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, Ananias the high priest, with the Elders, and with Tertullus the orator, went down, and made a communication to 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 when he had been called, Tertullus began to accuse him, and to say:
3 thou best Felix, we han resseyued with al doyng of thankingis.
Through thee, we dwell in much tranquillity; and many reforms have come to this nation, under thy administration; and we all, in every place, receive thy grace, excellent Felix.
4 But lest Y tarie thee lengere, Y preie thee, schortly here vs for thi mekenesse.
But, not to weary thee with numerous particulars, I pray thee to hear our humbleness, in brief.
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 to be an assassin, and a mover of sedition among all Jews in the whole land: for he is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazareans.
6 whom also we token, and wolden deme, after oure lawe.
And he was disposed to pollute our temple. And having seized him we wished to judge him according to our law.
7 But Lisias, the trybune, cam with greet strengthe aboue, and delyuerede hym fro oure hoondis;
But Lysias the Chiliarch came, and with great violence took him out of our hands, and sent him to thee.
8 and comaundide hise accuseris to come to thee, of whom thou demynge, maist knowe of alle these thingis, of whiche we accusen hym.
And he commanded his accusers to come before thee. And if thou wilt interrogate him, thou canst learn from him respecting 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 pleaded against him, 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 the governor made signs to Paul, that he should speak. And Paul answered and said: I know thee to have been a judge of this nation for many years, and I therefore cheerfully enter upon a defence of myself.
11 For thou maist knowe, for to me ben not more than twelue daies, sithen Y cam vp to worschipe in Jerusalem;
Because thou canst understand, that there have been but twelve days, since 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;
And they did not find me talking with any person in the temple, nor collecting any company, either in their synagogues, or in the city.
13 nether thei moun preue to thee, of the whiche thingis thei now accusen me.
Nor have they the power to prove, before thee, the things of 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 indeed I acknowledge, that in that same doctrine of which they speak, I do serve the God of my fathers, believing all the things written in the law and in the prophets.
15 whiche also thei hem silf abiden, the ayenrisyng `to comynge of iust men and wickid.
And I have a hope in God, which they also themselves expect, that there is to be a resurrection of the dead, both of the righteous and the wicked.
16 In this thing Y studie with outen hirtyng, to haue concience to God, and to men euermore.
And for this reason, I also labor to have always a pure conscience before God, and before men.
17 But after many yeeris, Y cam to do almes dedis to my folc, and offryngis, and auowis;
And, after many years, I came to the people of my own nation, to impart alms, and to present an offering.
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.
And when I had purified myself, these men found me in the temple; not with a throng, nor with a tumult. But certain Jews, who came from Asia, were tumultuous;
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, with me, to stand before thee, and make accusation of their own affair.
20 ether these hem silf seie, if thei founden in me ony thing of wickidnesse, sithen Y stonde `in the counsel,
Or let these here present say, whether they found any offence in me, when I stood before their assembly;
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.
except this one thing, that I cried, while standing in the midst of them: Concerning the resurrection of the dead, am I this day on trial before you.
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 Felix, because he understood that way fully, deferred them, saying: When the Chiliarch shall come, I will give hearing 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 a centurion to keep Paul, at rest; and that no one of his acquaintances should be forbidden to minister 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 a few days, Felix, and Drusilla his wife who was a Jewess, sent and called for Paul; and they heard him concerning faith in the Messiah.
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 while he was discoursing with them on righteousness, and on holiness, and on the future judgment, Felix was filled with fear; and he said: For the present time, go: and when I have opportunity, I will send for thee.
26 Also he hopide, that money schulde be youun to hym of Poul; for which thing eft he clepide hym, and spak with hym.
He hoped, moreover, that a present would be given him by Paul; and therefore, he often sent for him, and conversed 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.
And when two years were fulfilled to him, another governor, whose name was Porcius Festus, came into his place. And Felix, that he might do the Jews a favor, left Paul a prisoner.
