Gevurot 25-28

Orthodox Jewish Bible

25 Therefore Festus, having arrived in the Province, after shloshah yamim went up from Caesarea to Yerushalayim,

² Where the Rashei Hakohanim and manhigim of the Yehudim explained to Festus the charges keneged Rav Sha’ul, and they were begging him,

³ Asking a favor from him, that Festus might summon Rav Sha’ul to Yerushalayim, while at the same time they were forming a kesher to kill him along the way.

⁴ Festus answered that Rav Sha’ul was to be kept in Caesarea and that Festus himself intended quickly to go there.

⁵ "Therefore, those in authority among you," Festus says, "should come down with me, and if there is anything in the wrong about Rav Sha’ul, then let them bring charges against him."

⁶ And having stayed with them no more than shmonah or asarah yamim, Festus went down to Caesarea; the next day he sat on the Kes HaMishpat and ordered Rav Sha’ul to be brought in.

⁷ When Rav Sha’ul came in, the Judeans who had come down from Yerushalayim stood around him and brought serious charges keneged (against) him, which they were not able to prove.

⁸ Rav Sha’ul defended himself, saying, "Neither keneged the Torah nor keneged the Beis Hamikdash nor keneged Caesar have I done anything wrong."

⁹ But Festus, wishing to grant the Judeans a favor, said in reply to Rav Sha’ul, "Do you want to go up to Yerushalayim to be judged by me there concerning these things?"

¹⁰ And Rav Sha’ul said, "I am standing before the Kes HaMishpat of Caesar, where it is necessary for me to be tried. I have done no wrong to my Jewish people, as you also have da’as very well.

¹¹ "Now if I have done wrong and am worthy of mavet, I am not trying to escape the penalty. But if there is nothing to the charges these bring against me, no one is able to hand me over to them. Therefore, I appeal to Caesar."

¹² Then Festus, having talked with his council, answered, "To Caesar you have appealed, to Caesar you will go."

¹³ After several yamim had passed, Agrippa HaMelech and Bernice arrived in Caesarea, having paid their respects to Festus.

¹⁴ And while they were spending many yamim there, Festus laid out to the Melech the things with respect to Rav Sha’ul, saying, "There is a man here who was left behind in the beis hasohar by Felix.

¹⁵ "When I went to Yerushalayim, the Rashei Hakohanim and the Zekenim of the Yehudim informed me about this man, requesting keneged him a sentence of condemnation.

¹⁶ "I answered them that it violated Roman law to hand over any man before the accused met face to face with his accusers and had an opportunity for a hitstaddekut (defense) concerning the accusation.

¹⁷ "Therefore, they were assembled here; I allowed no delay, and on the next day, I sat down on the Kes HaMishpat and ordered the man brought in.

¹⁸ "But when the accusers stood up, no charge were they bringing of any crimes I was expecting.

¹⁹ "Instead it was an internal matter having to do with questions regarding Orthodox Judaism, and certain disagreements they had with Rav Sha’ul, and regarding a certain Yehoshua who was deceased, but whom Rav Sha’ul asserted was alive.

²⁰ "Since I was not qualified to investigate these religious questions, I was saying he might wish to go to Yerushalayim and there to be judged concerning these things.

²¹ "But Rav Sha’ul appealed that he be kept in custody for the decision of Caesar, so I ordered him to be kept until I send him to Caesar."

²² And Agrippa said to Festus, "I was desiring also myself to hear Rav Sha’ul." Then Festus says, "Tomorrow you will hear him."

²³ Then on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered into the auditorium along with both the military tribunes and the chashuve anashim of Caesarea. And Festus the Moshel gave orders to have Rav Sha’ul brought in.

²⁴ And Festus says, "Agrippa HaMelech and all here present with us, you see this man about whom K’lal Yisroel has petitioned me, both in Yerushalayim and here, shouting that he is no longer fit to live.

²⁵ "But I found he has done nothing worthy of mavet, and when he appealed to Caesar, I decided to send him.

