19. But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I put the believers in jail and beat them.
20. They also know that I was there when Stephen, your witness, was killed. I stood there and agreed that they should kill him. I even held the coats of the men who were killing him!’
21. But the Lord said to me, ‘Leave now. I will send you far away to the non-Jewish people.’”
22. The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they began shouting, “Get rid of him! A man like this doesn’t deserve to live!”
23. They shouted and threw off their coats. They threw dust into the air.
24. Then the commander ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the army building and beat him. The commander wanted to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this.
25. So the soldiers were tying him up, preparing to beat him. But Paul said to an officer there, “Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen who has not been proven guilty?”
26. When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and told him about it. The officer said, “Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”
27. The commander came to Paul and said, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?”He answered, “Yes.”
28. The commander said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.”
29. The men who were preparing to question Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was frightened because he had already tied Paul, and Paul was a Roman citizen.
30. The next day the commander decided to learn why the Jews were accusing Paul. So he ordered the leading priests and the Jewish council to meet. The commander took Paul’s chains off. Then he brought Paul out and stood him before their meeting.