Acts 26

1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You [(sg)] are permitted [now] to speak [to defend] yourself.” Paul stretched out his hand ([dramatically/to salute the king]) and began to defend himself. He said,

Pea toki pehē ʻe ʻAkilipa kia Paula, “ʻOku tuku kiate koe ke ke fakamatala maʻau.” Pea toki mafao atu ʻe Paula ʻa hono nima, ʻo ne fakamatala maʻana, [ʻo pehē],

2 “King Agrippa, I consider that I am fortunate that today, while you [(sg)] listen, I can defend myself from all the things about which the Jewish [leaders] [SYN] are accusing me.

“ʻE tuʻi ko ʻAkilipa, ʻoku ou pehē ʻoku ou monūʻia, ʻi heʻeku fakamatala maʻaku ʻi ho ʻao ʻi he ʻaho ni, ʻae meʻa kotoa pē ʻoku talatalaakiʻi ai au ʻe he kakai Siu:

3 I am really fortunate, because you [(sg)] know all about the customs of us Jews and the questions that we [(exc)] argue about. So I ask you, please listen patiently to what I say.”

Pea ʻāsili pē koeʻuhi ʻoku ke poto ʻi he ngaahi ngāue mo e ngaahi meʻa kotoa pē ʻoku ʻeke ʻi he kakai Siu: ko ia ʻoku ou kole kiate koe, ke ke kātaki pē, ʻo fanongo kiate au.

4 “Many [HYP] of my fellow Jews know about how I have conducted my life, from the time I was a child. They know how I lived in the area where I [was born] and [also later] in Jerusalem.

“ʻOku ʻilo ʻe he kakai Siu kotoa pē ʻae anga ʻo ʻeku moʻui talu ʻeku kei siʻi, ʻi heʻeku nofo talu mei muʻa mo hoku kakai ʻi Selūsalema;

5 They have known for many years, and they could tell you, if they wanted to, that [since I was very young] I obeyed the customs of our religion very carefully, just like the [other] Pharisees do.

‌ʻAkinautolu naʻa nau ʻilo au mei he kamataʻanga, ʻokapau te nau fakamoʻoni koeʻuhi naʻaku moʻui ko e Fālesi, ʻo fakatatau ki he faʻahinga ʻoku tokanga lahi taha pe ki heʻetau lotu.

6 Today I am being put on trial {[they] are putting me on trial} because I am confidently expecting that God will do what he promised our [(exc)] ancestors.

Pea ʻoku ou tuʻu ni, pea ʻoku fakamaauʻi au, ko e meʻa ʻi he ʻamanaki ki he talaʻofa naʻe fai ʻe he ʻOtua ki he ngaahi tamai:

7 Our twelve tribes are [also] confidently waiting for God to do [for us what he promised], as they respectfully worship him, day and night. [Respected] king, I confidently expect [that God will do what he promised, and they also believe that! But that is the reason] that these Jewish leaders [SYN] are accusing me!

‌ʻAia foki ʻoku ʻamanaki ke lavaʻi ʻe hotau faʻahinga ʻe hongofulu ma ua, ʻi heʻenau lotu maʻu ʻi he pō mo e ʻaho. Pea koeʻuhi ko e ʻamanaki pe ko ia, ʻe tuʻi ko ʻAkilipa, kuo talatalaakiʻi au ʻe he kakai Siu.

8 They believe that God can cause those who have died to become alive again, so (why [do any of you refuse to believe that he raised Jesus from the dead?/none of you should refuse to believe that he raised Jesus from the dead!]) [RHQ]”

Ka ko e hā ʻoku mou pehē ai, ko e meʻa e ʻikai te mou faʻa tui ki ai, ʻae fokotuʻu ʻae mate ʻe he ʻOtua?

9 “[Formerly] I, too, was sure that I should do everything that I could to oppose Jesus [MTY], the man from Nazareth [town].

“Ko e moʻoni naʻaku mahalo ʻeau ʻi hoku loto, ʻoku totonu ʻeku fai kehe mo e huafa ʻo Sisu ʻo Nāsaleti ʻae ngaahi meʻa lahi.

10 So that is what I did [when I lived] in Jerusalem. I put many of the believers in jail, as the chief priests there had authorized me [to do]. When [the Jewish leaders wanted] those Christians killed {someone to kill those [Christians]}, I voted [for that].

Pea ne u fai foki ia ʻi Selūsalema pea ko e tokolahi ʻoe kakai māʻoniʻoni ne u fakahū ki he fale fakapōpula, ʻi heʻeku maʻu ʻae mālohi mei he kau taulaʻeiki lahi; pea naʻaku kau ki honau tāmateʻi.

11 Many times I punished the believers [whom I found] in Jewish meeting places. [By punishing them], I tried to force them to speak evil [about Jesus]. I was so angry with the followers of Jesus that I even traveled to other cities to [find them and] do things to harm them.”

