1 Men, brothers, and fathers, hear now my defense to you.

2 And having heard that he called out to them in the Hebrew language, they offered more silence. And he says,

3 I am indeed a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but reared in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, reared accurately in the paternal law, being a zealot of God, as ye all are today.

4 And I persecuted this Way as far as death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.

5 As also the high priest testifies about me, and all the senior council, from whom also having received letters to the brothers in Damascus, I was going to bring bound even those who were there to Jerusalem so that they might be punished.

6 And there happened to me, while going and approaching Damascus about noon, suddenly to flash forth from heaven a great light around me.

7 And I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do thou persecute me?

8 And I answered, Who are thou, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom thou persecute.

9 And those who were with me indeed saw the light and became afraid, but they heard not the voice of him who spoke to me.

10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, After rising, go into Damascus, and there it will be told thee about all things that have been assigned for thee to do.

11 And as I was not seeing from the splendor of that light, I came into Damascus, being led by hand by those who accompanied me.

12 And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report by all the Jews who dwell there,

13 having come near me, and having stood by, he said to me, Brother Saul, look up. And I looked up on him the same hour.

14 And he said, The God of our fathers appointed thee to know his will, and to see the Righteous Man, and to hear a voice from his mouth,

15 because thou will be a witness for him to all men of the things that thou have seen and heard.

16 And now what is it going to be? Having arisen, immerse and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

17 And it came to pass, my having returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, for me to became in a trance.

18 And I saw him saying to me, Hurry and depart in haste out of Jerusalem, because they will not accept thy testimony about me.

19 And I said, Lord, they know that I was imprisoning and beating in every synagogue those who believe in thee.

20 And when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I myself also was standing by, and approving his killing, and keeping the garments of those who killed him.

21 And he said to me, Depart, because I will send thee far away to Gentiles.

22 And they heard him until this word. And they lifted up their voice, saying, Away with such a man from the earth, for he is not fit to live.

23 And of them crying out, and throwing off their garments, and casting dust into the air,

24 the chief captain commanded him be brought into the fort, having said to examine him by scourging, so that he might know for what reason they shouted against him this way.

25 And as they stretched him out with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, Is it permitted for you to scourge a Roman man, and uncondemned?

26 And when the centurion heard, having come to the chief captain, he reported, saying, Look! What are thou about to do? For this man is a Roman.

27 And the chief captain having come, he said to him, Tell me if thou are a Roman. And he said, Yes.

28 And the chief captain answered, Of a great sum I obtained this citizenship. And Paul said, But then I was born so.

29 Straightaway therefore those who were about to examine him withdrew from him. And the chief captain was also afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he was who bound him.

30 But on the morrow, wanting to know the certainty of why he was accused by the Jews, he loosed him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to come. And having brought Paul down, he set him before them.