Acts 26

1 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 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 moost for thou knowist alle thingis that ben among Jewis, customes and questiouns. For which thing, Y biseche, here me pacientli.

4 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 if thei wolen bere witnessing, that bi the moost certeyn sect of oure religioun, Y lyuede a Farisee.

6 And now for the hope of repromyssioun, that is maad to oure fadris of God, Y stonde suget in dom;

7 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 What vnbileueful thing is demed at you, if God reisith deed men?

9 And sotheli Y gesside, that Y ouyte do many contrarie thingis ayens the name of Jhesu Nazarene.

10 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 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 In whiche, the while Y wente to Damask, with power and suffring of princis of preestis,

13 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 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 And Y seide, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord seide, Y am Jhesus, whom thou pursuest.

16 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 And Y schal delyuere thee fro puplis and folkis, to whiche now Y sende thee,

18 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 Wherfor, sir kyng Agrippa, Y was not vnbileueful to the heuenli visioun;

20 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 For this cause Jewis token me, whanne Y was in the temple, to sle me.

22 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 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 Whanne he spak these thingis, and yeldide resoun, Festus seide with greet vois, Poul, thou maddist; many lettris turnen thee to woodnesse.

25 And Poul seide, Y madde not, thou beste Festus, but Y speke out the wordis of treuthe and of sobernesse.

26 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 Bileuest thou, king Agrippa, `to prophetis? Y woot that thou bileuest.

28 And Agrippa seide to Poul, In litil thing thou counseilist me to be maad a cristen man.

29 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 And the kyng roos vp, and the president, and Beronyce, and thei that saten niy to hem.

31 And whanne thei wenten awei, thei spaken togider, and seiden, That this man hath not don ony thing worthi deth, nether boondis.

32 And Agrippa seide to Festus, This man miyt be delyuerid, if he hadde not appelid to the emperour.