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Men,brethren,andfathers, hear yemydefence which I make nowuntoyou.
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(And when they heardthat he spake in the Hebrewtongue to them, they kept the moresilence:and he saith,)
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Iamverily a man which am a Jew,borninTarsus, a city in Cilicia,yet brought upinthiscityat the feet of Gamaliel, and taughtaccording to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and waszealous toward God,asyeallare this day.
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And Ipersecutedthiswayunto the death,bindinganddeliveringintoprisonsbothmenandwomen.
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Asalso the high priest doth bearmewitness, andall the estate of the elders:fromwhomalso I receivedlettersunto the brethren,andwenttoDamascus, to bring them which weretherebound untoJerusalem, for to be punished.
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And it came to pass, that, as I mademyjourney, and was come nigh unto Damascusaboutnoon,suddenly there shonefromheaven a greatlightroundaboutme.
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And I fellunto the ground,andheard a voicesaying unto me,Saul,Saul,why persecutest thoume?
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AndIanswered, Who art thou, Lord?And he saiduntome,IamJesus of Nazareth,whomthoupersecutest.
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And they that werewithmesawindeed the light,andwereafraid;but they heardnot the voice of him that spake to me.
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And I said, What shall I do, Lord?And the Lordsaiduntome,Arise, and gointoDamascus; and there it shall be toldtheeof all thingswhich are appointed for thee to do.
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Andwhen I couldnotseefor the glory of thatlight, being led by the handof them that were with me, I cameintoDamascus.
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AndoneAnanias, a devoutmanaccording to the law, having a good reportofall the Jews which dwelt there,
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Cameuntome,andstood, and said unto me,BrotherSaul, receive thy sight. And the samehourI looked upuponhim.
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And he said, The God of ourfathers hath chosenthee, that thou shouldest knowhiswill,andsee that Just One,and shouldest hear the voiceofhismouth.
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For thou shalt behiswitnessuntoallmen of what thou hast seenandheard.
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Andnowwhy tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash awaythysins, calling on the name of the Lord.
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And it came to pass, that, when I was come againtoJerusalem,even while Iprayedin the temple,Iwasin a trance;
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Andsawhimsaying unto me,Make haste, and get theequicklyoutofJerusalem:for they willnotreceivethytestimonyconcerningme.
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And Isaid, Lord,theyknowthatIimprisoned*andbeat in everysynagogue them that believedonthee:
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Andwhen the blood of thymartyrStephen was shed, Ialsowas standing by, andconsenting unto hisdeath,andkept the raiment of them that slewhim.
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And he saiduntome,Depart: forI will sendthee far henceunto the Gentiles.
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And they gavehimaudienceuntothisword,and then lifted uptheirvoices, and said, Away withsuch a fellow from the earth:for it isnotfit that he should live.
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And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes,andthrewdustinto the air,
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The chief captaincommandedhim to be broughtinto the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging;that he might knowwherefore*theycriedsoagainsthim.
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Andas they boundhim with thongs,Paulsaidunto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful* for you to scourge a man that is a Roman,anduncondemned?
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When the centurionheard that, he went and told the chief captain,saying, Take heedwhat thou doest*: forthismanis a Roman.
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Then the chief captaincame, and said unto him,Tellme*, artthou a Roman*? He said, Yea.
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And the chief captainanswered, With a greatsumobtainedIthisfreedom.AndPaulsaid, ButIwas free born.
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Thenstraightway they departedfromhimwhichshould have examinedhim:[a]and the chief captainalso was afraid, after he knewthat he was a Roman,andbecause he hadboundhim.
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On the morrow, because he would have known the certaintywherefore he was accusedof the Jews, he loosedhimfrom his bands,andcommanded the chief priestsandalltheircouncil to appear, andbroughtPauldown, and set himbeforethem.