²⁶ "But I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign; therefore, I especially brought him before you, O Agrippa HaMelech, so that, after you have examined him, I may have something I may write.

²⁷ "For it seems unreasonable to me sending a prisoner and not having charges to report against him."

26 And Agrippa said to Rav Sha’ul, "It is permitted for you to speak concerning yourself." Then Rav Sha’ul, having stretched out his hand, was making his hitstaddekut (defense), saying,

² "I have considered myself fortunate that it is before you, Agrippa HaMelech, that I am able to make my hitstaddekut today concerning everything of which I am accused by Yehudim.

³ "Most of all, you are a bukki (expert, meivin) in all the minhagim and issues of the Yehudim; therefore, I beg you to listen patiently to me.

⁴ "All the Yehudim have da’as of my Yiddishkeit from my earliest youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Yerushalayim.

⁵ "They have had da’as of this for a long time, if they are willing to bear edut, that according to the most machmir kat of our Orthodox Jewish faith my life has been lived out as a Parush.

⁶ "And now I stand here on trial on account of my tikvah in the havtacha made to Avoteinu,

⁷ "A havtacha Sheneym Asar Shevateinu have tikvah to attain, as they with earnestness worship Hashem yomam valailah. It if for this tikvah, your Excellency, that I am accused by Yehudim!

⁸ "Why is it considered incredible by any of you that Hashem makes the Mesim to stand up alive?

⁹ "Indeed, I myself thought it necessary to do many opposing things against ha-Shem of Yehoshua from Natzeret.

¹⁰ "And this I also did in Yerushalayim; and armed with samchut received from the Rashei Hakohanim, many of the kadoshim I locked up in the beis hasohar; and I cast my vote keneged (against) them when they received the death penalty.

¹¹ "And throughout all the shuls I often punished them, forcing them to commit Chillul Hashem gidduf (blasphemy), and since I was so enraged against them, I was bringing redifah on them even as far as foreign cities.

¹² "This it was, that as I was traveling to Damascus with authorization and permission from the Rashei Hakohanim,

¹³ "At noon on the derech, O Melech, I saw from Shomayim an ohr, more brilliant than the shemesh, shining around me and around the ones traveling with me.

¹⁴ "And we all fell down to the ground. Then I heard a kol saying to me in the language of the Hebrews, ‘Sha’ul, Sha’ul, why are you bringing redifah upon me? It is hard for you to kick keneged (against) the prod.’

¹⁵ "And I said, ‘Who are you Adoni?’ And HaAdon said, ‘I am Yehoshua upon whom you are bringing redifah.

¹⁶ ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For this tachlis, then, I appeared to you, to give you s’michah as a mesharet, an eved, and an eidus (witness), both of what things you have seen and the things which I will reveal to you. [Ezek 2:1; Dan 10:11]

¹⁷ ‘I will deliver you from your own people and from the Goyim to whom I am sending you, [YIRMEYAH 1:8,19]

¹⁸ ‘To open their eyes, to turn them from choshech to ohr and from the samchut of Hasatan to Hashem, that they receive selichat avon and nachalah among the ones having been set apart in kedushah by emunah in me.' [YESHAYAH 35:5; TEHILLIM 18:28; YESHAYAH 42:7,16]

¹⁹ "O Agrippa HaMelech, I was not disobedient to the chazon from Shomayim. [YESHAYAH 50:5]

²⁰ "But beginning with the ones in Damascus and also with those in Yerushalayim, and with all the region of Yehudah and with the Goyim, I was preaching they should make teshuva and turn to Hashem, doing ma’asim mitzvot worthy of teshuva. [YIRMEYAH 18:11; 35:15]

²¹ "Because of these things, the unbelieving Yehudim seized me while I was in the Beis Hamikdash, and were trying to kill me.

²² "To this day I have obtained ezer (help) from Hashem, to stand and give solemn edut (testimony) before both ketanim and Gedolim, testifying about nothing beyond the Orthodox Jewish faith based on what the Nevi’im and Moshe Rabbenu said would happen:

²³ "That is, the yissurim (sufferings) of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, and that by being rishon to stand up alive in the Techiyas HaMoshiach, he would proclaim ohr both to K’lal Yisroel and the Nations."

