221 Brethren and fathers, hear my defence which I now make to you. 2 And hearing that he addressed them in the Hebrew tongue, they kept the more quiet; and he says,
3 I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to [the] exactness of the law of [our] fathers, being zealous for God, as ye are all this day; 4 who have persecuted this way unto death, binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women; 5 as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the elderhood: from whom also, having received letters to the brethren, I went to Damascus to bring those also who were there, bound, to Jerusalem, to be punished.
6 And it came to pass, as I was journeying and drawing near to Damascus, that, about mid-day, there suddenly shone out of heaven a great light round about me. 7 And I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus the Nazaraean, whom thou persecutest. 9 But they that were with me beheld the light, [and were filled with fear], but heard not the voice of him that was speaking to me. 10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Rise up, and go to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which it is appointed thee to do. 11 And as I could not see, through the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came to Damascus. 12 And a certain Ananias, a pious man according to the law, borne witness to by all the Jews who dwelt [there], 13 coming to me and standing by me, said to me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And I, in the same hour, received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen thee beforehand to know his will, and to see the just one, and to hear a voice out of his mouth; 15 for thou shalt be a witness for him to all men of what thou hast seen and heard. 16 And now why lingerest thou? Arise and get baptised, and have thy sins washed away, calling on his name.
17 And it came to pass when I had returned to Jerusalem, and as I was praying in the temple, that I became in ecstasy, 18 and saw him saying to me, Make haste and go quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. 19 And I said, Lord, they themselves know that I was imprisoning and beating in every synagogue those that believe on thee; 20 and when the blood of thy witness Stephen was shed, I also myself was standing by and consenting, and kept the clothes of them who killed him. 21 And he said to me, Go, for I will send thee to the nations afar off.
22 And they heard him until this word, and lifted up their voice, saying, Away with such a one as that from the earth, for it was not fit he should live. 23 And as they were crying, and throwing away their clothes, and casting dust into the air, 24 the chiliarch commanded him to be brought into the fortress, saying that he should be examined by scourging, that he might ascertain for what cause they cried thus against him. 25 But as they stretched him forward with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood [by], Is it lawful for you to scourge a man [who is] a Roman and uncondemned? 26 And the centurion, having heard it, went and reported it to the chiliarch, saying, What art thou going to do? for this man is a Roman. 27 And the chiliarch coming up said to him, Tell me, Art thou a Roman? And he said, Yes. 28 And the chiliarch answered, I, for a great sum, bought this citizenship. And Paul said, But I was also [free] born. 29 Immediately therefore those who were going to examine him left him, and the chiliarch also was afraid when he ascertained that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
30 And on the morrow, desirous to know the certainty [of the matter] why he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and having brought Paul down set him before them.
31 And Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, [which is] the ninth [hour]; 2 and a certain man who was lame from his mother's womb was being carried, whom they placed every day at the gate of the temple called Beautiful, to ask alms of those who were going into the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to enter into the temple, asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter, looking stedfastly upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, Silver and gold I have not; but what I have, this give I to thee: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazaraean rise up and walk. 7 And having taken hold of him [by] the right hand he raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones were made strong. 8 And leaping up he stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they recognised him, that it was he who sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico which is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
12 And Peter, seeing it, answered the people, Men of Israel, why are ye astonished at this? or why do ye gaze on us as if we had by our own power or piety made him to walk? 13 The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he had judged that he should be let go. 14 But ye denied the holy and righteous one, and asked that a man [that was] a murderer should be granted to you; 15 but the originator of life ye slew, whom God raised from among [the] dead, whereof we are witnesses. 16 And, by faith in his name, his name has made this [man] strong whom ye behold and know; and the faith which is by him has given him this complete soundness in the presence of you all. 17 And now, brethren, I know that ye did it in ignorance, as also your rulers; 18 but God has thus fulfilled what he had announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, for the blotting out of your sins, so that times of refreshing may come from [the] presence of the Lord, 20 and he may send Jesus Christ, who was foreordained for you, 21 whom heaven indeed must receive till [the] times of [the] restoring of all things, of which God has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets since time began. 22 Moses indeed said, A prophet shall [the] Lord your God raise up to you out of your brethren like me: him shall ye hear in everything whatsoever he shall say to you. 23 And it shall be that whatsoever soul shall not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. 24 And indeed all the prophets from Samuel and those in succession after [him], as many as have spoken, have announced also these days. 25 Ye are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God appointed to our fathers, saying to Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 26 To you first God, having raised up his servant, has sent him, blessing you in turning each one [of you] from your wickedness.
