Acts 26
1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:
Agrippa sayde vnto Paul: thou arte permitted to speake for thy selfe. Then Paul stretched forth the honde and answered for him selfe.
2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews,
I thynke my selfe happy kynge Agrippa because I shall answere this daye before the of all the thinges wherof I am accused of ye Iewes
3 especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently.
namely because thou arte experte in all customes and questions which are amonge the Iewes. Wherfore I beseche the to heare me paciently.
4 Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem.
My lyvynge of a chylde which was at the fyrst amoge myne awne nacion at Ierusalem knowe all the Iewes
5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.
which knew me from ye beginnynge yf they wolde testifie it. For after the most straytest secte of oure laye lyved I a pharisaye.
6 And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers,
And now I stond and am iudged for the hope of the promes made of God vnto oure fathers:
7 the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to realize as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews.
vnto which promes oure. xii. tribes instantly servynge God daye and nyght hope to come. For which hopes sake kynge Agrippa am I accused of the Iewes.
8 Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
Why shuld it be thought a thinge vncredible vnto you that god shuld rayse agayne the deed?
9 So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
I also verely thought in my selfe that I ought to do many cotrary thinges clene agaynst the name of Iesus of Nazareth:
10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them.
which thinge I also dyd in Ierusalem. Where many of the sainctes I shut vp in preson and had receaved auctorite of ye hye prestes. And whe they were put to deeth I gave the sentence.
11 I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
And I punysshed them ofte in every synagoge and compelled them to blaspheme: and was yet more mad apon them and persecuted the even vnto straunge cities.
12 In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.
About the which thinges as I went to Damasco with auctorite and licence of the hye Prestes
13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.
even at myddaye (o kynge) I sawe in ye waye a lyght from heven above the brightnes of the sunne shyne rounde about me and them which iorneyed with me.
14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
When we were all fallen to the erth I hearde a voyce speakynge vnto me and sayinge in ye Hebrue tonge: Saul Saul why persecutest thou me? It is harde for the to kicke agaynste the pricke.
15 ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.
And I sayde: Who arte thou lorde? And he sayde I am Iesus whom thou persecutest.
16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you.
But ryse and stond vp on thy fete. For I have apered vnto the for this purpose to make the a minister and a witnes both of tho thinges which thou hast sene and of tho thinges in the which I will appere vnto the
17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
delyverynge the from the people and from ye gentyls vnto which nowe I sende the
18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’
to open their eyes that they myght turne from darcknes vnto lyght and from the power of Satan vnto God that they maye receave forgevenes of synnes and inheritauce amonge the which are sanctified by fayth in me.
19 So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
Wherfore kynge Agrippa I was not disobedient vnto the hevenly vision:
20 First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.
but shewed fyrst vnto them of Damasco and at Ierusalem and thorow out all the costes of Iewry and to the gentyls that they shuld repent and turne to God and do the ryght workes of repentaunce.
21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
For this cause the Iewes caught me in the temple and went about to kyll me.
22 But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
Neverthelesse I obtayned helpe of God and cotynew vnto this daye witnessyng bothe to small and to greate saying none other thinges then those which the prophetes and Moses dyd saye shuld come
23 that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”
that Christ shulde suffre and that he shuld be the fyrst that shulde ryse from deeth and shuld shewe lyght vnto the people and the gentyls.
24 At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”
As he thus answered for him selfe: Festus sayde with a lowde voyce: Paul thou arte besides thy selfe. Moche learnynge hath made the mad.
25 But Paul answered, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and sobriety.
And Paul sayde: I am not mad most dere Festus: but speake the wordes of trueth and sobernes.
26 For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak freely to him. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.
The kynge knoweth of these thinges before whom I speke frely: nether thynke I that eny of these thinges are hydden fro him. For this thinge was not done in a corner.
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
Kynge Agrippa belevest thou ye prophetes? I wote well thou belevest.
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?”
Agrippa sayde vnto Paul: Sumwhat thou bringest me in mynde for to be come a Christen.
29 “Short time or long,” Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.”
And Paul sayd: I wolde to God that not only thou: but also all that heare me to daye were not sumwhat only but altogeder soche as I am except these bondes.
30 Then the king and the governor rose, along with Bernice and those seated with them.
And when he had thus spoken the kynge rose vp and the debite and Bernice and they that sate with them.
31 On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”
And when they were gone aparte they talked betwene them selves sayinge: This man doeth nothinge worthy of deeth nor of bondes.
32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Then sayde Agrippa vnto Festus: This man myght have bene lowsed yf he had not appealed vnto Cesar.
