Acts 22 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 “Brothers and fathers,” he said, “Please listen as I give my defense before you.”
1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make to you.”
2 When they heard him speaking to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
2 When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet. He said,
3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia,” he began. “However, I was brought up here in this city, and sat at the feet of Gamaliel. I was taught to strictly observe the law of our fathers. I was zealous for God, just like all of you here today,
3 “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today.
4 and I persecuted the people of this Way—having them put to death, and imprisoning both men and women.
4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,
5 As the high priest and the council of the elders can also verify, I received from them letters of authorization addressed to the Jewish brothers in Damascus, and went there to arrest these people and bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
5 as also the high priest and all the council of the elders testify, from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and traveled to Damascus to bring them also who were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be punished.
6 At around noon, while I was on my way and approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven shone all around me.
6 “As I made my journey and came close to Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light shone around me from the sky.
7 I fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
7 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 answered. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting,’ he told me.
8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute.’
9 Those who were traveling with me did see the light, but they didn't hear the voice that spoke to me.
9 “Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn’t understand the voice of him who spoke to me.
10 ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you'll be told everything that's arranged for you to do.’
10 I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do.’
11 Since I couldn't see because of the brightness of the light, those who were with me led me by the hand into Damascus.
11 When I couldn’t see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12 There a man called Ananias came to see me. He was a religious man who observed the law, and was highly respected by the Jews who lived in the town.
12 “One Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus,
13 He stood in front of me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive back your sight.’ At that very moment I could see again, and I looked at him.
13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ In that very hour I looked up at him.
14 He told me, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, to see the one who is truly good and right, and to listen to what he has to say to you.
14 He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.
15 You will testify for him to everyone about what you have seen and heard. So what are you waiting for?
15 For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard.
16 Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins as you call on his name.’
16 Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
17 I returned to Jerusalem, and as I was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance.
17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance
18 I saw a vision of the Lord telling me, ‘Hurry! You need to leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept what you are telling them about me.’
18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’
19 I replied, ‘Lord, they certainly know that I went from synagogue to synagogue, beating and imprisoning those who trusted in you.
19 I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you.
20 When Stephen was killed for testifying about you I was standing there in full agreement with those who killed him, holding their coats for them.’
20 When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’
21 The Lord told me, ‘Leave now, for I am sending you far away to the foreigners.’”
21 “He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”
22 Up until this point they had listened to what he was saying, but then they started shouting, “Get rid of this man from the earth—he doesn't deserve to live!”
22 They listened to him until he said that; then they lifted up their voice and said, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he isn’t fit to live!”
23 They screamed and tore off their coats and threw dust into the air.
23 As they cried out, threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air,
24 The commander ordered Paul brought into the fortress, and gave orders for him to be interrogated by flogging so he could find out the reason people were shouting so much against Paul.
24 the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that.
25 As they stretched him out and tied him down to flog him, Paul asked the centurion standing there, “Is it legal to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't had a trial?”
25 When they had tied him up with straps, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?”
26 When the centurion heard what Paul said, he went to the commander and asked him, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen.”
26 When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, “Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!”
27 The commander came, and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” Paul replied, “Yes I am.”
27 The commanding officer came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” He said, “Yes.”
28 “I paid a lot of money to buy Roman citizenship,” said the commander. “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.
28 The commanding officer answered, “I bought my citizenship for a great price.” Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.”
29 Those who were about to interrogate Paul left immediately. The commander was worried when he found out that Paul was a Roman citizen because he had placed him in chains.
29 Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him.
30 The next day, wanting to find out the reason why the Jews were accusing Paul, he had him released and taken before the chief priests and the whole council which he ordered to assemble. He had Paul brought down and placed him before them.
30 But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Ananias
A disciple at Damascus whom the Lord sent to lay hands on Saul, restore his sight, and baptize him.
Cited in the guide: Acts 9:10; Acts 9:17; Acts 22:12
Gamaliel
A respected Pharisee on the Sanhedrin who counseled leaving the apostles alone; Paul later said he had been educated at his feet.
