Acts 24
1 And aftir fyue daies, Ananye, prince of preestis, cam doun with summe eldere men, and Terculle, a feir speker, which wenten to the precident ayens Poul.
Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, who presented to the governor their case against Paul.
2 And whanne Poul was somened, Terculle bigan to accuse hym, and seide, Whanne in myche pees we doon bi thee, and many thingis ben amendid bi thi wisdom, euere more and euery where,
When Paul had been called in, Tertullus opened the prosecution: “Because of you, we have enjoyed a lasting peace, and your foresight has brought improvements to this nation.
3 thou best Felix, we han resseyued with al doyng of thankingis.
In every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with all gratitude.
4 But lest Y tarie thee lengere, Y preie thee, schortly here vs for thi mekenesse.
But in order not to burden you any further, I beg your indulgence to hear us briefly.
5 We han foundun this wickid man stirynge dissencioun to alle Jewis in al the world, and auctour of dissencioun of the secte of Nazarenus; and he also enforside to defoule the temple;
We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
6 whom also we token, and wolden deme, after oure lawe.
and he even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.
7 But Lisias, the trybune, cam with greet strengthe aboue, and delyuerede hym fro oure hoondis;
8 and comaundide hise accuseris to come to thee, of whom thou demynge, maist knowe of alle these thingis, of whiche we accusen hym.
By examining him yourself, you will be able to learn the truth about all our charges against him.”
9 And Jewis putten to, and seiden, that these thingis hadden hem so.
The Jews concurred, asserting that these charges were true.
10 And Poul answeride, whanne the president grauntide hym to seie, Of mony yeeris Y knowe thee, that thou art domesman `to this folk, and Y schal do ynowy for me with good resoun.
When the governor motioned for Paul to speak, he began his response: “Knowing that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I gladly make my defense.
11 For thou maist knowe, for to me ben not more than twelue daies, sithen Y cam vp to worschipe in Jerusalem;
You can verify for yourself that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
12 and nether in the temple thei founden me disputinge with ony man, nether makynge concours of puple, nether in synagogis, nether in citee;
Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city.
13 nether thei moun preue to thee, of the whiche thingis thei now accusen me.
Nor can they prove to you any of their charges against me.
14 But Y knowleche to thee this thing, that aftir the secte which thei seien eresie, so Y serue to God the fadir, `and Y bileue to alle thingis that ben writun in the lawe and profetis; and Y haue hope in God,
I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,
15 whiche also thei hem silf abiden, the ayenrisyng `to comynge of iust men and wickid.
and I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
16 In this thing Y studie with outen hirtyng, to haue concience to God, and to men euermore.
In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man.
17 But after many yeeris, Y cam to do almes dedis to my folc, and offryngis, and auowis;
After several years, then, I returned to Jerusalem to bring alms to my people and to present offerings.
18 in whiche thei founden me purified in the temple, not with company, nether with noise. And thei cauyten me, and thei crieden, and seiden, Take awei oure enemye.
At the time they found me in the temple, I was ceremonially clean and was not inciting a crowd or an uproar. But there are some Jews from the province of Asia
19 And summe Jewis of Asie, whiche it behofte to be now present at thee, and accuse, if thei hadden ony thing ayens me,
who ought to appear before you and bring charges, if they have anything against me.
20 ether these hem silf seie, if thei founden in me ony thing of wickidnesse, sithen Y stonde `in the counsel,
Otherwise, let these men state for themselves any crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin,
21 but oneli of this vois, by which Y criede stondynge among hem, For of the ayenrisyng of deed men Y am demyd this dai of you.
unless it was this one thing I called out as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”
22 Sothely Felix delayede hem, and knewe moost certeynli of the weie, and seide, Whanne Lisias, the tribune, schal come doun, Y schal here you.
Then Felix, who was well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing and said, “When Lysias the commander comes, I will decide your case.”
23 And he comaundide to a centurien to kepe hym, and that he hadde reste, nethir to forbede ony man to mynystre of his owne thingis to him.
He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard, but to allow him some freedom and permit his friends to minister to his needs.
24 And after summe dayes Felix cam, with Drussille his wijf, that was a Jewesse, and clepide Poul, and herde of him the feith that is in Crist Jhesu.
After several days, Felix returned with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.
25 And while he disputide of riytwisnesse, and chastite, and of dom to comynge, Felix was maad tremblinge, and answerde, That perteneth now, go; but in tyme couenable Y schal clepe thee.
As Paul expounded on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “You may go for now. When I find the time, I will call for you.”
26 Also he hopide, that money schulde be youun to hym of Poul; for which thing eft he clepide hym, and spak with hym.
At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. So he sent for Paul frequently and talked with him.
27 And whanne twei yeeris weren fillid, Felix took a successoure, Porcius Festus; and Felix wolde yyue grace to Jewis, and lefte Poul boundun.
After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.