²⁴ And while he was saying these things in his hitstaddekut, Festus in a kol gadol shouts, "Rav Sha’ul, all your yeshiva learning has made you meshuggah!"

²⁵ But Rav Sha’ul says, "I am not meshuggah, most excellent Festus; I am speaking dvarim of Emes and Ta’am (Reason).

²⁶ "For HaMelech has da’as of these matters, to whom also I am speaking freely, for I am sure that absolutely none of these things escape his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.

²⁷ "Agrippa HaMelech, do you believe in the Nevi’im? I have da’as that you do believe."

²⁸ And Agrippa said to Rav Sha’ul, "You think, do you, that as quick as that you can make me mekabel Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach?"

²⁹ But Rav Sha’ul said, "I would daven that Hashem, quickly or not, might make not only you but all listening to me today as I am, apart from these sharsherot (chains)."

³⁰ HaMelech and the Moshel and Bernice and the ones sitting with them got up.

³¹ And having withdrawn, they were saying to one another, "This man does nothing worthy of the death penalty or imprisonment."

³² And Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been released, if he had not appealed to Caesar."

27 And when it was decided that we set sail to Italy, they were handing over both Rav Sha’ul and some other prisoners to a centurion, Julius by name, of the Imperial Cohort.

² And having embarked in an oniyah of Adramyttium about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we set sail, Aristarchus a Macedonian of Thessalonica being with us.

³ The next day, we put in at a harbor in Tzidon; and Julius treated Rav Sha’ul with kindness, permitting him to be cared for by his chaverim.

⁴ And from there, having put out to sea, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

⁵ Then having sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came down to Myra of Lycia.

⁶ And there the centurion found an Alexandrian oniyah sailing to Italy and put us on board.

⁷ But for many yamim we sailed slowly and with difficulty along the coast of Cnidus, and as the wind was not permitting us to go vaiter (farther), we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone.

⁸ And with difficulty sailing past it, we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

⁹ And since considerable time had been lost and it was already unsafe for a voyage, because Yom Kippur had already come and gone; therefore, Rav Sha’ul gave them this eitza (suggestion),

¹⁰ Saying to them, "Anashim, I see that the voyage will be hardship and much peril, not only of the cargo and the oniyah, but also of our lives."

¹¹ But the centurion was persuaded by the pilot and the owner rather than by the dvarim of Rav Sha’ul.

¹² But the port being unfavorably situated for spending the winter, the majority decided to set sail from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix to spend the winter. It was a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest.

¹³ And a gentle south wind began to blow, and they thought they could attain their matarah (objective), so they weighed anchor and they were sailing past Crete, close by the shore.

¹⁴ After not much time a violent, typhoon force wind rushed down from Crete, the so called Euraquilo, the Northeaster.

¹⁵ And the oniyah, having been caught in it, and not being able to directly face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven.

¹⁶ By running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able only with difficulty to get the lifeboat secured.

¹⁷ After hoisting it up, they were using frapping cables, passing them underneath the oniyah; then, fearing lest on the shallows of Syrtis they might run aground, they lowered the sea anchor, and so they were being driven along.

¹⁸ And we were being violently tossed by the storm, so much so that the next day they were throwing the cargo overboard.

¹⁹ And on the Yom Shlishi, with their own hands, they threw out the tackle of the oniyah.

²⁰ And neither shemesh (sun) nor kochavim appeared for many yamim and no small tempest assailed us. Lemaskana (finally) all tikvateinu for yeshu’ah was being abandoned.

²¹ And after having much loss of appetite, then Rav Sha’ul stood up in the midst of them, and said, "Anashim, you should have obeyed me and not put out to sea from Crete and thereby spared yourselves this hardship and this loss.

²² "And now I advise you to have ometz lev (courage), for there will be no loss of life among you, except the oniyah.

