Acts 26
1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:
tata āgrippaḥ paulam avādīt, nijāṁ kathāṁ kathayituṁ tubhyam anumati rdīyate| tasmāt paulaḥ karaṁ prasāryya svasmin uttaram avādīt|
2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews,
he āgripparāja yatkāraṇādahaṁ yihūdīyairapavādito 'bhavaṁ tasya vṛttāntam adya bhavataḥ sākṣān nivedayitumanumatoham idaṁ svīyaṁ paramaṁ bhāgyaṁ manye;
3 especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently.
yato yihūdīyalokānāṁ madhye yā yā rītiḥ sūkṣmavicārāśca santi teṣu bhavān vijñatamaḥ; ataeva prārthaye dhairyyamavalambya mama nivedanaṁ śṛṇotu|
4 Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem.
ahaṁ yirūśālamnagare svadeśīyalokānāṁ madhye tiṣṭhan ā yauvanakālād yadrūpam ācaritavān tad yihūdīyalokāḥ sarvve vidanti|
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.
asmākaṁ sarvvebhyaḥ śuddhatamaṁ yat phirūśīyamataṁ tadavalambī bhūtvāhaṁ kālaṁ yāpitavān ye janā ā bālyakālān māṁ jānānti te etādṛśaṁ sākṣyaṁ yadi dadāti tarhi dātuṁ śaknuvanti|
6 And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers,
kintu he āgripparāja īśvaro'smākaṁ pūrvvapuruṣāṇāṁ nikaṭe yad aṅgīkṛtavān tasya pratyāśāhetoraham idānīṁ vicārasthāne daṇḍāyamānosmi|
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.
tasyāṅgīkārasya phalaṁ prāptum asmākaṁ dvādaśavaṁśā divāniśaṁ mahāyatnād īśvarasevanaṁ kṛtvā yāṁ pratyāśāṁ kurvvanti tasyāḥ pratyāśāyā hetorahaṁ yihūdīyairapavādito'bhavam|
8 Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
īśvaro mṛtān utthāpayiṣyatīti vākyaṁ yuṣmākaṁ nikaṭe'sambhavaṁ kuto bhavet?
9 So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
nāsaratīyayīśo rnāmno viruddhaṁ nānāprakārapratikūlācaraṇam ucitam ityahaṁ manasi yathārthaṁ vijñāya
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.
yirūśālamanagare tadakaravaṁ phalataḥ pradhānayājakasya nikaṭāt kṣamatāṁ prāpya bahūn pavitralokān kārāyāṁ baddhavān viśeṣatasteṣāṁ hananasamaye teṣāṁ viruddhāṁ nijāṁ sammatiṁ prakāśitavān|
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.
vāraṁ vāraṁ bhajanabhavaneṣu tebhyo daṇḍaṁ pradattavān balāt taṁ dharmmaṁ nindayitavāṁśca punaśca tān prati mahākrodhād unmattaḥ san videśīyanagarāṇi yāvat tān tāḍitavān|
12 In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.
itthaṁ pradhānayājakasya samīpāt śaktim ājñāpatrañca labdhvā dammeṣaknagaraṁ gatavān|
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.
tadāhaṁ he rājan mārgamadhye madhyāhnakāle mama madīyasaṅgināṁ lokānāñca catasṛṣu dikṣu gagaṇāt prakāśamānāṁ bhāskaratopi tejasvatīṁ dīptiṁ dṛṣṭavān|
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.’
tasmād asmāsu sarvveṣu bhūmau patiteṣu satsu he śaula hai śaula kuto māṁ tāḍayasi? kaṇṭakānāṁ mukhe pādāhananaṁ tava duḥsādhyam ibrīyabhāṣayā gadita etādṛśa ekaḥ śabdo mayā śrutaḥ|
15 ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.
tadāhaṁ pṛṣṭavān he prabho ko bhavān? tataḥ sa kathitavān yaṁ yīśuṁ tvaṁ tāḍayasi sohaṁ,
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.
