¶ Paul answereth the Iewes, He is scourg••d, and layde in pryson agayne.
CAPI. XXII.
MEn, brethren, & fathers, heare ye myne [unspec A] answere which I make now vnto you when they herde that he spake in the Ebrue tong to them, they kept the more silēce. And he sayeth, I am verely a man whiche am a Iewe borne in Tharsus, a cite in Cicyl: ne¦uerthelesse yet brought vp in thys cytie, at the fete of Gamaliel, and informed diligent¦ly in the lawe of the fathers, and was feruēt mynded to god ward, as ye al are this same day, and I persecuted this waye vnto the deth byndyng & deliuering into prison both men and wemen, as the chefe prest doth bere me wytnes, and all the estate of the elders: of whome also I receyued letters vnto the brethren, and went to Damasco to brynge them (which were there bounde) vnto Ieru∣lem for to be punyshed.
And it fortuned (that as I made my iorney [unspec B] and was come nye vnto Damasco aboute none) sodenly there shone from heuen a gret lyghte rounde aboute me, and I fell vn∣to the earth, and herde a voyce saying vnto me: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered: what art thou Lord? And he sayd vnto me. I am Iesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were wyth me: sawe verely a lyght and were a∣frayed: but they herde not the voyce of hym that spake wyth me. And I saide: what shal I do Lorde? And the Lorde sayde vnto me: Aryse and go into Damasco, & there it shal∣be tolde the of all thynges, which are apoin¦ted for the to do. And when I sawe nothyng for the brightnes of that light, I was led by the hand of them that were with me, & came into Damasco.
‡ And one Ananias a perfecte man, (and as pertaynynge to the lawe hauynge good [unspec C] reporte of al the Iewes whych there dwelt) came vnto me, and stode, and sayde vnto me: Brother SAVLE, receyue thy syght, And the same houre I receaued my syghte, and sawe hym. And he sayde: the God of our Fathers hath ordayned the before, that thou shuldest knowe hys wyll, and se the thynge that is ryghtefull, and shuldest heare the voyce of hys mouthe: for thou shalte be hys wytnesse vnto all men of tho∣se thynges, whyche thou haste sene and herde. And nowe: why taryest thou? Aryse, and be Baptysed, and wasshe awaye thy synnes in callynge on the name of the LORDE. And it fortuned, that when I was come agayne to Ierusalem and pray∣ed [unspec D] in the Temple, I was in a traunce, and sawe hym saying vnto me: Make hast and get the quyckely out of Ierusalem: for they wyl not receyue thy wytnes that thou berest of me.
And I sayde: Lorde, they knowe, that I prysoned and bet in euery synagoge thē that beleued on the.
And when the bloude of thy wytnesse Steuen was shed, I also stode by, and con∣sented vnto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slewe him. And he sayde vnto me depart, for I wyll sende the farre hence vnto the Gentyles.
They gaue hym audyence vnto thys worde, and then lyfte vp theyre voyces and sayde: away wyth suche a felowe from the earthe: for it is no reason that he shulde lyue. And as they cryed, and caste of theyr clothes, and thrue duste into the ayre, the captayne commaunded hym to be broughte into the Castle, and bad that he shulde be scourged, and to be examined, that he might knowe, wherefore they cryed so on hym. And whan they bounde hym with thonges, Paule sayde vnto the Centurion that stode by him: Is it lawefull for you to scourge a man that is a Romayne and vncondemned? When the Centurion heard that, he wente and told the vpper Captayne saying: What intendest thou to do? For this man is {fleur-de-lys} (a cy∣tezen) of Rome.
Then the vpper Captayne came, & sayd vnto him: tell me, art thou a Romayne? He sayd: Yee, And the captayne answered, with [unspec E] a great some optayned I this fredome: And Paul sayd: I was fre borne. Then strayght way departed from him they whiche shulde haue examined him. And the hye Captayne also was afrayed, after he knewe that he was a Romayne and because he had bound hym.
On y• morowe (because he wolde haue kno¦wen the certayntie wherfore he was accused of the Iewes) he losed hym frome hys bon∣des, and commaunded the hye Preestes and