Pea ne u tautea ʻakinautolu ʻo liunga lahi ʻi he falelotu kotoa pē, ʻo fakamālohiʻi ke nau lea kovi, pea naʻaku loto lili fakamanavahē kiate kinautolu, pea [ne u ʻalu ]ki he kolo kehekehe ʻo fakatangaʻi.

12 “[One day], I was on my way to Damascus [city] to do that. The chief priests [in Jerusalem] had authorized and sent me [to seize the believers there].

“Pea ʻi heʻeku ʻalu ki Tamasikusi, kuo u maʻu ʻae mālohi mo e tohi mei he kau taulaʻeiki lahi,

13 [My respected] king, [while I was going] along the road, at about noon I saw a [bright] light in the sky. It was even brighter than the sun! It shone all around me, and also around the men who were traveling with me.

Ne u mamata, ʻe tuʻi, ʻi he hala ʻi he hoʻatāmālie, ki he maama mei he langi, naʻe malama lahi ia ʻi he laʻā, pea naʻe ulo takatakai ia ʻiate au mo kinautolu naʻa mau fononga.

14 We [(exc)] all fell to the ground. Then I heard the voice of someone speaking to me in my own Hebrew language [MTY]. He said ‘Saul, Saul, (stop causing me to suffer!/why are you causing me to suffer?) [RHQ] You [(sg)] are [hurting yourself by trying to hurt me] [MET], [like an ox] kicking against [its owner’s] goad.’

“Pea kuo mau tō kotoa pē ki he kelekele, pea u fanongo ki he leʻo, ʻoku pehē mai kiate au, ʻi he lea fakaHepelū, ‘ʻE Saula, ʻe Saula, ko e hā ʻoku ke fakatanga ai au? ʻOku faingataʻa hoʻo ʻakahi ʻae meʻa māsila.’

15 Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘I am Jesus. You [(sg)] are harming me [by harming my followers].

Pea ne u pehē, ‘ʻEiki, ko hai koe?’ Pea pehē mai ʻe ia, ‘Ko au Sisu ʻoku ke fakatangaʻi.

16 But instead [of continuing to do that], stand up now! I have appeared to you [(sg)] to tell you that I have chosen you to serve me. You must tell people about [what I am showing you] as you are seeing me [now], and about what I [will show you when] I will [later] appear to you.

Ka ke tuʻu hake ʻi ho vaʻe: he kuo u hā atu kiate koe koeʻuhi ke u fakanofo koe koe faifekau mo e fakamoʻoni ʻoe ngaahi meʻa kuo ke mamata ai, mo e ngaahi meʻa foki te u fakahā kiate koe;

17 I will protect you [from those who will try to harm you, both] your own people and [also] those who are not Jewish. I am sending you to non-Jews

Pea te u fakamoʻui koe mei he kakai mo e ngaahi Senitaile, ʻakinautolu ʻoku ou fekau koe ki ai ni,

18 to help them to realize [MTY] what is true and to stop believing what is false [MET]. I am sending you to them so that they may let God control them and not let Satan control them any more. [Then God] will forgive their sins and will accept them as his people because they believe in me.’ [That is what Jesus said to me].”

Ke fakaʻā honau mata, mo fakatafoki ʻakinautolu mei he poʻuli ki he maama, pea mei he mālohi ʻo Sētane ki he ʻOtua, koeʻuhi ke nau maʻu ʻae fakamolemole ʻoe angahala, mo e tofiʻa fakataha mo kinautolu kuo fakamāʻoniʻoniʻi ʻi he tui kiate au.

19 “So, King Agrippa, I fully obeyed [LIT] what [the Lord Jesus told me to do when he spoke to me] from heaven.

Pea talu ai, ʻe tuʻi ko ʻAlikipa, naʻe ʻikai te u talangataʻa ki he meʻa naʻe hā mai mei he langi:

20 First, I preached to [the Jews] in Damascus. Then I [preached to the Jews] in Jerusalem and throughout [the rest of] Judea [province]. After that, I also preached to non-Jews. I preached that they must turn away from their sinful behavior and turn their lives over to God. I told them that they must do things that would show that they had truly stopped their sinful behavior.”

Ka ne u fuofua fakahā kiate kinautolu ʻi Tamasikusi, pea ʻi Selūsalema, mo e ngaahi potu kotoa pē ʻi Siutea, pea ki he ngaahi Senitaile, ke nau fakatomala pea tafoki ki he ʻOtua, mo fai ʻae ngāue ʻoku taau mo e fakatomala.

21 “It is because I [preached] this message [that some] [SYN] Jews seized me [when I was] in the Temple [courtyard and] tried to kill me.

