1 VARONES hermanos y padres, oid la razón que ahora os doy.
2 (Y como oyeron que les hablaba en lengua hebrea, guardaron más silencio.) Y dijo:
3 Yo de cierto soy Judío, nacido en Tarso de Cilicia, mas criado en esta ciudad á los pies de Gamaliel, enseñado conforme á la verdad de la ley de la patria, celoso de Dios, como todos vosotros sois hoy.
4 Que he perseguido este camino hasta la muerte, prendiendo y entregando en cárceles hombres y mujeres:
5 Como también el príncipe de los sacerdotes me es testigo, y todos los ancianos; de los cuales también tomando letras á los hermanos, iba á Damasco para traer presos á Jerusalem aun á los que estuviesen allí, para que fuesen castigados.
6 Mas aconteció que yendo yo, y llegando cerca de Damasco, como á medio día, de repente me rodeó mucha luz del cielo:
7 Y caí en el suelo, y oí una voz que me decía: Saulo, Saulo, ¿por qué me persigues?
8 Yo entonces respondí: ¿Quién eres, Señor? Y me dijo: Yo soy Jesús de Nazaret, á quién tú persigues.
9 Y los que estaban conmigo vieron á la verdad la luz, y se espantaron; mas no oyeron la voz del que hablaba conmigo.
10 Y dije: ¿Qué haré, Señor? Y el Señor me dijo: Levántate, y ve á Damasco, y allí te será dicho todo lo que te está señalado hacer.
11 Y como yo no viese por causa de la claridad de la luz, llevado de la mano por los que estaban conmigo, vine á Damasco.
12 Entonces un Ananías, varón pío conforme á la ley, que tenía buen testimonio de todos los Judíos que allí moraban,
13 Viniendo á mí, y acercándose, me dijo: Hermano Saulo, recibe la vista. Y yo en aquella hora le miré.
14 Y él dijo: El Dios de nuestros padres te ha predestinado para que conocieses su voluntad, y vieses á aquel Justo, y oyeses la voz de su boca.
15 Porque has de ser testigo suyo á todos los hombres, de lo que has visto y oído.
16 Ahora pues, ¿por qué te detienes? Levántate, y bautízate, y lava tus pecados, invocando su nombre.
17 Y me aconteció, vuelto á Jerusalem, que orando en el templo, fuí arrebatado fuera de mí.
18 Y le vi que me decía: Date prisa, y sal prestamente fuera de Jerusalem; porque no recibirán tu testimonio de mí.
19 Y yo dije: Señor, ellos saben que yo encerraba en cárcel, y hería por las sinagogas á los que creían en ti;
20 Y cuando se derramaba la sangre de Esteban tu testigo, yo también estaba presente, y consentía á su muerte, y guardaba las ropas de los que le mataban.
21 Y me dijo: Ve, porque yo te tengo que enviar lejos á los Gentiles.
22 Y le oyeron hasta esta palabra: entonces alzaron la voz, diciendo: Quita de la tierra á un tal hombre, porque no conviene que viva.
23 Y dando ellos voces, y arrojando sus ropas y echando polvo al aire,
24 Mandó el tribuno que le llevasen á la fortaleza, y ordenó que fuese examinado con azotes, para saber por qué causa clamaban así contra él.
25 Y como le ataron con correas, Pablo dijo al centurión que estaba presente: ¿Os es lícito azotar á un hombre Romano sin ser condenado?
26 Y como el centurión oyó esto, fué y dió aviso al tribuno, diciendo ¿Qué vas á hacer? porque este hombre es Romano.
27 Y viniendo el tribuno, le dijo: Dime, ¿eres tú Romano? Y él dijo: Sí.
28 Y respondió el tribuno: Yo con grande suma alcancé esta ciudadanía. Entonces Pablo dijo: Pero yo lo soy de nacimiento.
29 Así que, luego se apartaron de él los que le habían de atormentar: y aun el tribuno también tuvo temor, entendido que era Romano, por haberle atado.
30 Y al día siguiente, queriendo saber de cierto la causa por qué era acusado de los Judíos, le soltó de las prisiones, y mandó venir á los príncipes de los sacerdotes, y á todo su concilio: y sacando á Pablo, le presentó delante de ellos.
1 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.