He ¹  immediately took ²  soldiers and centurions ³  and ran down to the crowd. ⁴  When they saw ⁵  the commanding officer ⁶  and the soldiers, they stopped beating ⁷  Paul.

When the centurion ¹  heard this, ²  he went to the commanding officer ³  and reported it, ⁴  saying, “What are you about to do? ⁵  For this man is a Roman citizen.” ⁶ 

The commanding officer ¹  answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” ²  “But I was even ³  born a citizen,” ⁴  Paul replied. ⁵ 

Paul called ¹  one of the centurions ²  and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer, ³  for he has something to report to him.”

The commanding officer ¹  took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want ²  to report to me?”

Then the commanding officer ¹  sent the young man away, directing him, ²  “Tell no one that you have reported ³  these things to me.”

Then Felix, ¹  who understood the facts ²  concerning the Way ³  more accurately, ⁴  adjourned their hearing, ⁵  saying, “When Lysias the commanding officer comes down, I will decide your case.” ⁶ 

And we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing – and will do – what we are commanding.

“Obey ¹  what I am commanding you this day. I am going to drive out ²  before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open ¹  your hand to your fellow Israelites ²  who are needy and poor in your land.

In the past, even when Saul was king, you were Israel’s commanding general. ¹  The Lord your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over my people Israel.’”

When the Arameans realized they had been defeated by Israel, they sent for reinforcements from beyond the Euphrates River, ¹  led by Shophach the commanding general of Hadadezer’s army. ² 

The Lord revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it. ¹ 

Then the commanding officer ¹  came up and arrested ²  him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains; ³  he ⁴  then asked who he was and what ⁵  he had done.

But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else, ¹  and when the commanding officer ²  was unable ³  to find out the truth ⁴  because of the disturbance, ⁵  he ordered Paul ⁶  to be brought into the barracks. ⁷ 

As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, ¹  he said ²  to the commanding officer, ³  “May I say ⁴  something to you?” The officer ⁵  replied, ⁶  “Do you know Greek? ⁷ 

When the commanding officer ¹  had given him permission, ²  Paul stood ³  on the steps and gestured ⁴  to the people with his hand. When they had become silent, ⁵  he addressed ⁶  them in Aramaic, ⁷ 

Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away ¹  from him, and the commanding officer ²  was frightened when he realized that Paul ³  was ⁴  a Roman citizen ⁵  and that he had had him tied up. ⁶ 

When the argument became ¹  so great the commanding officer ²  feared that they would tear Paul to pieces, ³  he ordered the detachment ⁴  to go down, take him away from them by force, ⁵  and bring him into the barracks. ⁶ 

So the centurion ¹  took him and brought him to the commanding officer ²  and said, “The prisoner Paul called ³  me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”