Acts:23
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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 .