Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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1 “Brothers and fathers, listen
to me as I make my defense
before you!”
2 When they heard him
speaking to them in Hebrew, they
became even quieter; and Paul went
on:
3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in
Cilicia, but brought up here in Jerusalem
as a student of Gamaliel. I received
strict instruction in the Law
of our ancestors and was just as
dedicated to God as are all of you
who are here today. note
4 I persecuted to
the death the people who followed
this Way. I arrested men and women
and threw them into prison.
5 The
High Priest and the whole Council
can prove that I am telling the truth.
I received from them letters written
to fellow Jews in Damascus, so I
went there to arrest these people
and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem
to be punished. note
Paul Tells of His Conversion
(Acts 9.1–19; 26.12–18)
6 “As I was traveling and coming
near Damascus, about midday a
bright light from the sky flashed
suddenly around me.
7 I fell to the
ground and heard a voice saying to
me, ‘Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute
me?’
8 ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I
asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,
whom you persecute,’ he said to me.
9 The men with me saw the light, but
did not hear the voice of the one who
was speaking to me.
10 I asked,
‘What shall I do, Lord?’ and the Lord
said to me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus,
and there you will be told
everything that God has determined
for you to do.’
11 I was blind because
of the bright light, and so my companions
took me by the hand and led
me into Damascus.
12 “In that city was a man named
Ananias, a religious man who
obeyed our Law and was highly respected
by all the Jews living there.
13 He came to me, stood by me, and
said, ‘Brother Saul, see again!’ At
that very moment I saw again and
looked at him.
14 He said, ‘The God
of our ancestors has chosen you to
know his will, to see his righteous
Servant, and to hear him speaking
with his own voice.
15 For you will be
a witness for him to tell everyone
what you have seen and heard.
16 And now, why wait any longer?
Get up and be baptized and have
your sins washed away by praying
to him.’
Paul's Call to Preach to the Gentiles
17 “I went back to Jerusalem, and
while I was praying in the Temple, I
had a vision,
18 in which I saw the
Lord, as he said to me, ‘Hurry and
leave Jerusalem quickly, because
the people here will not accept your
witness about me.’
19 ‘Lord,’ I answered,
‘they know very well that I
went to the synagogues and arrested
and beat those who believe in you.
20 And when your witness Stephen
was put to death, I myself was there,
approving of his murder and taking
care of the cloaks of his murderers.’ note
21 ‘Go,’ the Lord said to me, ‘for I will
send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
22 The people listened to Paul until
he said this; but then they started
shouting at the top of their voices,
“Away with him! Kill him! He's not
fit to live!”
23 They were screaming,
waving their clothes, and throwing
-- --
dust up in the air.
24 The Roman
commander ordered his men to take
Paul into the fort, and he told them
to whip him in order to find out why
the Jews were screaming like this
against him.
25 But when they had
tied him up to be whipped, Paul said
to the officer standing there, “Is it
lawful for you to whip a Roman citizen
who hasn't even been tried for
any crime?”
26 When the officer heard this, he
went to the commander and asked
him, “What are you doing? That
man is a Roman citizen!”
27 So the commander went to Paul
and asked him, “Tell me, are you a
Roman citizen?”
27 “Yes,” answered Paul.
28 The commander said, “I became
one by paying a large amount of
money.”
28 “But I am one by birth,” Paul answered.
29 At once the men who were going
to question Paul drew back from
him; and the commander was frightened
when he realized that Paul was
a Roman citizen and that he had put
him in chains.
Paul before the Council
30 The commander wanted to find
out for sure what the Jews were accusing
Paul of; so the next day he
had Paul's chains taken off and ordered
the chief priests and the whole
Council to meet. Then he took Paul
and made him stand before them.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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