Pea koeʻuhi ko e ngaahi meʻa ni, naʻe puke au ʻe he kakai Siu ʻi he falelotu lahi, ʻonau fai ke tāmateʻi au.

22 However, God has been helping me [from that time, and he is still helping me] today. So I stand here and I tell [all of you people], those who are important and those who are not, [who Jesus is]. Everything that I say [about him] is what Moses and the [other] prophets wrote [about long ago, things that they said] would happen.

Ka ko e meʻa ʻi heʻeku maʻu ʻae tokoni mei he ʻOtua, ko ia ʻoku ou kei fai ai ʻo hoko ki he ʻaho ni, ʻo fakamoʻoni ki he iiki mo e lalahi, ʻo ʻikai ha meʻa kehe ka ko ia ʻe he kau palōfita mo Mōsese ʻe hoko mai:

23 They wrote that [people would cause] the Messiah to suffer and die. They also wrote that he would be the first person to become alive again, to proclaim [the message that would be like] light, [that he would save] both [his own Jewish] people and non-Jewish people.”

Koeʻuhi ʻe mamahi ʻa Kalaisi, pea ko e ʻuluaki ia ʻi he toetuʻu mei he mate, pea ʻe fakahā ʻe ia ʻae maama ki he kakai, mo e ngaahi Senitaile.

24 Before Paul could say anything [further] to defend himself, Festus shouted: “Paul, you are crazy! You have studied too much, and it has made you insane!”

Pe fakamatala pehē pe ʻe ia, mo e kalanga mai ʻa Fesito, ʻo pehē, “ʻE Paula, kuo ke faha; kuo fakafaha koe ʻe he poto lahi.”

25 But Paul answered, “Your Excellency, Festus, I am not raving [insanely]. On the contrary, what I am saying is true and sensible!

Ka naʻe pehē ʻe ia, “ʻE ʻeiki ko Fesito, ʻoku ʻikai te u faha; ka ʻoku ou fakahā atu ʻae lea ʻoe moʻoni mo e poto.

26 King Agrippa knows the things [that I have been talking about], and I can speak confidently to him [about them]. I am sure that he knows [LIT] these things, because people everywhere [IDM] have heard [LIT] about what happened [to Jesus].”

He ʻoku ʻiloʻi ʻae ngaahi meʻa ni ʻe he tuʻi, ʻoku ou fakamatala ni ʻi hono ʻao: he ʻoku ou ʻilo pau ʻoku ʻikai lilo kiate ia ha meʻa ʻi he ngaahi meʻa ni; he naʻe ʻikai fai ʻae meʻa ni ʻi ha tuliki.

27 Then Paul asked, “King Agrippa, do you believe [what] the prophets [wrote]? I know that you [(sg)] believe it.”

‌ʻE tuʻi ko ʻAkilipa, ʻoku ke tui ki he kau palōfita? ʻOku ou ʻilo ʻoku ke tui.”

28 Then Agrippa [answered] Paul, “([I hope that you(sg)] do not think that by the few things [that you have just now said] you can persuade me to become a Christian!/You do not think, [do you], that by the few things [that you have just now said] you can persuade me to become a Christian?)” [RHQ]

Pea pehē ʻe ʻAkilipa kia Paula, Kuo ke meimei fakahehemaʻi au ke u hoko ko e Kalisitiane.

29 Paul replied, “Whether it takes a short time or a long time, it does not matter. I pray to God that you and also all of the others who are listening to me today will also [believe in Jesus] like I do, but I do not want you to become prisoners [MTY] [like I am].”

Pea pehē ʻe Paula, “ʻAmusiaange ʻeau ki he ʻOtua, kuo ʻikai ko koe pe, ka ko kinautolu kotoa pē foki ʻoku fanongo kiate au ʻi he ʻaho ni, kuo mou meimei tatau, mo mātuʻaki tatau pē mo au, ka ko e ngaahi haʻi ni pe.”

30 Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others got up

Pea kuo pehē ʻene lea, pea tuʻu hake ʻae tuʻi, mo e pule, mo Pelenaisi, mo kinautolu naʻa nau nonofo:

31 and left [the room. While] they were talking to one another they said to each other, “There is no reason why (the authorities/we) should execute this man, or that he should even be kept in prison [MTY].”

Pea kuo nau afe siʻi mei ai, pea nau alea, ʻo pehē, “Kuo ʻikai fai ʻe he tangata ni ha meʻa ʻoku ngali mo e mate, pe ko e haʻisia.”

32 Agrippa said to Festus, “If this man had not asked that the Emperor judge him, he could have been released {[we(inc)] could have released him}.”

Pea toki pehē ʻe ʻAkilipa kia Fesito, “Ka ne taʻeʻoua ʻene pehē ke fakamaau ia ʻia Sisa, pehē, kuo lelei ke tukuange ʻae tangata ni.”