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Greek: New Testament (NAS)
English: John Barach
Chapter 22
Paul’s Credentials and Zeal
1  Ἄνδρες ἀδελφοὶ καὶ πατέρες, ἀκούσατέ μου τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς νυνὶ ἀπολογίας. 2  ἀκούσαντες δὲ ὅτι τῇ Ἑβραΐδι διαλέκτῳ προσεφώνει αὐτοῖς, μᾶλλον παρέσχον ἡσυχίαν. καὶ φησίν· 3  ἐγώ εἰμι ἀνὴρ Ἰουδαῖος, γεγεννημένος ἐν Ταρσῷ τῆς Κιλικίας, ἀνατεθραμμένος δὲ ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ, παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιὴλ πεπαιδευμένος κατὰ ἀκρίβειαν τοῦ πατρῴου νόμου, ζηλωτὴς ὑπάρχων τοῦ θεοῦ καθὼς πάντες ὑμεῖς ἐστε σήμερον· 4  ὃς ταύτην τὴν ὁδὸν ἐδίωξα ἄχρι θανάτου δεσμεύων καὶ παραδιδοὺς εἰς φυλακὰς ἄνδρας τε καὶ γυναῖκας, 5  ὡς καὶ ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς μαρτυρεῖ μοι καὶ πᾶν τὸ πρεσβυτέριον, παρ' ὧν καὶ ἐπιστολὰς δεξάμενος πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς εἰς Δαμασκὸν ἐπορευόμην, ἄξων καὶ τοὺς ἐκεῖσε ὄντας δεδεμένους εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἵνα τιμωρηθῶσιν.
1"Men, brothers, and fathers, listen now to the defense I make before you.” 2When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet. Then he said: 3"I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this very city. At the feet of Gamaliel, I was educated with strictness in the law of our fathers, being a zealot for God just as all of you are today. 4I persecuted this Way to the point of death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons, 5as even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify for me. From them I received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was traveling there to bring those who were there back to Jerusalem in chains to be punished.”
The Vision on the Road
6  Ἐγένετο δέ μοι πορευομένῳ καὶ ἐγγίζοντι τῇ Δαμασκῷ περὶ μεσημβρίαν ἐξαίφνης ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ περιαστράψαι φῶς ἱκανὸν περὶ ἐμέ, 7  ἔπεσά τε εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος καὶ ἤκουσα φωνῆς λεγούσης μοι, Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις; 8  ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπεκρίθην, τίς εἶ, κύριε; εἶπέν τε πρός με, ἐγώ εἰμι Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος, ὃν σὺ διώκεις. 9  οἱ δὲ σὺν ἐμοὶ ὄντες τὸ μὲν φῶς ἐθεάσαντο τὴν δὲ φωνὴν οὐκ ἤκουσαν τοῦ λαλοῦντός μοι. 10  εἶπον δέ, τί ποιήσω, κύριε; ὁ δὲ κύριος εἶπεν πρός με, ἀναστὰς πορεύου εἰς Δαμασκὸν κἀκεῖ σοι λαληθήσεται περὶ πάντων ὧν τέτακταί σοι ποιῆσαι. 11  ὡς δὲ οὐκ ἐνέβλεπον ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τοῦ φωτὸς ἐκείνου, χειραγωγούμενος ὑπὸ τῶν συνόντων μοι ἦλθον εἰς Δαμασκόν.
6"But it happened that as I was on my journey and drawing near to Damascus, about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven flashed all around me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of the one speaking to me. 10I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about all the things it has been appointed for you to do.’ 11Since I could not see because of the brilliance of that light, I was led by the hand by my companions and came into Damascus.”
The Ministry of Ananias
12  Ἁνανίας δέ τις, ἀνὴρ εὐλαβὴς κατὰ τὸν νόμον, μαρτυρούμενος ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν κατοικούντων Ἰουδαίων, 13  ἐλθὼν πρός με καὶ ἐπιστὰς εἶπέν μοι, Σαοὺλ ἀδελφέ, ἀνάβλεψον. κἀγὼ αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἀνέβλεψα εἰς αὐτόν. 14  ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν προεχειρίσατό σε γνῶναι τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰδεῖν τὸν δίκαιον καὶ ἀκοῦσαι φωνὴν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ, 15  ὅτι ἔσῃ μάρτυς αὐτῷ πρὸς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὧν ἑώρακας καὶ ἤκουσας. 16  καὶ νῦν τί μέλλεις; ἀναστὰς βάπτισαι καὶ ἀπόλουσαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου ἐπικαλεσάμενος τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ.
