Acts:23-24,
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And Paul ,
earnestly beholding the council ,
said ,
Men and brethren ,
I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day .
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And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth .
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Then said Paul unto him ,
God shall smite thee ,
thou whited wall :
for sittest thou to judge me after the law ,
and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law ?
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And they that stood by said ,
Revilest thou God '
s high priest ?
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Then said Paul ,
I wist not ,
brethren ,
that he was the high priest :
for it is written ,
Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people .
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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 :
of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question .
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And when he had so said ,
there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees :
and the multitude was divided .
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For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection ,
neither angel ,
nor spirit :
but the Pharisees confess both .
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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 hath spoken to him ,
let us not fight against God .
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And when there arose a great dissension ,
the chief captain ,
fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them ,
commanded the soldiers to go down ,
and to take him by force from among them ,
and to bring him into the castle .
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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 bear witness also at Rome .
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And when it was day ,
certain of the Jews banded together ,
and bound themselves under a curse ,
saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul .
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And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy .
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And they came to the chief priests and elders ,
and said ,
We have bound ourselves under a great curse ,
that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul .
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Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow ,
as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him :
and we ,
or ever he come near ,
are ready to kill him .
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And when Paul '
s sister '
s son heard of their lying in wait ,
he went and entered into the castle ,
and told Paul .
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Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him ,
and said ,
Bring this young man unto the chief captain :
for he hath a certain thing to tell him .
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So he took him ,
and brought him to the chief captain ,
and said ,
Paul the prisoner called me unto him ,
and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee ,
who hath something to say unto thee .
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Then the chief captain took him by the hand ,
and went with him aside privately ,
and asked him ,
What is that thou hast to tell me ?
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And he said ,
The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council ,
as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly .
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But do not thou yield unto them :
for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men ,
which have bound themselves with an oath ,
that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him :
and now are they ready ,
looking for a promise from thee .
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So the chief captain then let the young man depart ,
and charged him ,
See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me .
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And he called unto him two centurions ,
saying ,
Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea ,
and horsemen threescore and ten ,
and spearmen two hundred ,
at the third hour of the night ;
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And provide them beasts ,
that they may set Paul on ,
and bring him safe unto Felix the governor .
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And he wrote a letter after this manner :
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Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting .
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This man was taken of the Jews ,
and should have been killed of them :
then came I with an army ,
and rescued him ,
having understood that he was a Roman .
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And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him ,
I brought him forth into their council :
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Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law ,
but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds .
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And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man ,
I sent straightway to thee ,
and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him .
Farewell .
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Then the soldiers ,
as it was commanded them ,
took Paul ,
and brought him by night to Antipatris .
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On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him ,
and returned to the castle :
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Who ,
when they came to Caesarea ,
and delivered the epistle to the governor ,
presented Paul also before him .
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And when the governor had read the letter ,
he asked of what province he was .
And when he understood that he was of Cilicia ;
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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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And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders ,
and with a certain orator named Tertullus ,
who informed the governor against Paul .
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And when he was called forth ,
Tertullus began to accuse him ,
saying ,
Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness ,
and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence ,
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We accept it always ,
and in all places ,
most noble Felix ,
with all thankfulness .
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Notwithstanding ,
that I be not further tedious unto thee ,
I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words .
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For we have found this man a pestilent fellow ,
and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world ,
and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes :
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Who also hath gone about to profane the temple :
whom we took ,
and would have judged according to our law .
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But the chief captain Lysias came upon us ,
and with great violence took him away out of our hands ,
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Commanding his accusers to come unto thee :
by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things ,
whereof we accuse him .
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And the Jews also assented ,
saying that these things were so .
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Then Paul ,
after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak ,
answered ,
Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation ,
I do the more cheerfully answer for myself :
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Because that thou mayest understand ,
that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship .
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And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man ,
neither raising up the people ,
neither in the synagogues ,
nor in the city :
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Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me .
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But this I confess unto thee ,
that after the way which they call heresy ,
so worship I the God of my fathers ,
believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets :
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And have hope toward God ,
which they themselves also allow ,
that there shall be a resurrection of the dead ,
both of the just and unjust .
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And herein do I exercise myself ,
to have always a conscience void of offence toward God ,
and toward men .
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Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation ,
and offerings .
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Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple ,
neither with multitude ,
nor with tumult .
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Who ought to have been here before thee ,
and object ,
if they had ought against me .
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Or else let these same here say ,
if they have found any evil doing in me ,
while I stood before the council ,
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Except it be for this one voice ,
that I cried standing among them ,
Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day .
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And when Felix heard these things ,
having more perfect knowledge of that way ,
he deferred them ,
and said ,
When Lysias the chief captain shall come down ,
I will know the uttermost of your matter .
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And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul ,
and to let him have liberty ,
and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him .
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And after certain days ,
when Felix came with his wife Drusilla ,
which was a Jewess ,
he sent for Paul ,
and heard him concerning the faith in Christ .
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And as he reasoned of righteousness ,
temperance ,
and judgment to come ,
Felix trembled ,
and answered ,
Go thy way for this time ;
when I have a convenient season ,
I will call for thee .
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He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul ,
that he might loose him :
wherefore he sent for him the oftener ,
and communed with him .
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But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix '
room :
and Felix ,
willing to shew the Jews a pleasure ,
left Paul bound .
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Now when Festus was come into the province ,
after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem .