King James Bible

New American Standard Bible 1995

1Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.

1"Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you."

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

2And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he said,

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.

3"I 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.

4And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.

4"I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons,

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.

5as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners 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.

6"But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,

7And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou 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 art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

8"And I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.'

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.

9"And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, 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 unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.

10"And 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 of all that has been appointed for you 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.

11"But 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.

12And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,

12"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 unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.

13came to me, and standing near said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very time I looked up at 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.

14"And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth.

15For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.

15'For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

16And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

16'Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.'

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;

17"It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into 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.

18and I 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 know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:

19"And 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 thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

20'And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.'

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

21"And He said to me, 'Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

22And 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.

22They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!"

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

23And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,

24The 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.

24the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

25And 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?

25But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"

26When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.

26When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman."

27Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.

27The commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."

28And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.

28The commander answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." And Paul said, "But I was actually born a citizen."

29Then 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.

29Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains.

30On 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.

30But on the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org