| 章 |
| 26:1 |
Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense:
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| 26:2 |
"King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,
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| 26:3 |
and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.
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| 26:4 |
"The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem.
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| 26:5 |
They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.
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| 26:6 |
And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today.
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| 26:7 |
This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me.
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| 26:8 |
Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
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| 26:9 |
"I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
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| 26:10 |
And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
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| 26:11 |
Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
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| 26:12 |
"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.
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| 26:13 |
About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions.
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| 26:14 |
We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, `Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.
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| 26:15 |
"'Then I asked, `Who are you, Lord? "' `I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied.
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| 26:16 |
`Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.
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| 26:17 |
I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
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| 26:18 |
to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
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| 26:19 |
"'So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.
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| 26:20 |
First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
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| 26:21 |
That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
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| 26:22 |
But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen--
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| 26:23 |
that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."
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| 26:24 |
At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane."
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| 26:25 |
"I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable.
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| 26:26 |
The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.
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| 26:27 |
King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."
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| 26:28 |
Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"
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| 26:29 |
Paul replied, "Short time or long--I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."
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| 26:30 |
The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them.
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| 26:31 |
They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment."
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| 26:32 |
Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."
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