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They have always known, if they are willing to testify, that from the very first I have lived as a member of the strictest party of our religion, the Pharisees.
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And now I stand here to be tried because of the hope I have in the promise that God made to our ancestors -
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the very thing that the twelve tribes of our people hope to receive, as they worship God day and night. And it is because of this hope, Your Majesty, that I am being accused by these Jews!
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Why do you who are here find it impossible to believe that God raises the dead?
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"I myself thought that I should do everything I could against the cause of Jesus of Nazareth.
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That is what I did in Jerusalem. I received authority from the chief priests and put many of God's people in prison; and when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them.
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Many times I had them punished in the synagogues and tried to make them deny their faith. I was so furious with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
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"It was for this purpose that I went to Damascus with authority and orders from the chief priests.
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It was on the road at midday, Your Majesty, that I saw a light much brighter than the sun, coming from the sky and shining around me and the men traveling with me.
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All of us fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, "Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by hitting back, like an ox kicking against its owner's stick.'
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"Who are you, Lord?' I asked. And the Lord answered, "I am Jesus, whom you persecute.