He's One of Us!*

²² The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” ²³ They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.
²⁴ The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him lashed with whips to make him confess his crime. He wanted to find out why the crowd had become so furious. ²⁵ When they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul said to the officer^[d] standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been tried?”

 ²⁶ When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”

 ²⁷ So the commander went over and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

   “Yes, I certainly am,” Paul replied.

 ²⁸ “I am, too,” the commander muttered, “and it cost me plenty!”

   Paul answered, “But I am a citizen by birth!”

 ²⁹ The soldiers who were about to interrogate Paul quickly withdrew when they heard he was a Roman citizen, and the commander was frightened because he had ordered him bound and whipped.

*Headline from The Roavin Roman Reporter