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 seide to Poul, It is suffrid to thee, to speke for thi silf. Thanne Poul helde forth the hoond, and bigan to yelde resoun.
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,
Of alle thingis, in whiche Y am accusid of the Jewis, thou king Agrippa, Y gesse me blessid at thee, whanne Y schal defende me this dai;
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.
moost for thou knowist alle thingis that ben among Jewis, customes and questiouns. For which thing, Y biseche, here me pacientli.
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;
For alle Jewis that bifor knewen me fro the bigynnyng, knewen my lijf fro yongthe; that fro the bigynnyng was in my folc 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.
if thei wolen bere witnessing, that bi the moost certeyn sect of oure religioun, Y lyuede a Farisee.
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 repromyssioun, that is maad to oure fadris of God, Y stonde suget in dom;
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!
in which hope oure twelue lynagis seruynge niyt and dai hopen to come; of which hope, sir king, Y am accusid of the Jewis.
8 Why do you all hold it incredible that God should raise the dead?
What vnbileueful thing is demed at you, if God reisith deed men?
9 I myself, it is true, once thought it my duty to oppose in every way the name of Jesus of Nazareth;
And sotheli Y gesside, that Y ouyte do many contrarie thingis ayens the name of Jhesu 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 thing also Y dide in Jerusalem, and Y encloside manye of the seyntis in prisoun, whanne Y hadde take powere of the princis of preestis. And whanne thei weren slayn, Y brouyte the sentence.
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 bi alle synagogis ofte Y punyschide hem, and constreynede to blasfeme; and more Y wex wood ayens hem, and pursuede in to alien citees.
12 It was while I was traveling to Damascus on an errand of this kind, entrusted with full powers by the chief priests,
In whiche, the while Y wente to Damask, with power and suffring of princis of preestis,
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.
at myddai, in the weie Y say, sir king, that fro heuene liyt schynede aboute me, passing the schynyng of the sunne, and aboute hem that weren togidir 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 whanne we alle hadden falle doun in to the erthe, Y herde a vois seiynge to me in Ebrew tunge, Saul, Saul, what pursuest thou me? it is hard to thee, to kicke ayens the pricke.
15 ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting;
And Y seide, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord seide, Y am Jhesus, whom thou pursuest.
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 vp, and stoond on thi feet. For whi to this thing Y apperide to thee, that Y ordeyne thee mynystre and witnesse of tho thingis that thou hast seyn, and of tho in whiche Y schal schewe to thee.
17 since I am choosing you out from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,
And Y schal delyuere thee fro puplis and folkis, to whiche now Y sende 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 opene the iyen of hem, that thei ben conuertid fro derknesse to liyt, and fro power of Sathnas to God, that thei take remyssioun of synnes, and part among seyntis, bi feith that is in me.
19 After that, King Agrippa, I did not fail to obey the heavenly vision;
Wherfor, sir kyng Agrippa, Y was not vnbileueful to the heuenli visioun;
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 Y tolde to hem that been at Damask first, and at Jerusalem, and bi al the cuntre of Judee, and to hethene men, that thei schulden do penaunce, and be conuertid to God, and do worthi werkis of penaunce.
21 This is why some men seized me in the Temple, and made attempts on my life.
For this cause Jewis token me, whanne Y was in the temple, to sle 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 –
But Y was holpun bi the helpe of God in to this dai, and stonde, witnessinge to lesse and to more. And Y seye no thing ellis than whiche thingis the prophetis and Moises spaken that schulen come,
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.”
if Crist is to suffre, if he is the firste of the ayenrising of deed men, that schal schewe liyt to the puple and to hethene men.
24 While Paul was making this defense, Festus called out loudly, “You are mad, Paul; your great learning is driving you mad.”
Whanne he spak these thingis, and yeldide resoun, Festus seide with greet vois, Poul, thou maddist; many lettris turnen thee to woodnesse.
25 “I am not mad, your Excellency,” he replied. “On the contrary, the statements that I am making are true and sober.
And Poul seide, Y madde not, thou beste Festus, but Y speke out the wordis of treuthe and of sobernesse.
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 also the king, to whom Y speke stidfastli, woot of these thingis; for Y deme, that no thing of these is hid fro hym; for nether in a cornere was ouyt of these thingis don.
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
Bileuest thou, king Agrippa, `to prophetis? Y woot that thou bileuest.
28 But Agrippa said to Paul, “You are soon trying to make a Christian of me!”
And Agrippa seide to Poul, In litil thing thou counseilist me to be maad a cristen man.
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 Poul seide, Y desire anentis God, bothe in litil and in greet, not oneli thee, but alle these that heren to dai, to be maad sich as Y am, outakun these boondis.
30 Then the king rose, with the Governor and Bernice and those who had been sitting with them,
And the kyng roos vp, and the president, and Beronyce, and thei that saten niy to hem.
31 and, after retiring, discussed the case among themselves. “There is nothing,” they said, “deserving death or imprisonment in this man’s conduct”;
And whanne thei wenten awei, thei spaken togider, and seiden, That this man hath not don ony thing worthi deth, nether boondis.
32 and, speaking to Festus, Agrippa added, “The man might have been discharged, if he had not appealed to the Emperor.”
And Agrippa seide to Festus, This man miyt be delyuerid, if he hadde not appelid to the emperour.
