1 MEN, 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,)
3 I 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.
4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
5 As 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.
6 And 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.
7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
10 And 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.
11 And 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.
12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
13 Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
14 And 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.
15 For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
17 And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
18 And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
19 And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
20 And 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.
21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
22 And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
23 And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,
24 The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.
25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?
26 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
27 Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
28 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
29 Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

30 On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.

1Men, brethren, and fathers, heare ye my defence which I make now vnto you.

2(And when they heard that hee spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)

3I am verely a man which am a Iew, borne in Tarsus a citie in Cilicia, yet brought vp in this citie at the feete of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect maner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous towards God, as ye all are this day.

4And I persecuted this way vnto the death, binding and deliuering into prisons both men and women,

5As also the high Priest doth beare me witnesse, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I receiued letters vnto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there, bound vnto Hierusalem, for to be punished.

6And it came to passe, that as I made my iourney, & was come nigh vnto Damascus about noone, suddenly there shone from heauen a great light round about me.

7And I fell vnto the ground, and heard a voice saying vnto mee, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

8And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said vnto me, I am Iesus of Nazareth whō thou persecutest.

9And they that were with me saw indeede the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

10And I saide, What shall I doe, Lord? And the Lord said vnto me, Arise, and goe into Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to doe.

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 deuout man according to the law, hauing a good report of al the Iewes which dwelt there,

13Came vnto me, and stood, & said vnto me, Brother Saul, receiue thy sight. And the same houre I looked vp vpon him.

14And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, þt thou shouldest know his will, & see that Iust one, and shouldest heare the voice of his mouth.

15For thou shalt be his witnes vnto al men, of what thou hast seene & heard.

16And now, why tariest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sinnes, calling on the name of the Lord.

17And it came to passe, that when I was come againe to Hierusalem, euen while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance,

18And saw him saying vnto mee, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Hierusalem: for they will not receiue thy testimony concerning me.

19And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned, and beat in euery synagogue them that beleeued on thee.

20And when þe blood of thy martyr Steuen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting vnto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

21And he said vnto me, Depart: for I will send thee farre hence, vnto the Gentiles.

22And they gaue him audience vnto this word, and then lift vp their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should liue.

23And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, & threw dust into the aire,

24The chiefe captaine commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that hee should be examined by scourging: that he might know wherfore they cried so against him.

25And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said vnto the Centurion that stood by, Is it lawfull for you to scourge a man that is a Romane, and vncondemned?

26When the Centurion heard that, hee went and told the chiefe captaine, saying, Take heede what thou doest, for this man is a Romane.

27Then the chiefe captaine came; and said vnto him, Tell me, art thou a Romane? He said, Yea.

28And the chiefe captaine answered, With a great summe obteined I this freedome. And Paul said, But I was free borne.

29Then straightway they departed from him which should haue examined him: and the chiefe captaine also was afraid after he knew that he was a Romane, & because he had bound him.

30On the morrow, because he would haue knowen the certaintie wherefore he was accused of the Iewes, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chiefe Priests and all their Councill to appeare, and brought Paul downe, and set him before them.

 

1 "My brothers and fathers, listen to what I am about to say to you in my defense." 2 When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew they became all the more quiet. And he continued, 3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison. 5 Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well. 6 "On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 I replied, 'Who are you, sir?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.' 9 My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me. a 10 I asked, 'What shall I do, sir?' The Lord answered me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.' 11 Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus 12 "A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me and stood there and said, 'Saul, my brother, regain your sight.' And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. 14 Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; 15 for you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard. 16 Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name.' 17 "After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord saying to me, 'Hurry, leave Jerusalem at once, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' 19 But I replied, 'Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself stood by giving my approval and keeping guard over the cloaks of his murderers.' 21 Then he said to me, 'Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles.'" 22 They listened to him until he said this, but then they raised their voices and shouted, "Take such a one as this away from the earth. It is not right that he should live." 23 And as they were yelling and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the cohort commander ordered him to be brought into the compound and gave instruction that he be interrogated under the lash to determine the reason why they were making such an outcry against him. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion on duty, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been tried?" 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the cohort commander and reported it, saying, "What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen." 27 Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he answered. 28 The commander replied, "I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money." Paul said, "But I was born one." 29 At once those who were going to interrogate him backed away from him, and the commander became alarmed when he realized that he was a Roman citizen and that he had had him bound. 30 The next day, wishing to determine the truth about why he was being accused by the Jews, he freed him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

v1,2. Addressing the mob as one of them and in their own tongue, which probably surprised them, eased the tension. Better for missionaries to use native language. Paul was doing what 1 Pet. 3:15 says, be ready to give answer of the hope within. “Defense”, debate. or what theologians would term apologetics.
v3. Paul had probably been taught in a local synagogue at age 11-13.  Though from Tarsus, Paul had  later been taught, by one of their most noted teachers, Gamaliel, who Lightfoot says was the son of the Simon who took Jesus up in his arms in Lk. 2, was a strict Jew. Students sat at the feet of the teacher, either on the ground or on a lower bench. Under Gamaliel, Paul would have had to be able to quote the Torah (or at least the five books of Moses) word perfect by the age of 20. Paul began by stressing their common ground. He used tact, but not compromise.
v4,5. The high priest, though a different one Paul had worked for, would be able to testify to Paul’s former zeal in persecuting Christians because elders had sent the authorization. To this point Paul has spoken of his (a) conduct before conversion. In the following verses he tells his (b) conversion experience, and in verse 21, his (c) commission.
6-13. Paul recounts the experience on the road to Damascus and receiving his sight at the word of Ananias. (As Paul gives his testimony, this might be a good time to ask students to give their testimony.)  See comments Acts 9:1-18. Though a disciple, Ananias had been so devout that at this point he still had the respect of the Jews. Devout Jewish Christians including Paul still attended the feasts and followed other ceremonies. This was not wrong if they were recognizing the types fulfilled in Christ.
v14. This was not told us in Acts 9. It was revealed to Ananias to tell Paul that not only was Paul chosen of the Lord, but that in vision, if not reality, he would see and hear the Lord Jesus Christ, the Just One.
v15. It was further revealed that Paul would be an international missionary.
v16. If a person is truly born again they should be baptized as soon as possible. The water did not wash away his sins but was symbolic of the washing of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, Titus 3:5. (Notes (Ac. 9:17,18 Paul received Holy Spirit before baptism.)
v17,18. Up to now they are in full agreement with what Paul has said, but his next statement may have made some uneasy. This trance and warning was probably on the first time he came to Jerusalem after conversion.
v19,20. As a new believer he didn’t yet realize other Jews would be just as vehement against this “turncoat” as they were against other believers.
v21. In His wisdom the Lord knew Paul could never have an effective ministry in this center of Jewish worship. This was Paul’s first knowledge that he will be a missionary to Gentiles.
v22,23. The mere mention of going to Gentiles, placing them on equal footing with Jews, enraged these demonstrative Jews, who more than before desired his death. This confirms the Jews total rejection of the gospel and Christ. These people could tolerate Jewish Christians who kept the law, but to have spiritual fellowship with Gentiles would be pollution, according to their past teachings.
v24. The Roman captain had no qualms about beating the truth out of this Jew. This was the same type whip with embedded metal etc. which was used on Christ. Some even died from this cruel scourging.
v25,26. Paul was bound by leather thongs to a beam or pillar and was to be scourged that very moment. Hence Paul’s leading question.
Roman citizenship rights provided:
1 Exemption from degrading punishment
2 Right to fair trial
3 Right to a Roman court for capitol offense
4 Right to appeal to Caesar
It is proper to request legal rights. Legally a Roman citizen could not be bound for scourging  without a fair trial, so this one of many times that Paul claimed legal rights, and he got immediate response. If he was lying about his citizenship he could be executed.
v27-29. The captain was one who had exercised the privilege of purchasing Roman citizenship at a high price, but through his father, Paul was born a Roman. (Later citizenship could be purchased for next to nothing.) He and the others were fearful of repercussions if Paul would turn him in for violating his rights. Being bound was a direct fulfillment of the prophesy in Acts 21;11.
v30. Apparently Paul was left bound overnight till it was determined if he should be punished. This was partly for his own safety and partly so the captain could have this Jewish case examined before the Sanhedrin.  they were commanded to come to the area of the tower of Antonio, and a large number of soldiers would need to be present.

 Probably not speaking Hebrew, the captain wouldn’t know what Paul said. The The “bands”  that he was held by could have leather or chains, but the captain spared Paul the humiliation of appearing bound before the Sanhedrin.