Paul’s Defense to the Crowd (Acts 9:1–19; Acts 26:1–23)
1 UST Paul said,“Jewish elders and my fellow Jews, please listen to me now while I answer your accusations.” BSB BSB: “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”
2 UST When the crowd of people heard Paul speaking to them in their own Hebrew language, they became even quieter and listened. Then Paul said to them, BSB BSB: When they heard him speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then Paul declared,
3 UST “I am a Jew, as are all of you. I come from the city of Tarsus in the province of Cilicia, but I grew up here in Jerusalem. When I was young, I learned the laws that Moses gave to our ancestors. Gamaliel was my teacher, and he taught me very accurately. I have obeyed those laws because I have wanted to obey God. I am sure that all of you here also obey those laws. BSB BSB: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.
4 UST That is why I tried to arrest those who believed the message of God about Jesus. I even looked for ways to kill them. Whenever I found men or women who believed the message, I arrested them and had the authorities put them in jail. BSB BSB: I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison,
5 UST The high priest knows this, and so do the other men who belong to our Jewish council. They gave me letters to take to their fellow Jews in the city of Damascus. Those letters gave me the power to go there and arrest people in that city{ who believed in Jesus}. I could then take them as prisoners to Jerusalem so that the Jewish authorities could punish them. BSB BSB: as the high priest and the whole Council can testify about me. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to apprehend these people and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 UST So I went to Damascus. About noon, as I got near to Damascus, suddenly a bright light from the sky flashed all around me. BSB BSB: About noon as I was approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.
7 UST { The light was so bright that} I fell to the ground. Then I heard the voice of someone speaking to me{ from up in the sky}. It said,‘Saul! Saul! Stop doing things to hurt me!’ BSB BSB: I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’
8 UST And I answered,‘Who are you, Lord?’ He replied,‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are hurting.’ BSB BSB: ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.
9 UST Now the men who were traveling with me saw the bright light, but they did not understand what the voice was saying to me. BSB BSB: My companions saw the light, but they could not understand the voice of the One speaking to me.
10 UST Then I asked,‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ And the Lord told me,‘Get up and go into Damascus. A man there will tell you all that I have planned for you to do.’ BSB BSB: Then I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ ‘Get up and go into Damascus,’ He told me. ‘There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.’
11 UST After that, I could not see, because that bright light had caused me to become blind. So the men who were with me took me by the hand and led me to Damascus. BSB BSB: Because the brilliance of the light had blinded me, my companions led me by the hand into Damascus.
12 UST Then a man whose name was Ananias came to see me. He was a man who honored God and obeyed the Jewish laws. The Jews living in Damascus said very good things about him. BSB BSB: There a man named Ananias, a devout observer of the law who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there,
13 UST He came and stood beside me. He said to me,‘Saul, my friend, see again!’ Instantly I could see and I saw him standing beside me. BSB BSB: came and stood beside me. ‘Brother Saul,’ he said, ‘receive your sight.’ And at that moment I could see him.
14 UST Then he said:‘The God whom we worship and whom our ancestors worshiped has chosen you for a special purpose. He will show you what he wants you to do. He has allowed you to see Jesus the Messiah,{ gloriously alive again}. You have heard him speak to you himself. BSB BSB: Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear His voice.
15 UST He wants you to tell people everywhere what you have seen and heard from him. BSB BSB: You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
16 UST So please do not delay! Let me baptize you right now. Pray to the Lord Jesus and ask God to forgive you for your sins!’” BSB BSB: And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’
17 UST “Then later I returned to Jerusalem. One day I went to the temple courtyard and while I was praying there, I saw a vision. BSB BSB: Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
18 UST In my vision I saw Jesus as he said to me,‘Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not believe what you tell them about me!’ BSB BSB: and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’
19 UST But I said to him,‘Lord, they know that I went from one synagogue to another looking for people who believed in you. I was putting them in jail, and I was even beating them. BSB BSB: ‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You.
20 UST They remember that when people killed Stephen because he said you were the Messiah, I stood there watching and approving of what they were doing. I even guarded the outer clothes that those who were murdering him had thrown aside!’ BSB BSB: And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’
21 UST But Jesus said to me,‘Leave Jerusalem, because I am going to send you far away from here to tell non- Jews about me!’” BSB BSB: Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
Paul the Roman Citizen 22 UST The people listened to what Paul was saying until he talked about Jesus sending him to non- Jews. Then they began shouting,“Kill him! A man like him does not deserve to live any longer!” BSB BSB: The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!”
23 UST And while they were shouting, they took off their robes and threw dirt into the air. BSB BSB: As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,
24 UST So the commander told his soldiers to take Paul into the fortress. He told them to whip Paul to make him admit what he had done that had made the Jews so angry with him. BSB BSB: the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him.
25 UST Then they stretched his arms out and tied them so that they could whip him on his back. But Paul said to the officer near him,“You will be acting unlawfully if you whip me. I am a Roman citizen, and no one has declared me guilty of anything!” BSB BSB: But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?”
26 UST When the officer heard that, he went to the commander and reported it to him. He said to the commander,“This man is a Roman citizen! Surely you would not command us to whip him!” BSB BSB: On hearing this, the centurion went and reported it to the commander. “What are you going to do?” he said. “This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 UST { The commander was surprised when he heard that.} He went into the prison and said to Paul,“Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?” Paul answered,“Yes, I am.” BSB BSB: The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered.
28 UST Then the commander said,“I too am a Roman citizen. I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.” But Paul said,“I have been a Roman citizen for my whole life.” BSB BSB: “I paid a high price for my citizenship,” said the commander. “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.
29 UST The soldiers were about to whip Paul and to ask him questions about what he had done. But when they heard what Paul said, they immediately backed away from him. The commander also became afraid. He knew that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had broken the law when he commanded the soldiers to tie up Paul’ s hands. BSB BSB: At once those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.
30 UST The commander still wanted to know for sure why the Jews were accusing Paul. So the next day he told the soldiers to take the chains off Paul. He also called the chief priests and the other council members to meet. Then he brought Paul down the stairway to the temple courts. He took him to where the council was meeting and told him to stand in front of them. BSB BSB: The next day the commander, wanting to learn the real reason Paul was accused by the Jews, released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.