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Paul's
Defense before the Jews |
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Acts 22:1
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"Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which
I now offer to you." |
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Acts 22:2
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And when they heard that he was addressing them
in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said, |
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Acts 22:3
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"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but
brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law
of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today. |
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Acts 22:4
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"I persecuted this Way to the death, binding
and putting both men and women into prisons, |
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Acts 22:5
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as also the high priest and all the Council
of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brethren,
and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem
as prisoners to be punished. |
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Acts 22:6
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"But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching
Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all
around me, |
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Acts 22:7
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and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying
to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' |
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Acts 22:8
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"And I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He
said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.'
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Acts 22:9
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"And those who were with me saw the light, to
be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. |
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Acts 22:10
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"And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the
Lord said to me, 'Get up and go on into Damascus, and there
you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.' |
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Acts 22:11
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"But since I could not see because of the brightness
of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus. |
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Acts 22:12
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"A certain Ananias, a man who was devout by
the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, |
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Acts 22:13
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came to me, and standing near said to me, 'Brother
Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very time I looked up at him. |
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Acts 22:14
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"And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed
you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from
His mouth. |
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Acts 22:15
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'For you will be a witness for Him to all men
of what you have seen and heard. |
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Acts 22:16
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'Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized,
and wash away your sins, calling on His name.' |
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Acts 22:17
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"It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and
was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance, |
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Acts 22:18
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and I saw Him saying to me, 'Make
haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony
about Me.' |
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Acts 22:19
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"And I said, 'Lord, they themselves understand
that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed
in You. |
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Acts 22:20
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And when the blood of Your witness Stephen 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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Acts 22:21
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"And He said to me, 'Go!
For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" |
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Acts 22:22
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They listened to him up to this statement, and
then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth,
for he should not be allowed to live!" |
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Acts 22:23
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And as they were crying out and throwing off
their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, |
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Acts 22:24
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the commander ordered him to be brought into
the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might
find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. |
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Acts 22:25
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But when they stretched him out with thongs,
Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge
a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?" |
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Acts 22:26
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When the centurion heard this, he went to the
commander and told him, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman."
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Acts 22:27
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The commander came and said to him, "Tell me,
are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes." |
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Acts 22:28
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The commander answered, "I acquired this citizenship
with a large sum of money." And Paul said, "But I was actually born a citizen."
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Acts 22:29
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Therefore those who were about to examine him
immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out
that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains. |
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Acts 22:30
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But on the next day, wishing to know for certain
why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests
and all the Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them. |
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