Acts 26

1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand, and made his defense.

And Agrippa said to Paul: Thou art permitted to speak in thy own behalf. Then Paul extended his hand, and made defence, saying:

2 “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, that I am to make my defense before you today concerning all the things that I am accused by the Jews,

In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, king Agrippa, I consider myself highly favored, that I may this day make defence before thee:

3 especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.

especially, as I know thee to be expert in all the controversies and laws of the Jews. I therefore request thee to hear me with indulgence.

4 “Indeed, all the Jews know my way of life from my youth up, which was from the beginning among my own nation and at Jerusalem;

The Jews themselves, if they would testify, know well my course of life from my childhood, which from the beginning was among my nation and in Jerusalem.

5 having known me from the first, if they are willing to testify, that after the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

For they have long been persuaded of me, and have known, that I lived in the princely doctrine of the Pharisees.

6 Now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers,

And now, for the hope of the promise which was made by God to our fathers, I stand and am judged.

7 which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa!

To this hope, our twelve tribes hope to come, with earnest prayers by day and by night: and for this same hope, king Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.

8 Why is it judged incredible with you if God does raise the dead?

How judge ye? Are we not to believe, that God will raise the dead?

9 “I myself most certainly thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

For I myself, at first, resolved in my own mind, that I would perpetrate many adverse things against the name of Jesus the Nazarean.

10 I also did this in Jerusalem. I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them.

Which I also did at Jerusalem; and by the authority I received from the chief priests, I cast many of the saints into prison and when they were put to death by them, I took part with those that condemned them.

11 Punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to make them blaspheme. Being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

And in every synagogue I tortured them, while I pressed them to become revilers of the name of Jesus. And in the great wrath, with which I was filled against them, I also went to other cities to persecute them.

12 “Whereupon as I traveled to Damascus with the authority and commission from the chief priests,

And, as I was going for this purpose to Damascus, with the authority and license of the chief priests,

13 at noon, O king, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me.

at mid-day, on the road, I saw, O king, a light exceeding that of the sun, beaming from heaven upon me, and upon all those with me.

14 When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

And we all fell to the ground; and I heard a voice, which said to me, in Hebrew: Saul, Saul! why persecutest thou me? It will be a hard thing for thee to kick against the goads.

15 “I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

And I said: My Lord, who art thou? And our Lord said to me: I am Jesus the Nazarean, whom thou persecutest.

16 But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will reveal to you;

And he said to me: Stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared to thee, for this purpose, to constitute thee a minister and a witness of this thy seeing me, and of thy seeing me hereafter.

17 delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,

And I will deliver thee from the people of the Jews, and from other nations; to whom I send thee,

18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

to open their eyes; that they may turn from darkness to the light, and from the dominion of Satan unto God; and may receive remission of sins, and a portion with the saints, by faith in me.

19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,

Wherefore, king Agrippa, I did not contumaciously withstand the heavenly vision:

20 but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.

but I preached from the first to them in Damascus, and to them in Jerusalem and in all the villages of Judaea; and I preached also to the Gentiles, that they should repent, and should turn to God, and should do the works suitable to repentance.

21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.

And on account of these things, the Jews seized me in the temple, and sought to kill me.

22 Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen,

But unto this day God hath helped me; and lo, I stand and bear testimony, to the small and to the great; yet saying nothing aside from Moses and the prophets, but the very things which they declared were to take place:

23 how the Christ must suffer, and how, by the resurrection of the dead, he would be first to proclaim light both to these people and to the Gentiles.”

namely, that Messiah would suffer, and would become the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead; and that he would proclaim light to the people and to the Gentiles.

24 As he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are crazy! Your great learning is driving you insane!”

And when Paul had extended his defence thus far, Festus cried, with a loud voice: Paul, thou art deranged: much study hath deranged thee.

25 But he said, “I am not crazy, most excellent Festus, but boldly declare words of truth and reasonableness.

Paul replied to him: I am not deranged, excellent Festus; but speak words of truth and rectitude.

26 For the king knows of these things, to whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him, for this has not been done in a corner.

And king Agrippa is also well acquainted with these things; and I therefore speak confidently before him, because I suppose not one of these things hath escaped his knowledge; for they were not done in secret.

27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”

King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.

28 Agrippa said to Paul, “With a little persuasion are you trying to make me a Christian?”

King Agrippa said to him: Almost, thou persuadest me to become a Christian.

29 Paul said, “I pray to God, that whether with little or with much, not only you, but also all that hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these bonds.”

And Paul said: I would to God, that not only thou, but likewise all that hear me this day, were almost, and altogether, as I am, aside from these bonds.

30 The king rose up with the governor and Bernice, and those who sat with them.

And the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and those who sat with them.

31 When they had withdrawn, they spoke to one another, saying, “This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds.”

And when they had gone out, they conversed with one another, and said: This man hath done nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

And Agrippa said to Festus: The man might be set at liberty, if he had not announced an appeal to Caesar.