[21:37] As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the fort, he spoke to the commander: “May I say something to you?” “You speak Greek, do you?” the commander asked.
[21:38] “Then you are not that Egyptian fellow who some time ago started a revolution and led four thousand armed terrorists out into the desert?”
[21:39] Paul answered, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Please let me speak to the people.”
[21:40] The commander gave him permission, so Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand for the people to be silent. When they were quiet, Paul spoke to them in Hebrew:
[22:1] “My fellow Jews, listen to me as I make my defense before you!”
[22:2] When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they became even quieter; and Paul went on:
[22:3] “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.
[22:4] I persecuted to the death the people who followed this Way. I arrested men and women and threw them into prison.
[22:5] 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.