Acts 22
The full text of Acts 22 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.
2 When they heard him addressing them in Aramaic, they grew even quieter. Then he said:
3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city. I was trained at the feet of Gamaliel, taught the strict ways of the law of our fathers, and I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.
4 I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,
5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I even obtained letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way there to bring these people back as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 As I was traveling and getting close to Damascus about noon, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed all around me.
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'
8 I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'
9 Those with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one speaking to me.
10 Then I asked, 'What should I do, Lord?' The Lord told me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you have been appointed to do.'
11 Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me led me by the hand into Damascus.
12 A man named Ananias came to me. He was devout in keeping the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there.
13 He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I looked up and saw him.
14 Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear words from his mouth.
15 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard.
16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'
17 When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance
18 and saw the Lord speaking to me. 'Hurry,' he said, 'leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'
19 And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that I went from one synagogue to another, imprisoning and beating those who believed in you.
20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself was standing there, giving my approval and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.'
21 Then he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"
22 They listened to him up to this word, and then they raised their voices and shouted, "Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!"
23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air,
24 the commander ordered Paul to be brought into the barracks. He directed that he be questioned under the lash, to find out why the crowd was shouting at him like this.
25 But as they stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who has not been found guilty?"
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. "What are you about to do?" he said. "This man is a Roman citizen."
27 The commander went to Paul and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said.
28 "I paid a large sum for my citizenship," the commander said. "But I was born a citizen," Paul replied.
29 So those who were about to question him drew back at once. And the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.
30 The next day, wanting to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, the commander released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul down and stood him before them.
Translation notes (8)
- Acts 22:2a Greek Hebraidi dialektō, literally 'in the Hebrew language', is widely understood to denote Aramaic, the Semitic vernacular of first-century Judea, rather than the classical Hebrew of the Scriptures; this translation makes that identification explicit. Hearing Paul speak in the native tongue rather than Greek, the crowd, in the Greek idiom, 'gave more quiet'.
- Acts 22:3a Gamaliel is Gamaliel the Elder, the eminent Pharisaic teacher who counsels caution toward the apostles in Acts 5:34 and whom rabbinic tradition honors as a leading authority of the Hillelite school. The Greek phrase kata akribeian tou patroou nomou, literally 'according to the strictness of the ancestral law', marks Paul's training as rigorous Pharisaic instruction in Jerusalem.
- Acts 22:4a Greek he hodos (ἡ ὁδός), 'the way', was an early self-designation of the Christian movement, appearing also in Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22, before the name 'Christian' became widespread. The phrase 'to the death' translates achri thanatou, literally 'as far as death', indicating that the persecution Paul describes extended to executions.
- Acts 22:8a Greek Nazoraios, 'Nazorean', differs in form from Nazarenos, the more common adjective for Nazareth; both are rendered 'of Nazareth'. Some have linked Nazoraios to the Hebrew netser, 'branch', of Isaiah 11:1, though derivation from the town's name remains the likeliest explanation. The vocative kyrie, 'Lord', can also mean a respectful 'Sir', suiting Saul's ignorance of the speaker's identity.
- Acts 22:9a Greek ouk ēkousan is literally 'did not hear', but akouō (ἀκούω) can also mean 'to understand', as in 1 Corinthians 14:2. This sense resolves the apparent tension with Acts 9:7, where the companions hear the voice: they perceived the sound but did not comprehend the words addressed to Paul.
- Acts 22:16a The Greek imperatives baptisai, 'be baptized', and apolousai, 'wash away', are middle voice, literally 'have yourself baptized and wash your sins away', presenting Paul as acting upon himself rather than merely receiving the rite. The participle epikalesamenos, 'calling on', ties the washing to invocation of the name.
- Acts 22:25a The Greek phrase proeteinan auton tois himasin is ambiguous: himasin, 'thongs', may denote the straps that bound him in position or the lash itself. Paul's word akatakriton, 'uncondemned', invokes the protection of the Valerian and Porcian laws, which forbade the binding or beating of a Roman citizen without formal trial and condemnation.
- Acts 22:28a The Greek pollou kephalaiou, 'for a large sum', reflects the documented sale of Roman citizenship under the emperor Claudius; Dio Cassius records that it was at first costly and later cheap. The commander's name, Claudius Lysias (Acts 23:26), suggests he purchased his status in that period, whereas Paul's citizenship by birth carried higher social standing.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Greek and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Acts, is free to read here on the web.
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