²³ "For a malach Hashem stood by me during lailah hazeh, of the G-d whom I serve,

²⁴ "Saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Sha’ul. It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar; and, hinei, Hashem has given to you all the ones sailing with you.'

²⁵ "Therefore have lev same’ach, Anashim. For I have emunah in Hashem that it will be exactly as he has told me.

²⁶ "But it is necessary for us to run aground on some island."

²⁷ Now when the fourteenth night had come, while we being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, toward chatzot halailah (midnight), the sailors were suspecting that we were getting close to land.

²⁸ And having taken soundings, they found twenty fathoms and, having sailed a little vaiter (farther), again they took soundings, and they found fifteen fathoms.

²⁹ And fearing lest somehow against the rough places we might run aground, they threw four anchors off the stern, and they were praying for the dawn to break.

³⁰ Now when the sailors sought to flee from the oniyah and to let down the lifeboat into the sea on the pretext of casting out anchors,

³¹ Rav Sha’ul said to the centurion and to the chaiyalim, "Unless these remain in the oniyah, you cannot be saved."

³² Then the chaiyalim cut away the ropes of the lifeboat, and let it fall away, setting it adrift.

³³ Just before boker, Rav Sha’ul was urging everyone to take okhel (food), saying, "Today is the 14th day you have been held in suspense and are continuing without eating, having taken nothing.

³⁴ "Therefore, I encourage you to take okhel, for it is for your deliverance, for none of you will lose a hair from your heads."

³⁵ And having said these things, and having taken lechem, Rav Sha’ul said the HaMotzi before all, and, after the Betzi’at HaLechem, he began to eat.

³⁶ And receiving ometz lev, they all took okhel.

³⁷ Now there were in all two hundred and seventy-six nefashot in the oniyah.

³⁸ And having eaten enough okhel (food), they were lightening the oniyah by throwing the wheat overboard into the sea.

³⁹ And when it became day, they were not recognizing the land, but a certain bay they were noticing, having a shore onto which they were wanting, if possible, to run aground the oniyah.

⁴⁰ And the anchors they cast off and they left them in the sea. At the same time they loosened the ropes of the rudders and raised the sail to the wind and were steering toward the shore.

⁴¹ But having fallen into a channel, a place between two seas, they ran the oniyah aground, and, while the bow had stuck and remained immovable, the stern was being destroyed by the force of the waves.

⁴² Now the kesher (plan, plot) of the chaiyalim was that they should kill the prisoners, lest anyone, having swum away, should escape.

⁴³ But the centurion, desiring to save Rav Sha’ul, kept them from carrying out the kesher, and he ordered the ones able to swim to throw themselves overboard first and to make for the shore.

⁴⁴ As for the rest, some were on planks, others on pieces from the oniyah. And so everyone was brought safely onto the land.

28 And having been brought safely through, we then found out that the island is called Malta.

² And the natives were showing not the ordinary kindness to us for, because of the geshem (rain) that had set in and because of the cold, they lit a hadlakah (bonfire).

³ And when Rav Sha’ul gathered some brushwood and placed the sticks on the hadlakah (bonfire), a nachash (serpent) from the heat came out and fastened onto Rav Sha’ul’s hand.

⁴ And when the natives saw it hanging from his hand, they were saying to one another, "Surely this man is a rotzeach (murderer); for though he was brought safely from the sea, Yashrus (Justice) did not allow him to live."

⁵ Then, having shaken off the nachash into the eish (fire), Rav Sha’ul suffered no ill effects. (Mk 16:18)

⁶ But the natives were expecting him to be about to swell up or suddenly to fall down. But they watched him expectantly for a long time, and when they observed nothing unusual happening to him, they changed their minds and were saying that he was a g-d.

⁷ Now in the area around that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, Publius by name, who welcomed us and gave us hachnosas orchim.

⁸ And it came about that the abba of Publius was bedfast, suffering fevers and dysentery. Rav Sha’ul approached him, and having davened, laid his hands on him and administered refuah shleimah to him.

