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`Men, brethren, and fathers, hear my defence now unto you;' --
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and they having heard that in the Hebrew dialect he was speaking to them, gave the more silence, and he saith, --
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`I, indeed, am a man, a Jew, having been born in Tarsus of Cilicia, and brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, having been taught according to the exactitude of a law of the fathers, being zealous of God, as all ye are to-day.
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`And this way I persecuted unto death, binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women,
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as also the chief priest doth testify to me, and all the eldership; from whom also having received letters unto the brethren, to Damascus, I was going on, to bring also those there bound to Jerusalem that they might be punished,
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and it came to pass, in my going on and coming nigh to Damascus, about noon, suddenly out of the heaven there shone a great light round about me,
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I fell also to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?
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`And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? and he said unto me, I am Jesus the Nazarene whom thou dost persecute --
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and they who are with me the light did see, and became afraid, and the voice they heard not of him who is speaking to me --
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and I said, What shall I do, Lord? and the Lord said unto me, Having risen, go on to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee concerning all things that have been appointed for thee to do.
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`And when I did not see from the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who are with me, I came to Damascus,
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and a certain one, Ananias, a pious man according to the law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling [there],
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having come unto me and stood by [me], said to me, Saul, brother, look up; and I the same hour did look up to him;
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and he said, The God of our fathers did choose thee beforehand to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice out of his mouth,
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because thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard;
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and now, why tarriest thou? having risen, baptize thyself, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.
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`And it came to pass when I returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, I came into a trance,
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and I saw him saying to me, Haste and go forth in haste out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive thy testimony concerning me;
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and I said, Lord, they -- they know that I was imprisoning and was scourging in every synagogue those believing on thee;
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and when the blood of thy witness Stephen was being poured forth, I also was standing by and assenting to his death, and keeping the garments of those putting him to death;
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and he said unto me, Go, because to nations far off I will send thee.'