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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Acts 22 Amplified Bible</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/acts/22.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/acts/22-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">AMP</a> > Acts 22</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="../menu.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../acts/21.htm" title="Acts 21">◄</a> Acts 22 <a href="../acts/23.htm" title="Acts 23">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">Amplified Bible</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nas/esv/acts/22.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Verses"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><p class="hdg">Paul’s Defense before the Jews</p><p><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>“Brethren and fathers (kinsmen), hear my defense which I now offer to you.” <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet. And he continued, <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[a]</a></span>Gamaliel according to the strictness of the law of our fathers, being ardent <i>and</i> passionate for God just as all of you are today. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>I persecuted <i>and</i> pursued the followers of this <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[b]</a></span>Way to the death, binding them with chains and putting [followers of Jesus] both men and women into prisons, <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>as the high priest and all the Council of the elders (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) can testify; because from them I received letters to the brothers, and I was on my way to Damascus in order to bring those [believers] who were there to Jerusalem in chains to be punished. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>“But as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a great blaze of light suddenly flashed from heaven <i>and</i> shone around me. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>And I replied, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Now those who were with me <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[c]</a></span>saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>And I asked, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that is appointed <i>and</i> destined for you to do.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>But since I could not see because of the [glorious intensity and dazzling] brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>“And one Ananias, a devout man according to <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[d]</a></span>the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>came to [see] me, and standing near, he said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I [recovered my sight and] looked up at him. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, [and to progressively understand His plan with clarity and power] and to see the Righteous One [Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and to hear a message from His [own] mouth. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>For you will be His witness to all men <i>testifying</i> of what you have seen and heard. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Now, why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name [for salvation].’ <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>“Then it happened when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple [enclosure], that I fell into a trance (vision); <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know [without any doubt] that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You [and Your message of salvation]. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby approving <i>and</i> consenting [to his death], and guarding the coats of those who were killing him.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>And the Lord said to me, ‘Go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>They listened to Paul until [he made] this [last] statement, but now they raised their voices and shouted, “Away with such a man from the earth! He is not fit to live!” <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>And as they were shouting and throwing off their coats [getting ready to stone Paul] and tossing dust into the air [expressing their anger], <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he was to be <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[e]</a></span>interrogated with a whip in order to learn why the people were shouting against him that way. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>But when they had stretched him out <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[f]</a></span>with the <i>leather</i> straps [in preparation for the whip], Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman <i>citizen</i> and uncondemned [without a trial]?” <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>When the centurion heard <i>this,</i> he went to the commander and said to him, “What are you about to do? This man is a <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[g]</a></span>Roman!” <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>So the commander came and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>The commander replied, “I <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[h]</a></span>purchased this citizenship [of mine] for a large sum of money [so how did you acquire yours?].” Paul said, “But I was actually born a <i>citizen</i>.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>So those who were about to interrogate him <i>by torture</i> immediately let him go; and the commander was also afraid when he realized that Paul was a Roman and he had put him in chains. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/22-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>But on the next day, wanting to know the real reason why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) to assemble; and brought Paul down and presented him before them.<A name="fn"></a></p><br /><br /><span class="footnotesbot">[a]</span> <span class="fnverse">3</span> According to the Talmud, Gamaliel, who was the leading scholar of the Torah from A.D. 20 to 40, taught a school of 1,000 advanced students.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[b]</span> <span class="fnverse">4</span> See note 9:2. Paul was probably referring to Jesus Himself.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[c]</span> <span class="fnverse">9</span> At first look, what Paul says here seems to contradict Luke the writer’s own description of what happened in 9:7. However, Luke says there that Paul’s companions saw <i>no one,</i> not that they did not see the light; and this may be an indication that Paul did not just see the light but saw Jesus in the light. As for what was heard, there is a subtle distinction in the Greek between the two accounts. The Greek word for “hear” takes an object in one form for the source of a sound, and in another form for the substance or content of a sound. In 9:7 Luke uses the first form, indicating that Paul’s companions heard the voice as a sound. Here in 22:9, the second form is used, indicating that the others did not hear the substance of the sound--that is, they could not make out what the voice was saying.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[d]</span> <span class="fnverse">12</span> Or <i>the Law</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[e]</span> <span class="fnverse">24</span> This was standard practice with slaves or others of no social standing under Roman rule. The thinking was that such people did not have the integrity to tell the truth, and had to be tortured to drag the truth out of them.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[f]</span> <span class="fnverse">25</span> Or <i>for the whip</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[g]</span> <span class="fnverse">26</span> Death was the punishment for someone falsely claiming to be a Roman.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[h]</span> <span class="fnverse">28</span> Messalina (third wife of Emperor Claudius) was said to have illegally “sold” Roman citizenships at high prices; however, there were also legitimate ways to obtain citizenship.<br></div><br /><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Amplified Bible Copyright © 2015<br>by The Lockman Foundation<br>All rights reserved <a href="http://www.lockman.org">www.lockman.org</a><br><br><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br>                                                                                                                                <span class="p"><br /><br /></span></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../acts/21.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Acts 21"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Acts 21" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../acts/23.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Acts 23"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Acts 23" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>