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22 Rav Sha’ul said, "Anashim, Achim, Avot, listen now to my hitstaddekut (defense)."

And when they heard that Rav Sha’ul was addressing them in the language of the Hebrews, they were even more quiet. And Rav Sha’ul said,

"I am an ish Yehudi, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but having been brought up in a yeshiva in this city of Yerushalayim at the feet of Rabban Gamliel, having learned with irreproachable frumkeit according to all machmir chumra strictness the Torah of Avoteinu, and I have a kinat Hashem just as all of you do today; [MELACHIM ALEF 19:10]

"I brought redifah on this ‘Derech,’ even to the point of mavet, binding and delivering both anashim and nashim over to the beis hasohar,

"As even the Kohen Gadol and all the Zekenim of the Sanhedrin could give solemn eidus for me. For from them I also was authorized with iggrot to the Achim in Damascus, and I was going there to lead away also the ones who were there in order to bring them bound back to Yerushalayim to have them punished.

"And it happened to me while traveling and drawing near to Damascus, lav davka (approximately) noon, suddenly from Shomayim, a very bright ohr (light) shone around me;

"And I fell to the ground. Then I heard a bat kol saying to me, ‘Sha’ul, Sha’ul, why are you bringing redifah on me?'’

"And I answered, ‘Who are you, Adoni?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Yehoshua of Natzeret, upon whom you are bringing redifah.’

"And the ones with me saw the ohr (light) but they did not have real hearing (understanding) of the voice speaking to me.

10 "And I said, ‘What shall I do, Adoni?'’ And HaAdon said to me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything which has been appointed for you to do.'’

11 "And because I had been blinded from the kavod (glory) of that ohr (light), I was led by the hand by the ones who were with me and who led me into Damascus.

12 "A certain man, Chananyah by name, an ehrliche Yid (a truly pious Jew), charedi according to the Torah and with a shem tov with all the Yehudim living in Damascus,

13 "Came to me and stood next to me, saying, ‘Ach b’Moshiach Sha’ul, receive your sight.’ And at that moment I looked up at him.

14 "And he said, ‘Elohei Avoteinu has chosen and appointed you to have da’as of His ratzon (will) and to see the Tzaddik [Moshiach] and to hear the kol (voice) from His mouth.

15 ‘For you will be an eidus (witness) to him to all anashim of what you have seen and heard.

16 ‘And now what do you intend to do? Get up and receive Moshiach’s tevilah of teshuva and wash away your averos (sins) by calling upon SHMO.' [VAYIKRA 8:6; TEHILLIM 51:2; YECHEZKEL 36:25; YOEL 3:5(2:32) ZECHARYAH 6:12]

17 "And it happened that after I had returned to Yerushalayim and as I was davening in the Beis Hamikdash, that I fell into a trance,

18 "And saw Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out quickly from Yerushalayim, because they will not receive your edut (testimony) concerning me.'

19 "And I said ‘Adoni, they themselves have da’as that in every shul I was imprisoning and beating the ones with emunah in you.

20 ‘And when in al kiddush ha-Shem, the dahm of your eidus (witness) Stefanos was being poured out, I myself also had been standing by and agreeing and protecting the kaftans of the ones killing him.'

21 "And Moshiach said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you out, far away to the Goyim.’'"

22 And they were listening to Rav Sha’ul up to the word "Goyim;" and then they lifted up their kol, saying, "Away with such a one from ha’aretz! He should not be allowed to live!"

23 And while they were crying out, while they were throwing off their kaftans and tossing dust into the air, [SHMUEL BAIS 16:13]

24 the Roman tribune directed him to be brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by the flagellum’s scourge, that the tribune might have da’as of the reason for the mob’s shouting thus keneged (against, in opposition to) Rav Sha’ul.

25 And when the Roman soldiers stretched Rav Sha’ul out with the straps, he said to the centurion who was standing by, "If a man is a Roman citizen and uncondemned, it is lawful for you to scourge him?"

26 And having heard this, the centurion approached the tribune and reported, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man has Roman citizenship."

27 And having approached, the tribune said to Rav Sha’ul, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And Rav Sha’ul said, "Etiam." [T.N. Latin: "Yes, certainly."]

28 And the tribune answered, "It cost me a large sum of money for me to acquire my Roman citizenship. " And Rav Sha’ul said, "But indeed I have been born a Roman citizen."

29 Ofen ort, then, the ones about to examine him drew back from Rav Sha’ul. Also the tribune did the same. For he was afraid, learning that Rav Sha’ul is a Roman and that he had bound him.

30 And on the next day, desiring to know something definite about why Rav Sha’ul was accused by the Yehudim, the tribune released him and ordered the Rashei Hakohanim and all the Sanhedrin to be assembled. Then, having brought down Rav Sha’ul, the tribune had him set before them.

22 “Brothers and fathers,(A) listen now to my defense.”

When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,(B) they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: “I am a Jew,(C) born in Tarsus(D) of Cilicia,(E) but brought up in this city. I studied under(F) Gamaliel(G) and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors.(H) I was just as zealous(I) for God as any of you are today. I persecuted(J) the followers of this Way(K) to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,(L) as the high priest and all the Council(M) can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates(N) in Damascus,(O) and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.(P) I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,(Q) whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light,(R) but they did not understand the voice(S) of him 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.’(T) 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.(U)

12 “A man named Ananias came to see me.(V) He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.(W) 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors(X) has chosen you to know his will and to see(Y) the Righteous One(Z) and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness(AA) to all people of what you have seen(AB) and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized(AC) and wash your sins away,(AD) calling on his name.’(AE)

17 “When I returned to Jerusalem(AF) and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance(AG) 18 and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’

19 “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison(AH) and beat(AI) those who believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr[a] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’(AJ)

21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ (AK)

Paul the Roman Citizen

22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him!(AL) He’s not fit to live!”(AM)

23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks(AN) and flinging dust into the air,(AO) 24 the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.(AP) He directed(AQ) that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As 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?”(AR)

26 When 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.”

27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

29 Those who were about to interrogate him(AS) withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen,(AT) in chains.(AU)

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

30 The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews.(AV) So the next day he released him(AW) and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin(AX) to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 22:20 Or witness