25. But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion on duty, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been tried?”
26. When the centurion heard this, he went to the cohort commander and reported it, saying, “What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen.”
27. Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered.
28. The commander replied, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” Paul said, “But I was born one.”