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22 ¶ Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you.
2 (And when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence, and he said,)
3 ¶ I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
5 As also the prince of the priests bears me witness, and all the estate of the elders, from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring those who were bound there unto Jerusalem to be punished.
6 And it came to pass that, as I made my journey and was come near unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
7 And I fell unto the ground and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?
8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I Am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou dost persecute.
9 And those that were with me saw indeed the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of him that spoke to me.
10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise and go into Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
11 And when I could not see for the clarity of that light, being led by the hand of those that were with me, I came into Damascus.
12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good witness of all the Jews who dwelt there,
13 came unto me and stood and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
14 And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen thee that thou should know his will and see that Just One and should hear the voice of his mouth.
15 For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
16 And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
17 And it came to pass that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a rapture of understanding
18 and saw him saying unto me, Make haste and go quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
19 And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and in every synagogue beat those that believed on thee;
20 and when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting unto his death and kept the raiment of those that slew him.
21 And he said unto me, Depart, for I will send thee far from here unto the Gentiles.
22 ¶ And they gave him audience unto this word and then lifted up their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live.
23 And as they cried out and cast off their clothes and threw dust into the air,
24 the tribunal commanded him to be brought into the fortress and bade that he should be examined by scourging that he might know why they cried out so against him.
25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and uncondemned?
26 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the tribunal, saying, Take heed what thou doest, for this man is a Roman.
27 Then the tribunal came and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yes.
28 And the tribunal answered, With a great sum I obtained this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
29 Then straightway those who should have tormented him departed from him, and the tribunal was also afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman and because he had bound him.
30 On the next day, because he wanted to know of certainty the cause for which he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands and commanded the princes of the priests and all their council to appear and brought Paul down and set him before them.
23 ¶ Then Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
2 And the prince of the priests, Ananias, commanded those that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
3 Then Paul said unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whitewashed wall, for dost thou sit to judge me after the law and command me to be smitten contrary to the law?
4 And those that stood by said, Dost thou revile God’s high priest?
5 Then Paul said, I did not know, brethren, that he was the prince of the priests, for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
6 ¶ But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, and of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the multitude was divided.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.
9 And there arose a great cry; and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man, but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
10 And when there arose a great dissension, the tribunal, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and to take him by force from among them and to bring him into the fortress.
11 And the night following the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou also bear witness at Rome.
12 ¶ And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together and they vowed under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.
13 And they were more than forty who had made this conspiracy.
14 And they came to the princes of the priests and the elders and said, We have made a vow of anathema that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.
15 Now therefore ye with the council signify to the tribunal that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though ye would enquire something more certain concerning him, and we, before he arrives, are ready to kill him.
16 And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered into the fortress and told Paul.
17 Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him and said, Bring this young man unto the tribunal, for he has a certain thing to tell him.
18 So he took him and brought him to the tribunal and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him and asked me to bring this young man unto thee, who has something to say unto thee.
19 Then the tribunal took him by the hand and went with him aside privately and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?
20 And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask thee that thou would bring down Paul tomorrow into the council, as though they would enquire something more certain of him.
21 But do not believe them, for more than forty of them lie in wait to ambush him, who have vowed under a curse that they will neither eat nor drink until they have killed him, and now they are ready, looking for a promise from thee.
22 So the tribunal then let the young man depart and charged him, See thou tell no one that thou hast showed these things to me.
23 And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea and seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, at the third hour of the night
24 and provide them beasts that they may set Paul on and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.
25 And he wrote a letter after this manner:
26 Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sends greeting.
27 This man was taken of the Jews and should have been killed by them; then I came with an army and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.
28 And when I desired to know the cause of why they accused him, I brought him forth into their council,
29 whom I found to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
30 And when it was told me how the Jews lay in wait to ambush the man, I sent straightway to thee and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.
31 Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.
32 On the next day they left the horsemen to go with him and returned to the fortress,
33 who, when they came to Caesarea and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
34 And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia,
35 I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.
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