¹ Varones hermanos y padres, oíd ahora mi defensa ante vosotros.

² Y al oír que les hablaba en lengua hebrea, guardaron más silencio. Y él les dijo:

³ Yo de cierto soy judío, nacido en Tarso de Cilicia, pero criado en esta ciudad, instruido a los pies de Gamaliel, estrictamente conforme a la ley de nuestros padres, celoso de Dios, como hoy lo sois todos vosotros.

⁴ Perseguía yo este Camino hasta la muerte, prendiendo y entregando en cárceles a hombres y mujeres;

⁵ como el sumo sacerdote también me es testigo, y todos los ancianos, de quienes también recibí cartas para los hermanos, y fui a Damasco para traer presos a Jerusalén también a los que estuviesen allí, para que fuesen castigados.

⁶ Pero aconteció que yendo yo, al llegar cerca de Damasco, como a mediodía, de repente me rodeó mucha luz del cielo;

⁷ y caí al 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, a quien tú persigues.

⁹ Y los que estaban conmigo vieron a la verdad la luz, y se espantaron; pero no entendieron la voz del que hablaba conmigo.

¹⁰ Y dije: ¿Qué haré, Señor? Y el Señor me dijo: Levántate, y ve a Damasco, y allí se te dirá todo lo que está ordenado que hagas.

¹¹ Y como yo no veía a causa de la gloria de la luz, llevado de la mano por los que estaban conmigo, llegué a Damasco.

¹² Entonces uno llamado Ananías, varón piadoso según la ley, que tenía buen testimonio de todos los judíos que allí moraban,

¹³ vino a mí, y acercándose, me dijo: Hermano Saulo, recibe la vista. Y yo en aquella misma hora recobré la vista y lo miré.

¹⁴ Y él dijo: El Dios de nuestros padres te ha escogido para que conozcas su voluntad, y veas al Justo, y oigas la voz de su boca.

¹⁵ Porque serás testigo suyo a 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 a Jerusalén, que orando en el templo me sobrevino un éxtasis.

¹⁸ Y le vi que me decía: Date prisa, y sal prontamente de Jerusalén; porque no recibirán tu testimonio acerca de mí.

¹⁹ Yo dije: Señor, ellos saben que yo encarcelaba y azotaba en todas las sinagogas a los que creían en ti;

²⁰ y cuando se derramaba la sangre de Esteban tu testigo, yo mismo también estaba presente, y consentía en su muerte, y guardaba las ropas de los que le mataban.

²¹ Pero me dijo: Ve, porque yo te enviaré lejos a los gentiles.

²² Y le oyeron hasta esta palabra; entonces alzaron la voz, diciendo: Quita de la tierra a tal hombre, porque no conviene que viva.

²³ Y como ellos gritaban y arrojaban sus ropas y lanzaban polvo al aire,

²⁴ mandó el tribuno que le metiesen en la fortaleza, y ordenó que fuese examinado con azotes, para saber por qué causa clamaban así contra él.

²⁵ Pero cuando le ataron con correas, Pablo dijo al centurión que estaba presente: ¿Os es lícito azotar a un ciudadano romano sin haber sido condenado?

²⁶ Cuando el centurión oyó esto, fue y dio aviso al tribuno, diciendo: ¿Qué vas a hacer? Porque este hombre es ciudadano romano.

²⁷ Vino el tribuno y le dijo: Dime, ¿eres tú ciudadano romano? El dijo: Sí.

²⁸ Respondió el tribuno: Yo con una gran suma adquirí esta ciudadanía. Entonces Pablo dijo: Pero yo lo soy de nacimiento.

²⁹ Así que, luego se apartaron de él los que le iban a dar tormento; y aun el tribuno, al saber que era ciudadano romano, también tuvo temor por haberle atado.

³⁰ Al día siguiente, queriendo saber de cierto la causa por la cual le acusaban los judíos, le soltó de las cadenas, y mandó venir a los principales sacerdotes y a todo el concilio, y sacando a Pablo, le presentó ante ellos.

¹ "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now."

² And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said:

³ "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.

⁴ I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,

⁵ as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ "Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.

⁷ And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'

⁸ So I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'

⁹ "And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.

¹⁰ So I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.'

¹¹ And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹² "Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there,

¹³ came to me; and he stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him.

¹⁴ Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.

¹⁵ For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶ And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

¹⁷ "Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance

¹⁸ and saw Him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.'

¹⁹ So I said, 'Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You.

²⁰ And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.'

²¹ Then He said to me, 'Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.' "

²² And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!"

²³ Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air,

²⁴ the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him.

²⁵ And as they bound him with 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 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, "Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman."

²⁷ Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes."

²⁸ The commander answered, "With a large sum I obtained this citizenship." And Paul said, "But I was born a citizen."

²⁹ Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

³⁰ The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.