Acts 26
1 Turning to Paul, Agrippa said, “You are at liberty to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense.
And Agrippa said to Paul, It is permitted to thee to speak for thyself. Then Paul reaching forth his hand, proceeded with his defence:
2 “I have been congratulating myself, King Agrippa,” he said, “that it is before you that I have to make my defense today, with regard to all the charges brought against me by my own people,
O king Agrippa, I consider myself happy, being about this day to make my defence before thee concerning all those things of which I am accused by the Jews:
3 especially as you are so well-versed in all the customs and questions of the Jewish world. I beg you therefore to give me a patient hearing.
especially as thou art acquainted with all the customs and questions among the Jews: therefore I pray you to hear me patiently.
4 My life, then, from youth upwards, was passed, from the very first, among my own nation, and in Jerusalem, and is within the knowledge of all Jews;
Moreover indeed all the Jews know my life from my youth; being from the beginning in my nation and in Jerusalem,
5 and they have always known – if they choose to give evidence – that, in accordance with the very strictest form of our religion, I lived a true Pharisee.
knowing me originally, if they may be willing to testify, that according to the most rigid sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
6 Even now, it is because of my hope in the promise given by God to our ancestors that I stand here on my trial –
And now for the hope of the promise which is from God to our fathers, I stand being judged:
7 A promise which our twelve tribes, by earnest service night and day, hope to see fulfilled. It is for this hope, your Majesty, that I am accused – and by Jews themselves!
unto which our twelve tribes constantly worshiping night and day, hope to attain: concerning which hope I am accused by the Jews, O king.
8 Why do you all hold it incredible that God should raise the dead?
Why is it judged by you incredible, if God shall raise the dead?
9 I myself, it is true, once thought it my duty to oppose in every way the name of Jesus of Nazareth;
Moreover indeed, I thought to myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus the Nazarene:
10 and I actually did so at Jerusalem. Acting on the authority of the chief priests, I myself threw many of the people of Christ into prison, and, when it was proposed to put them to death, I gave my vote for it.
which I did also in Jerusalem, and shut up many of the saints in prison; and having received authority from the chief priests, and they being slain, I gave my vote against them;
11 Time after time, in every synagogue, I tried by punishments to force them to blaspheme. So frantic was I against them, that I pursued them even to towns beyond our borders.
and throughout all the synagogues, frequently punishing them, I compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceeding mad against them, I was persecuting them even also unto foreign cities.
12 It was while I was traveling to Damascus on an errand of this kind, entrusted with full powers by the chief priests,
Meanwhile journeying to Damascus with power and authority of the chief priests, I saw on the way, O king,
13 that at midday, your Majesty, I saw right in my path, coming from the heavens, a light brighter than the glare of the sun, which shone all around me and those traveling with me.
about midday, a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me;
14 We all fell to the ground, and then I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew – ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? By kicking against the goad you are punishing yourself.’
and we all having fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against goads.
15 ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting;
And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou art persecuting.
16 but get up and stand upright; for I have appeared to you in order to appoint you a servant and a witness of those revelations of me which you have already had, and of those in which I will yet appear to you,
But rise up, and stand upon thy feet: for unto this have I appeared unto thee, to make thee a minister and a martyr both of those things which thou hast seen, and of which I will appear unto thee;
17 since I am choosing you out from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,
delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18 to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God; so that they may receive pardon for their sins, and a place among those who have become God’s people, by faith in me.’
to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God, in order that they may receive remission of sins, and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
19 After that, King Agrippa, I did not fail to obey the heavenly vision;
Therefore, O king, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision:
20 on the contrary, first to those at Damascus and Jerusalem, and then through the whole of Judea, and to the Gentiles as well, I began to preach repentance and conversion to God, and a life befitting that repentance.
but first to those in Damascus, and also in Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and to the Gentiles, I was preaching that they should repent and turn to God, doing things worthy of repentance.
21 This is why some men seized me in the Temple, and made attempts on my life.
On account of these things the Jews, taking me while in the temple, endeavored to kill me.
22 However I have received help from God to this very day, and so stand here, and bear my testimony to high and low alike – without adding a word to what the prophets, as well as Moses, declared should happen –
Then having received help from God, I have stood unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said were about to come to pass:
23 That the Christ must suffer, and that, by rising from the dead, he was destined to be the first to bring news of light, not only to our nation, but also to the Gentiles.”
how that Christ must suffer, how being the first from the resurrection of the dead, he is to proclaim light both to the people, and the Gentiles.
24 While Paul was making this defense, Festus called out loudly, “You are mad, Paul; your great learning is driving you mad.”
And he making his defence to these things, Festus says with a loud voice, O Paul, thou art beside thyself; many writings turned thee into insanity.
25 “I am not mad, your Excellency,” he replied. “On the contrary, the statements that I am making are true and sober.
But Paul says, I am not a maniac, most noble Festus; but I speak forth the words of truth and soberness.
26 Indeed, the king knows about these matters, so I speak before him without constraint. I am sure that there is nothing whatever of what I have been telling him that has escaped his attention; for all this has not been done in a corner.
For the king, to whom I also speak boldly, knows concerning these things: for I am persuaded that nothing of these things is hidden; for this has not been done in a corner.
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
O king Agrippa, dost thou believe the prophets? I know that thou believest them.
28 But Agrippa said to Paul, “You are soon trying to make a Christian of me!”
And Agrippa said to Paul, With little persuasion thou dost persuade thyself to make me a Christian.
29 “Whether it is soon or late,” answered Paul, “I pray to God that not only you, but all who are listening to me, might today become just what I am myself – except for these chains!”
And Paul said, I would to God, that both in little and in much, not only you, but also all of those hearing me this day, were such as I am, except these bonds.
30 Then the king rose, with the Governor and Bernice and those who had been sitting with them,
And the king, and the governor, and Bernice, and those sitting with them, arose up:
31 and, after retiring, discussed the case among themselves. “There is nothing,” they said, “deserving death or imprisonment in this man’s conduct”;
and having gone away, they were talking to one another, saying, that This man is doing nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
32 and, speaking to Festus, Agrippa added, “The man might have been discharged, if he had not appealed to the Emperor.”
But Agrippa said to Festus, This man was able to have been released, if he had not appealed to Caesar.