12"A certain Ananias, a man devout according to the law and well-spoken of by all the Jews living there, 13came to me, and standing by me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ In that very hour, I looked up and saw him. 14Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has handpicked you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his own mouth, 15because you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16And now, why do you delay? Rise up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’”
The Commission to the Gentiles
17  Ἐγένετο δέ μοι ὑποστρέψαντι εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ προσευχομένου μου ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ γενέσθαι με ἐν ἐκστάσει 18  καὶ ἰδεῖν αὐτὸν λέγοντά μοι, σπεῦσον καὶ ἔξελθε ἐν τάχει ἐξ Ἰερουσαλήμ, διότι οὐ παραδέξονταί σου μαρτυρίαν περὶ ἐμοῦ. 19  κἀγὼ εἶπον, κύριε, αὐτοὶ ἐπίστανται ὅτι ἐγὼ ἤμην φυλακίζων καὶ δέρων κατὰ τὰς συναγωγὰς τοὺς πιστεύοντας ἐπὶ σέ, 20  καὶ ὅτε ἐξεχύννετο τὸ αἷμα Στεφάνου τοῦ μάρτυρός σου, καὶ αὐτὸς ἤμην ἐφεστὼς καὶ συνευδοκῶν καὶ φυλάσσων τὰ ἱμάτια τῶν ἀναιρούντων αὐτόν. 21  καὶ εἶπεν πρός με, πορεύου, ὅτι ἐγὼ εἰς ἔθνη μακρὰν ἐξαποστελῶ σε.
17"Then it happened, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance 18and 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 know that I was the one imprisoning and beating those who believe in you from synagogue to synagogue; 20and when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving, and guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ 21And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
The Riot and the Roman Interrogation
22  Ἤκουον δὲ αὐτοῦ ἄχρι τούτου τοῦ λόγου καὶ ἐπῆραν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν λέγοντες, αἶρε ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τὸν τοιοῦτον, οὐ γὰρ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν. 23  κραυγαζόντων τε αὐτῶν καὶ ῥιπτούντων τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ κονιορτὸν βαλλόντων εἰς τὸν ἀέρα, 24  ἐκέλευσεν ὁ χιλίαρχος εἰσάγεσθαι αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν, εἶπας μάστιξιν ἀνετάζεσθαι αὐτὸν ἵνα ἐπιγνῷ δι' ἣν αἰτίαν οὕτως ἐπεφώνουν αὐτῷ. 25  ὡς δὲ προέτειναν αὐτὸν τοῖς ἱμᾶσιν, εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν ἑστῶτα ἑκατόνταρχον ὁ Παῦλος, εἰ ἄνθρωπον Ῥωμαῖον καὶ ἀκατάκριτον ἔξεστιν ὑμῖν μαστίζειν;
22They listened to him until he said this word, but then they raised their voices, shouting, “Rid the earth of such a man! For he is not fit to live!” 23As they were screaming and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated under the lash so that he might find out the reason why they were crying out against him in this way. 25But as they stretched him out with the leather straps, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and has not even been condemned?”
26  ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ ἑκατοντάρχης προσελθὼν τῷ χιλιάρχῳ ἀπήγγειλεν λέγων, τί μέλλεις ποιεῖν; ὁ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος Ῥωμαῖός ἐστιν. 27  προσελθὼν δὲ ὁ χιλίαρχος εἶπεν αὐτῷ, λέγε μοι, σὺ Ῥωμαῖος εἶ; ὁ δὲ ἔφη, ναί. 28  ἀπεκρίθη δὲ ὁ χιλίαρχος, ἐγὼ πολλοῦ κεφαλαίου τὴν πολιτείαν ταύτην ἐκτησάμην. ὁ δὲ Παῦλος ἔφη, ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ γεγέννημαι. 29  εὐθέως οὖν ἀπέστησαν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ οἱ μέλλοντες αὐτὸν ἀνετάζειν, καὶ ὁ χιλίαρχος δὲ ἐφοβήθη ἐπιγνοὺς ὅτι Ῥωμαῖός ἐστιν καὶ ὅτι αὐτὸν ἦν δεδεκώς.
26When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27So the commander came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” He said, “Yes.” 28The commander replied, “I purchased this citizenship for a large sum of money.” But Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29Immediately, therefore, those who were about to interrogate him drew back from him; and even the commander was afraid when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
30  Τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον βουλόμενος γνῶναι τὸ ἀσφαλές, τὸ τί κατηγορεῖται ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἔλυσεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐκέλευσεν συνελθεῖν τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ πᾶν τὸ συνέδριον, καὶ καταγαγὼν τὸν Παῦλον ἔστησεν εἰς αὐτούς.
30On the next day, wishing to know for certain why he was being accused by the Jews, the commander released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin to assemble. He then brought Paul down and placed him before them.