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and I saw Him saying to me, '1Makehaste, and get out of Jerusalemquickly, because they will not accept your testimonyabout Me.'
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"And I said, 'Lord, they themselvesunderstand that in one synagogueafteranother2I used to imprison and 3beatthose who believed in You.
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'And 4when the blood of Your witnessStephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.'
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"And He said to me, 'Go! For I will send you faraway5to the Gentiles.'"
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They listened to him up to thisstatement, and then they raised their voices and said, "6Away with such a fellow from the earth, for 7he should not be allowed to live!"
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And as they were crying out and 8throwingoff their cloaks and 9tossingdust into the air,
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the commanderordered him to be brought into 10the barracks, stating that he should be 11examined by scourgingso that he might find out the reasonwhy* they were shouting against him that way.
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But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paulsaid to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge12a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"
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When the centurionheard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, "What are you about to do? For thisman is a Roman."
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The commandercame and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."
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The commanderanswered, "I acquiredthiscitizenship with a largesum of money." And Paulsaid, "But I was actuallyborn a citizen."