Acts 22:1-23
New American Standard Bible
3I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.
4I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons,
5as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brothers, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished.
6But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus at about noon, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,
7and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
8And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’
9And those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.
10And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that has been appointed for you to do.’
11But since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.
12Now a certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,
13came to me, and standing nearby he said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I looked up at him.
14And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear a message from His mouth.
15For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard.
16Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.’
17It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance,
18and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’
19And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You.
20And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’
21And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’?'
King James Version
Chapter 22
1Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. 2(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
3I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
4And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
5As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
6And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
7And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
8And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
9And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
10And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
11And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
12And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
13Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
14And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
15For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
16And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
17And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
18And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
19And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
20And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
21And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 22
1"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you." 2When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter. 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 strictness of our ancestral law. I 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, 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.
6"As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense 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? '
8"I answered, 'Who are you, Lord? '"He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one 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.
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.
12Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there,
13came and stood by me and said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight.' And in that very hour 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,
15since you will be a witness for him 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.'
17"After 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.'
New Living Translation
Chapter 22
1Brothers and esteemed fathers,' Paul said, 'listen to me as I offer my defense.' 2When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater.
3Then Paul said, 'I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today.
4And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison.
5The high priest and the whole council of elders can testify that this is so. For I received letters from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the followers of the Way from there to Jerusalem, in chains, to be punished.
6As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me.
7I 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. 'And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’
9The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me.
11I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions.
12A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus.
13He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him!
14Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak.
15For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard.
16What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’
17After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance.
18I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’
English Standard Version
3“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.
4I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,
5as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
6“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me.
7And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
8And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
9Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
10And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’
11And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
12“And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,
13came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him.
14And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;
15for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
16And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
17“When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance
18and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
19And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.
20And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’
21And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
New International Version
2When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said:
3I 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.
4I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into 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.
6About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.
7I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?'
8'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. ''I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied.
9My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice 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.'
11My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
12A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.
13He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him.
14Then 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.
15You 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.'
17When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at 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.'
New King James Version
2And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said:
3“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.
4I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,
5as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.
6“Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.
7And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
8So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
9“And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.
10So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’
11And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12“Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there,
13came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him.
14Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.
15For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.
16And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
17“Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance
18and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’
19So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You.
20And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’
21Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”