kintu samuttiṣṭha tvaṁ yad dṛṣṭavān itaḥ punañca yadyat tvāṁ darśayiṣyāmi teṣāṁ sarvveṣāṁ kāryyāṇāṁ tvāṁ sākṣiṇaṁ mama sevakañca karttum darśanam adām|
17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
viśeṣato yihūdīyalokebhyo bhinnajātīyebhyaśca tvāṁ manonītaṁ kṛtvā teṣāṁ yathā pāpamocanaṁ bhavati
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.’
yathā te mayi viśvasya pavitrīkṛtānāṁ madhye bhāgaṁ prāpnuvanti tadabhiprāyeṇa teṣāṁ jñānacakṣūṁṣi prasannāni karttuṁ tathāndhakārād dīptiṁ prati śaitānādhikārācca īśvaraṁ prati matīḥ parāvarttayituṁ teṣāṁ samīpaṁ tvāṁ preṣyāmi|
19 So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
he āgripparāja etādṛśaṁ svargīyapratyādeśaṁ agrāhyam akṛtvāhaṁ
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.
prathamato dammeṣaknagare tato yirūśālami sarvvasmin yihūdīyadeśe anyeṣu deśeṣu ca yena lokā matiṁ parāvarttya īśvaraṁ prati parāvarttayante, manaḥparāvarttanayogyāni karmmāṇi ca kurvvanti tādṛśam upadeśaṁ pracāritavān|
21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
etatkāraṇād yihūdīyā madhyemandiraṁ māṁ dhṛtvā hantum udyatāḥ|
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:
tathāpi khrīṣṭo duḥkhaṁ bhuktvā sarvveṣāṁ pūrvvaṁ śmaśānād utthāya nijadeśīyānāṁ bhinnadeśīyānāñca samīpe dīptiṁ prakāśayiṣyati
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.”
bhaviṣyadvādigaṇo mūsāśca bhāvikāryyasya yadidaṁ pramāṇam adaduretad vinānyāṁ kathāṁ na kathayitvā īśvarād anugrahaṁ labdhvā mahatāṁ kṣudrāṇāñca sarvveṣāṁ samīpe pramāṇaṁ dattvādya yāvat tiṣṭhāmi|
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!”
tasyamāṁ kathāṁ niśamya phīṣṭa uccaiḥ svareṇa kathitavān he paula tvam unmattosi bahuvidyābhyāsena tvaṁ hatajñāno jātaḥ|
25 But Paul answered, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and sobriety.
sa uktavān he mahāmahima phīṣṭa nāham unmattaḥ kintu satyaṁ vivecanīyañca vākyaṁ prastaumi|
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.
yasya sākṣād akṣobhaḥ san kathāṁ kathayāmi sa rājā tadvṛttāntaṁ jānāti tasya samīpe kimapi guptaṁ neti mayā niścitaṁ budhyate yatastad vijane na kṛtaṁ|
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
he āgripparāja bhavān kiṁ bhaviṣyadvādigaṇoktāni vākyāni pratyeti? bhavān pratyeti tadahaṁ jānāmi|
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?”
tata āgrippaḥ paulam abhihitavān tvaṁ pravṛttiṁ janayitvā prāyeṇa māmapi khrīṣṭīyaṁ karoṣi|
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.”
tataḥ so'vādīt bhavān ye ye lokāśca mama kathām adya śṛṇvanti prāyeṇa iti nahi kintvetat śṛṅkhalabandhanaṁ vinā sarvvathā te sarvve mādṛśā bhavantvitīśvasya samīpe prārthaye'ham|
30 Then the king and the governor rose, along with Bernice and those seated with them.
etasyāṁ kathāyāṁ kathitāyāṁ sa rājā so'dhipati rbarṇīkī sabhāsthā lokāśca tasmād utthāya
31 On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”
gopane parasparaṁ vivicya kathitavanta eṣa jano bandhanārhaṁ prāṇahananārhaṁ vā kimapi karmma nākarot|
32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
tata āgrippaḥ phīṣṭam avadat, yadyeṣa mānuṣaḥ kaisarasya nikaṭe vicārito bhavituṁ na prārthayiṣyat tarhi mukto bhavitum aśakṣyat|
