Acts 26
New International Version - Acts 26 << | >> 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728 26:1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'You have permission to speak for yourself.' So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 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, 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. 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. 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. 26:6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. 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. 26:8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 26:9 'I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 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. 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. 26:12 'On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 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. 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.' 26:15 'Then I asked, `Who are you, Lord?' '`I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 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. 26:17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 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.' 26:19 'So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 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. 26:21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 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-- 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.' 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.' 26:25 'I am not insane, most excellent Festus,' Paul replied. 'What I am saying is true and reasonable. 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. 26:27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.' 26:28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?' 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.' 26:30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 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.' 26:32 Agrippa said to Festus, 'This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.'