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"My fellow Jews, listen to me as I make my defense before you!"
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When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they became even quieter; and Paul went on:
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"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.
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I persecuted to the death the people who followed this Way. I arrested men and women and threw them into prison.
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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.
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"As I was traveling and coming near Damascus, about midday a bright light from the sky flashed suddenly around me.
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I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?'
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'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute,' he said to me.
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The men with me saw the light, but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
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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.'
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I was blind because of the bright light, and so my companions took me by the hand and led me into Damascus.
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"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.
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He came to me, stood by me, and said, 'Brother Saul, see again!' At that very moment I saw again and looked at him.
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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.
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For you will be a witness for him to tell everyone what you have seen and heard.
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And now, why wait any longer? Get up and be baptized and have your sins washed away by praying to him.'
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"I went back to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the Temple, I had a vision,
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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.'
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'Lord,' I answered, 'they know very well that I went to the synagogues and arrested and beat those who believe in you.
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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.'
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'Go,' the Lord said to me, 'for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' "
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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!"
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They were screaming, waving their clothes, and throwing dust up in the air.
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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.
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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?"
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When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked him, "What are you doing? That man is a Roman citizen!"
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So the commander went to Paul and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," answered Paul.
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The commander said, "I became one by paying a large amount of money." "But I am one by birth," Paul answered.
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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.
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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.
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Paul looked straight at the Council and said, "My fellow Israelites! My conscience is perfectly clear about the way in which I have lived before God to this very day."
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The High Priest Ananias ordered those who were standing close to Paul to strike him on the mouth.
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Paul said to him, "God will certainly strike you---you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the Law, yet you break the Law by ordering them to strike me!"
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The men close to Paul said to him, "You are insulting God's High Priest!"
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Paul answered, "My fellow Israelites, I did not know that he was the High Priest. The scripture says, 'You must not speak evil of the ruler of your people.' "
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When Paul saw that some of the group were Sadducees and the others were Pharisees, he called out in the Council, "Fellow Israelites! I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees. I am on trial here because of the hope I have that the dead will rise to life!"
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As soon as he said this, the Pharisees and Sadducees started to quarrel, and the group was divided.
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(For the Sadducees say that people will not rise from death and that there are no angels or spirits; but the Pharisees believe in all three.)
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The shouting became louder, and some of the teachers of the Law who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested strongly: "We cannot find a thing wrong with this man! Perhaps a spirit or an angel really did speak to him!"
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The argument became so violent that the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces. So he ordered his soldiers to go down into the group, get Paul away from them, and take him into the fort.
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That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, "Don't be afraid! You have given your witness for me here in Jerusalem, and you must also do the same in Rome."
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The next morning some Jews met together and made a plan. They took a vow that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul.
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There were more than forty who planned this together.
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Then they went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have taken a solemn vow together not to eat a thing until we have killed Paul.
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Now then, you and the Council send word to the Roman commander to bring Paul down to you, pretending that you want to get more accurate information about him. But we will be ready to kill him before he ever gets here."
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But the son of Paul's sister heard about the plot; so he went to the fort and told Paul.
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Then Paul called one of the officers and said to him, "Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him."
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The officer took him, led him to the commander, and said, "The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to say to you."
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The commander took him by the hand, led him off by himself, and asked him, "What do you have to tell me?"
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He said, "The Jewish authorities have agreed to ask you tomorrow to take Paul down to the Council, pretending that the Council wants to get more accurate information about him.
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But don't listen to them, because there are more than forty men who will be hiding and waiting for him. They have taken a vow not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are now ready to do it and are waiting for your decision."
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The commander said, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me." And he sent the young man away.
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Then the commander called two of his officers and said, "Get two hundred soldiers ready to go to Caesarea, together with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, and be ready to leave by nine o'clock tonight.
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Provide some horses for Paul to ride and get him safely through to Governor Felix."
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Then the commander wrote a letter that went like this:
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"Claudius Lysias to His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings.
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The Jews seized this man and were about to kill him. I learned that he is a Roman citizen, so I went with my soldiers and rescued him.
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I wanted to know what they were accusing him of, so I took him down to their Council.
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I found out that he had not done a thing for which he deserved to die or be put in prison; the accusation against him had to do with questions about their own law.
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And when I was informed that there was a plot against him, at once I decided to send him to you. I have told his accusers to make their charges against him before you."
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The soldiers carried out their orders. They got Paul and took him that night as far as Antipatris.
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The next day the foot soldiers returned to the fort and left the horsemen to go on with him.
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They took him to Caesarea, delivered the letter to the governor, and turned Paul over to him.
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The governor read the letter and asked Paul what province he was from. When he found out that he was from Cilicia,
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he said, "I will hear you when your accusers arrive." Then he gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in the governor's headquarters.
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Five days later the High Priest Ananias went to Caesarea with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They appeared before Governor Felix and made their charges against Paul.
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Then Paul was called in, and Tertullus began to make his accusation, as follows: "Your Excellency! Your wise leadership has brought us a long period of peace, and many necessary reforms are being made for the good of our country.
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We welcome this everywhere and at all times, and we are deeply grateful to you.
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I do not want to take up too much of your time, however, so I beg you to be kind and listen to our brief account.
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We found this man to be a dangerous nuisance; he starts riots among Jews all over the world and is a leader of the party of the Nazarenes.
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He also tried to defile the Temple, and we arrested him.
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If you question this man, you yourself will be able to learn from him all the things that we are accusing him of."
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The Jews joined in the accusation and said that all this was true.
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The governor then motioned to Paul to speak, and Paul said, "I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, and so I am happy to defend myself before you.
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As you can find out for yourself, it was no more than twelve days ago that I went to Jerusalem to worship.
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The Jews did not find me arguing with anyone in the Temple, nor did they find me stirring up the people, either in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.
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Nor can they give you proof of the accusations they now bring against me.
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I do admit this to you: I worship the God of our ancestors by following that Way which they say is false. But I also believe in everything written in the Law of Moses and the books of the prophets.
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I have the same hope in God that these themselves have, namely, that all people, both the good and the bad, will rise from death.
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And so I do my best always to have a clear conscience before God and people.
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"After being away from Jerusalem for several years, I went there to take some money to my own people and to offer sacrifices.
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It was while I was doing this that they found me in the Temple after I had completed the ceremony of purification. There was no crowd with me and no disorder.
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But some Jews from the province of Asia were there; they themselves ought to come before you and make their accusations if they have anything against me.
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Or let these who are here tell what crime they found me guilty of when I stood before the Council---
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except for the one thing I called out when I stood before them: 'I am being tried by you today for believing that the dead will rise to life.' "
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Then Felix, who was well informed about the Way, brought the hearing to a close. "When the commander Lysias arrives," he told them, "I will decide your case."
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He ordered the officer in charge of Paul to keep him under guard, but to give him some freedom and allow his friends to provide for his needs.
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After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he talked about faith in Christ Jesus.
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But as Paul went on discussing about goodness, self-control, and the coming Day of Judgment, Felix was afraid and said, "You may leave now. I will call you again when I get the chance."
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At the same time he was hoping that Paul would give him some money; and for this reason he would call for him often and talk with him.
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After two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix as governor. Felix wanted to gain favor with the Jews so he left Paul in prison.
