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,

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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!

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]”

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

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].

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.”

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].

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.

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.’

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].

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.

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

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].”

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

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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!”

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

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].”

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

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]

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].”

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

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].”

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}.”