CHAPTER 26
Agrippa
said
to
Paul,
“You
have permission
to speak
for
yourself.”
Then
Paul
stretched out
his
hand
and began his defense:
“King
Agrippa,
I consider
myself
fortunate
to stand
before
you
today
to defend myself
against
all
the accusations
of
the Jews,
especially
since you
are
acquainted
with all
the
Jewish
customs
and
controversies.
I beg you,
therefore,
to listen to
me
patiently.
Surely
all
the
Jews
know
how I have lived
from
the earliest days
of
my youth,
among
my own
people
and
in
Jerusalem.
They have known
me
for a long time
and can testify,
if
they are willing,
that
I lived as
a Pharisee,
adhering to
the
strictest
sect
of our
religion.
the promise
our
twelve tribes
are hoping
to realize
as they earnestly serve God
day
and
night.
It is because of
this
hope,
O king,
that I am accused
by
the Jews.
So then,
I
too
was convinced that
I ought
to do
all I could
to oppose
the
name
of Jesus
of Nazareth.
And
that is what
I did
in
Jerusalem.
With
authority
from
the
chief priests
I
put
many
of the
saints
in
prison,
and
when they
were condemned to death,
I cast my vote against them.
I frequently had them punished
in
the
synagogues
and tried to make them
blaspheme.
In my raging fury
against them,
I even
went
to
foreign
cities
to persecute them.
In
this pursuit,
I was on my way
to
Damascus
with
the authority
and
commission
of
the
chief priests.
About noon,
O king,
as I was on
the
road,
I saw
a light
from heaven,
brighter than
the
sun,
shining around
me
and
my companions.
We
all
fell
to
the
ground,
and I heard
a voice
say
to
me
in
Aramaic,
‘Saul,
Saul,
why
do you persecute
Me?
It is hard
for you
to kick
against
the goads.'
‘But
get up
and
stand
on
your
feet.
For
I have appeared
to you
to
appoint
you
as a servant
and
as a witness
of what
you have seen
from Me
and
what
I will show
you.
to open
their
eyes,
so that
they may turn
from
darkness
to
light
and
from the
power
of Satan
to
God,
that
they
may receive
forgiveness
of sins
and
an inheritance
among
those
sanctified
by faith
in
Me.'
First
to those
in
Damascus
and
Jerusalem,
then
to everyone
in the
region
of Judea,
and then
to the
Gentiles,
I declared that
they should repent
and
turn
to
God,
performing
deeds
worthy
of their
repentance.
But
I have had
God’s
help
to
this
day,
and I stand here
to testify
to small
and
great
alike.
I am saying
nothing
beyond
what
the
prophets
and
Moses
said
would
happen:
that
Christ
would suffer,
and as the
first
to rise
from
the dead,
He would
proclaim
light
to
our people
and
to the
Gentiles.”
At this stage
of Paul’s
defense,
Festus
exclaimed
in a loud
voice,
“You are insane,
Paul!
Your
great
learning
is driving
you
to
madness!”
But
Paul
answered
vvv,
“I am not insane,
most excellent
Festus;
I am speaking
words
of truth
and
sobriety.
For
the
king
knows
about
these matters,
and
I can speak
freely
to
him.
I am confident that
none
of this
has escaped
his notice,
because
it
was
not
done
in
a corner.
“Short time
or
long,”
Paul replied,
“I wish
to God
that
not
only
you
but
all
who
hear
me
this day
may become
what
I
am,
except for
these
chains.”
On their way out,
they said
to
one another,
“This
man
has done
nothing
worthy
of death
or
imprisonment.”
And
Agrippa
said
to
Festus,
“This
man
could
have been released
if
he had not appealed
to Caesar.”