Acts 26

¹ And Agrippa said unto Paul, ‘It is permitted to thee to speak for thyself;’ then Paul having stretched forth the hand, was making a defence:

² ‘Concerning all things of which I am accused by Jews, king Agrippa, I have thought myself happy, being about to make a defence before thee to-day,

³ especially knowing thee to be acquainted with all things — both customs and questions — among Jews; wherefore, I beseech thee, patiently to hear me.

⁴ ‘The manner of my life then, indeed, from youth — which from the beginning was among my nation, in Jerusalem — know do all the Jews,

⁵ knowing me before from the first, (if they may be willing to testify,) that after the most exact sect of our worship, I lived a Pharisee;

⁶ and now for the hope of the promise made to the fathers by God, I have stood judged,

⁷ to which our twelve tribes, intently night and day serving, do hope to come, concerning which hope I am accused, king Agrippa, by the Jews;

⁸ why is it judged incredible with you, if God doth raise the dead?

⁹ ‘I, indeed, therefore, thought with myself, that against the name of Jesus of Nazareth it behoved [me] many things to do,

¹⁰ which also I did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I in prison did shut up, from the chief priests having received the authority; they also being put to death, I gave my vote against them,

¹¹ and in every synagogue, often punishing them, I was constraining [them] to speak evil, being also exceedingly mad against them, I was also persecuting [them] even unto strange cities.

¹² ‘In which things, also, going on to Damascus — with authority and commission from the chief priests —

¹³ at mid-day, I saw in the way, O king, out of heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me a light — and those going on with me;

¹⁴ and we all having fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute? hard for thee against pricks to kick!

¹⁵ ‘And I said, Who art thou, Lord? and he said, I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute;

¹⁶ but rise, and stand upon thy feet, for for this I appeared to thee, to appoint thee an officer and a witness both of the things thou didst see, and of the things [in which] I will appear to thee,

¹⁷ delivering thee from the people, and the nations, to whom now I send thee,

¹⁸ to open their eyes, to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the authority of the Adversary unto God, for their receiving forgiveness of sins, and a lot among those having been sanctified, by faith that [is] toward me.

¹⁹ ‘Whereupon, king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,

²⁰ but to those in Damascus first, and to those in Jerusalem, to all the region also of Judea, and to the nations, I was preaching to reform, and to turn back unto God, doing works worthy of reformation;

²¹ because of these things the Jews — having caught me in the temple — were endeavouring to kill [me].

²² ‘Having obtained, therefore, help from God, till this day, I have stood witnessing both to small and to great, saying nothing besides the things that both the prophets and Moses spake of as about to come,

²³ that the Christ is to suffer, whether first by a rising from the dead, he is about to proclaim light to the people and to the nations.’

²⁴ And, he thus making a defence, Festus with a loud voice said, ‘Thou art mad, Paul; much learning doth turn thee mad;’

²⁵ and he saith, ‘I am not mad, most noble Festus, but of truth and soberness the sayings I speak forth;

²⁶ for the king doth know concerning these things, before whom also I speak boldly, for none of these things, I am persuaded, are hidden from him; for this thing hath not been done in a corner;

²⁷ thou dost believe, king Agrippa, the prophets? I have known that thou dost believe!’

²⁸ And Agrippa said unto Paul, ‘In a little thou dost persuade me to become a Christian!’

²⁹ and Paul said, ‘I would have wished to God, both in a little, and in much, not only thee, but also all those hearing me to-day, to become such as I also am — except these bonds.’

³⁰ And, he having spoken these things, the king rose up, and the governor, Bernice also, and those sitting with them,

³¹ and having withdrawn, they were speaking unto one another, saying — ‘This man doth nothing worthy of death or of bonds;’

³² and Agrippa said to Festus, ‘This man might have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.’