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.

And, after five days, the high, Ananias, came down, with the elders, and a certain orator, named Tertullus: and they made their appearance before the governor, 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,

And he being called, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, As we enjoy great peace by your means, and as illustrious deeds are happily done to this nation, by your prudent administration;

3 thou best Felix, we han resseyued with al doyng of thankingis.

we accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.

4 But lest Y tarie thee lengere, Y preie thee, schortly here vs for thi mekenesse.

But, that I may not further trouble you, I beseech you to hear us briefly, with your usual candor.

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;

for we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world; and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:

6 whom also we token, and wolden deme, after oure lawe.

who has attempted to profane the temple; and whom we apprehended, and would have judged according to our law;

7 But Lisias, the trybune, cam with greet strengthe aboue, and delyuerede hym fro oure hoondis;

but Lysias, the commander, coming upon us with a great force, took him away out of our hands,

8 and comaundide hise accuseris to come to thee, of whom thou demynge, maist knowe of alle these thingis, of whiche we accusen hym.

commanding his accusers to come to you; by which means, you may yourself, on examination, know the certainty of all these things, of which we accuse him.

9 And Jewis putten to, and seiden, that these thingis hadden hem so.

And the Jews also gave their assent, saying, that these things were so.

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.

Then Paul, after the governor had made a signal to him to speak, answered, Knowing that you, O Felix! have been for several years a judge to this nation, I answer for myself with the more cheerfulness;

11 For thou maist knowe, for to me ben not more than twelue daies, sithen Y cam vp to worschipe in Jerusalem;

since you may know that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem;

12 and nether in the temple thei founden me disputinge with ony man, nether makynge concours of puple, nether in synagogis, nether in citee;

and they neither found me disputing with any man in the temple, nor making any insurrection among the people, either 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 produce any proof of the things concerning which they now accuse 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,

But this I confess to you, that after the way which they call a sect, so worship I the God of our fathers; believing all things which are written in the law, and in the prophets;

15 whiche also thei hem silf abiden, the ayenrisyng `to comynge of iust men and wickid.

having hope toward God, of that which they themselves also expect, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust.

16 In this thing Y studie with outen hirtyng, to haue concience to God, and to men euermore.

And upon this account, I exercise myself to have always a conscience without offense toward God, and toward men.

17 But after many yeeris, Y cam to do almes dedis to my folc, and offryngis, and auowis;

Now, after several years, I came to bring alms to my nation, and 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.

upon which some Asiatic Jews found me purified in the temple; neither with multitude nor with tumult;

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 have been present before you, and to accuse me, if they had anything against me:

20 ether these hem silf seie, if thei founden in me ony thing of wickidnesse, sithen Y stonde `in the counsel,

or let these themselves say, if, when I stood before the Sanhedrim,

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.

they found any crime in me; unless it be with relation to this one word, which I expressed, when I stood among them--that, for the resurrection of the dead, I am judged by you this day.

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.

And when Felix heard these things, he put them off, saying, After I have been more accurately informed concerning this way, when Lysias, the commander, comes down, I will take cognizance of the affair between you.

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.

And he commanded the centurion to keep Paul, and let him have liberty, and to hinder none of his friends from assisting him, or coming to him.

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.

And, after some days, Felix, coming the Drusilla his wife, who was a Jewess, sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

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.

And he reasoned concerning righteousness and temperance, and judgment to come, Felix, trembling, answered, Go your way for this time, and I will take some future opportunity to 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.

And he hoped, also, that money would be given him by Paul, that he might be set at liberty: and, therefore, he sent the more frequently for him, and discoursed 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.

Now, after two years were ended, Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus; and Felix, willing to ingratiate himself with the Jews, left Paul a prisoner.