul] said, [Yes.] And the [commander] answered, With a great sum [of money] I obtained this freedom. And Paul said, But I was born free. |
Then, [right away, those] departed from [Paul, who] should have examined him. And the [commander] was also afraid, after he knew that [Paul] was a Roman, & because he had bound [Paul.] |
On the [next day,] because [the commander] [wanted to] [know] [for] [certain what reason Paul] was accused [by] the Jews, he [had] [Paul loosened] from his bands, & commanded the chief priests, & all their council to appear, & brought Paul down, & [put Paul in front of] them. |