Cited in the guide: Acts 5:34; Acts 22:3
Places
Tarsus
A wealthy university city in Cilicia and Paul's hometown. He was also a Roman citizen by birth (Acts 22:28), which shaped his missionary strategy and legal appeals.
Cited in the guide: Acts 9:11; Acts 21:39; Acts 22:3
Cross references (28)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Acts 7:2; 2 Timothy 4:16; Acts 13:26; Acts 23:6; Acts 23:1
- 2 Acts 21:40
- 3 Philippians 3:5–6; Acts 26:5; Acts 9:11; Acts 5:34; Acts 21:39
- 4 Acts 22:19–20; 1 Timothy 1:13–15; Acts 26:9–11; Acts 8:1–4; 1 Corinthians 15:9
- 5 Acts 9:1–2; Luke 22:66; Acts 5:21; Acts 22:1; Acts 13:26
- 6 Acts 26:12–18; Acts 9:3–8; Revelation 1:16; Genesis 15:2; 2 Samuel 8:6
- 7 Jeremiah 2:9; Matthew 25:45; 1 Timothy 1:13; Genesis 22:1; 1 Samuel 3:10
- 8 Acts 26:9; 1 Samuel 8:7; Matthew 10:40–42; Acts 6:14; Matthew 25:45
- 9 Acts 9:7; Daniel 10:7; Acts 26:13; John 12:29–30
- 10 Acts 16:30; Acts 26:16–18; Acts 22:12–16; Acts 2:37; Psalm 25:8–9
- 11 Acts 9:8–9; Acts 13:11; Isaiah 42:16
- 12 Acts 10:22; Acts 6:3; 3 John 12; Acts 17:4; 2 Corinthians 6:8
- 13 Acts 9:17–18; Philemon 16
- 14 Galatians 1:12; 1 Corinthians 15:8; 1 Corinthians 9:1; Acts 26:16; Acts 9:15
- 15 Acts 23:11; Acts 4:20; John 15:27; Luke 24:47–48; Acts 1:8
- 16 Acts 2:38; Acts 2:21; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:22; 1 Corinthians 6:11
- 17 2 Corinthians 12:1–4; Acts 10:9–10; Acts 9:26–28; Acts 26:20; Revelation 1:10
- 18 Acts 9:29; Matthew 10:14; Ezekiel 3:6–7; Luke 21:21; Acts 3:19
- 19 Acts 22:4; Matthew 10:17; Acts 8:3; Acts 9:1; Acts 26:9–12
- 20 Acts 7:58; Acts 8:1; Romans 1:32; Revelation 2:13; Luke 11:48
- 21 Acts 9:15; 1 Timothy 2:7; Ephesians 3:6–8; Romans 15:16; Galatians 2:7–8
- 22 Acts 25:24; Acts 21:36; John 19:15; Luke 23:18; Acts 7:54–57
- 23 2 Samuel 16:13; Ecclesiastes 10:3; Acts 7:58; Acts 26:11; Acts 7:53
- 24 John 19:1; Acts 21:34; Acts 23:10; Acts 21:31–32; Acts 16:22–23
- 25 Acts 16:37; Acts 25:16; Acts 27:43; Acts 22:27–28; Acts 23:17
- 26 Acts 23:27; Acts 22:29
- 29 Acts 21:33; Acts 22:24–26; Hebrews 11:35; Acts 16:38–39
- 30 Acts 23:28; Acts 21:33; Acts 26:29; Acts 21:11; Acts 5:21
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
See how he thrusts himself (into danger), I came, he says, after that vision, "to Jerusalem. I was in a trance," etc. Again, this is without witness: but observe, the witness follows from the result. He said, "They will not receive thy testimony:" they did not receive it.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11 (1889)
… or else, if they do receive all these, they must necessarily admit also that testimony concerning Paul, when he (Luke) tells us that the Lord spoke at first to him from heaven: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? I am Jesus Christ, whom thou persecutest;" and then to Ananias, saying regarding him: "Go thy way; for he is a chosen …