⁹ And when this happened, also others on the island, the cholim, were approaching Rav Sha’ul and were receiving refuah shleimah.

¹⁰ The natives bestowed matanot rabbot on us and, while being put out to sea, they gave us the provisions for our needs. [TEHILLIM 15:4]

¹¹ And after shloshah chodashim, we set sail in an oniyah, having spent the winter on the island. It was an Alexandrian oniyah marked by the insignia of the twin Achim.

¹² And having put in at Syracuse, we stayed 3 days.

¹³ Then we weighed anchor and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day, a southwest wind sprang up and on the second day we came to Puteoli.

¹⁴ There we found Achim b’Moshiach and we were invited by them to stay shivah yamim. And so we came to Rome.

¹⁵ And from there, the Achim b’Moshiach when they heard of us, came out to meet us, even as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. On seeing them, ometz lev came to Rav Sha’ul and he said a bracha, davening hodah to Hashem.

¹⁶ Now when we entered into Rome, Rav Sha’ul was permitted to live by himself in his own quarters with a chaiyal guarding him.

¹⁷ And it came about after shloshah yamim, that Rav Sha’ul called together the chashuve Yehudim. And when they had assembled, Rav Sha’ul was saying to them, "Anashim, Achim, though I had done nothing keneged (against, in opposition to) our Jewish people or to the minhagei Avoteinu of Orthodox Judaism, I was arrested in Yerushalayim and delivered over into the hands of the Romans,

¹⁸ "Who, having examined me, were desiring to release me, because I had done nothing worthy of the death penalty.

¹⁹ "But when the Yehudim spoke keneged (in opposition to, against) this, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, but only to defend myself, not to bring accusation against Am Yisroel, my people.

²⁰ "On account of this reason, therefore, I summoned you, to see you and to speak with you, since it is for the sake of the tikvat Yisroel that I am wearing these prison sharsherot (chains)."

²¹ And they said to Rav Sha’ul, "We neither received iggrot about you from Yehudah nor have any of the Achim arrived and reported or spoke any lashon hora about you.

²² "But we desire to hear from you what you think, for lichora (apparently) with regard to this kat of Judaism, we have da’as that it is spoken keneged (against) everywhere."

²³ And they set a day for him, and they came to him in his lodgings, and there were many of them. And Rav Sha’ul was making a midrash, bearing solemn edut about the Malchut Hashem, and persuading them about Yehoshua from both the Torah of Moshe Rabbenu and from the Nevi’im, from haboker to haerev.

²⁴ And some Yehudim were being persuaded by the things being said, but others had no emunah (faith).

²⁵ And so they disagreed with one another. And as they were leaving, Rav Sha’ul said a final dvar. "Rightly the Ruach Hakodesh spoke through Yeshayah HaNavi to your Avot,

²⁶ "Saying, ‘Go to this people and say, In hearing SHIMU SHAMO’A V’AL TAVINU UR’U RA’O V’AL TEDA’U ("You will hear and yet by no means understand and seeing you will see and yet by no means perceive.")

²⁷ HASHMEN LEV HAAM HAZEH V’AZNAV HAKHBED V’ENAV HASHA PEN YIREH V’EINAV UV’AZNAV YISHMA ULEVAVO YAVIN VASHA V’RAFA LO ("For the heart of this people has become dull and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and with their ears may hear and with their heart they may have binah and they may turn and I will heal them. [TEHILLIM 119:70; YESHAYAH 6:9,10; also YESHAYAH 53:5]

²⁸ "Therefore, let it be known to you that to the GOYIM (TEHILLIM 67:2) this Yeshu’at Eloheinu of Hashem was sent, and they will listen."

²⁹ [And when he had said these things, the Yehudim departed, and argued greatly among themselves.]

³⁰ And he remained an entire two years in his own rented bais, and was welcoming all the ones coming to him,

³¹ Preaching the Malchut Hashem and saying shiurim concerning the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach Adoneinu Yehoshua with all openness and without hindrance.