使徒行傳22:22-30

 

22:22 眾人聽他說到這句話，就高聲說：「這樣的人，從世上除掉他吧！他是不當活著的。」
22:23 眾人喧嚷，摔掉衣裳，把塵土向空中揚起來。
22:24 千夫長就吩咐將保羅帶進營樓去，叫人用鞭子拷問他，要知道他們向他這樣喧嚷是為甚麼緣故。
22:25 剛用皮條捆上，保羅對旁邊站著的百夫長說：「人是羅馬人，又沒有定罪，你們就鞭打他，有這個例嗎？」
22:26 百夫長聽見這話，就去見千夫長，告訴他說：「你要做甚麼？這人是羅馬人。」
22:27 千夫長就來問保羅說：「你告訴我，你是羅馬人嗎？」保羅說：「是。」
22:28 千夫長說：「我用許多銀子才入了羅馬的民籍。」保羅說：「我生來就是。」
22:29 於是那些要拷問保羅的人就離開他去了。千夫長既知道他是羅馬人，又因為捆綁了他，也害怕了。
22:30 第二天，千夫長為要知道猶太人控告保羅的實情，便解開他，吩咐祭司長和全公會的人都聚集，將保羅帶下來，叫他站在他們面前。

²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”

²³ As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹ Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

³⁰ The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

 

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    保羅為了維護自己的尊嚴，適時表明自己是羅馬公民的身分，這沒有甚麼不好。基督徒也要保護自身的尊嚴，面對無理取鬧的惡人更是要如此。