使徒行传 26
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
保罗在亚基帕王面前申辩(A)
26 亚基帕对保罗说：“准你为自己申辩。”于是保罗伸手辩护说： 2 “亚基帕王啊，犹太人控告我的事，今天我可以在你面前辩护，实在是万幸； 3 特别是你熟悉犹太人的一切规例和争论，所以求你耐心听我申诉： 4 我从幼年到现在，在本国、在耶路撒冷为人怎样，犹太人都知道。 5 如果他们肯作证的话，他们是早就知道，我是按着我们祖宗最严格的教派，过着法利赛人的生活。 6 现在我站着受审，是为了对 神向我们祖先的应许存着盼望。 7 我们十二支派昼夜切切地事奉 神，都是盼望这应许实现。王啊，我被犹太人控告，正是为了这个盼望。 8 神使死人复活，你们为甚么认为是不可信的呢？ 9 从前，我也认为应该多方敌对拿撒勒人耶稣的名。 10 后来就在耶路撒冷这样作了。我得到了众祭司长授权，把许多圣徒关在监里，并且他们被杀的时候，我也表示同意。 11 我在各会堂里多次用刑强迫他们说亵渎的话；我非常愤恨他们，甚至追到国外的城巿去迫害他们。
12 “那时候，我得到祭司长的授权和准许，去大马士革。 13 王啊，就在中午的时候，我在路上看见一道光，比太阳更明亮，从天上四面照着我和同行的人。 14 我们都仆倒在地上，我听见有声音用希伯来话对我说：‘扫罗！扫罗！你为甚么迫害我？你要踢刺是难的。’ 15 我说：‘主啊，你是谁？’主说：‘我就是你所迫害的耶稣。 16 你起来，站着，我向你显现，是要指派你为我工作。你要为你所见过的事，和我将要向你显明的事作见证。 17 我要救你脱离这人民和外族人，差遣你到他们那里去， 18 开他们的眼睛，使他们从黑暗中归向光明，从撒但的权下归向 神，使他们的罪恶得到赦免，并且在那些因信我而成圣的人中同得基业。’
19 “亚基帕王啊，因此，我没有违背这从天上来的异象， 20 先向大马士革、耶路撒冷、犹太全地的人宣讲，后向外族人宣讲，叫他们悔改，归向 神，行事与悔改的心相称。 21 犹太人就是为了这缘故在殿里捉住我，想要杀我。 22 然而，我得到 神的帮助，直到今日还是站得稳，向尊卑老幼作见证，我所讲的都是众先知和摩西所论的将来必成的事， 23 就是基督必须受难，并且从死人中首先复活，把光明的信息传报给这人民和外族人。”
保罗说服亚基帕王
24 保罗申诉到这里，非斯都大声说：“保罗！你疯了；你的学问太大，使你疯了！” 25 保罗说：“非斯都大人，我没有疯，我说的都是真实的话，清醒的话。 26 因为王知道这些事，所以我对王坦白直说。我确信这些事没有一件能瞒得过他，因为这不是在背地里作的。 27 亚基帕王啊，你信先知吗？我知道你是信的。” 28 亚基帕对保罗说：“你想用这样短短的时间就可以说服我作基督徒吗！” 29 保罗说：“无论时间短也好，时间长也好，我向 神所求的，不单是你，而且是今天所有的听众，都能像我一样作基督徒，只是不要有这些锁炼。”
30 亚基帕王、总督和百尼基，还有在座的人都站起来， 31 退到一边，彼此谈论，说：“这个人并没有犯过甚么该死该绑的罪。” 32 亚基帕对非斯都说：“这个人若没有向凯撒上诉，早就可以释放了。”
Acts 26
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 26
King Agrippa Hears Paul. 1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now speak on your own behalf.” So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. 2 [a]“I count myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am to defend myself before you today against all the charges made against me by the Jews, 3 especially since you are an expert in all the Jewish customs and controversies. And therefore I beg you to listen patiently. 4 My manner of living from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my people[b] and in Jerusalem, all [the] Jews know. 5 (A)They have known about me from the start, if they are willing to testify, that I have lived my life as a Pharisee, the strictest party of our religion. 6 (B)But now I am standing trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors. 7 Our twelve tribes hope to attain to that promise as they fervently worship God day and night; and on account of this hope I am accused by Jews, O king. 8 Why is it thought unbelievable among you that God raises the dead? 9 (C)I myself once thought that I had to do many things against the name of Jesus the Nazorean, 10 and I did so in Jerusalem. I imprisoned many of the holy ones with the authorization I received from the chief priests, and when they were to be put to death I cast my vote against them.(D) 11 Many times, in synagogue after synagogue, I punished them in an attempt to force them to blaspheme; I was so enraged against them that I pursued them even to foreign cities.
12 “On one such occasion I was traveling to Damascus with the authorization and commission of the chief priests. 13 (E)At midday, along the way, O king, I saw a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my traveling companions.(F) 14 We all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?(G) It is hard for you to kick against the goad.’[c] 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.(H) 16 Get up now, and stand on your feet.(I) I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen [of me] and what you will be shown.[d] 17 I shall deliver you from this people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you,(J) 18 to open their eyes[e] that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith in me.’(K)
19 “And so, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 On the contrary, first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout the whole country of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached the need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance. 21 (L)That is why the Jews seized me [when I was] in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 (M)But I have enjoyed God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here testifying to small and great alike, saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses foretold,[f] 23 that the Messiah must suffer[g] and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”(N)
Reactions to Paul’s Speech. 24 While Paul was so speaking in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, “You are mad, Paul; much learning is driving you mad.” 25 But Paul replied, “I am not mad, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and reason. 26 The king knows about these matters and to him I speak boldly, for I cannot believe that [any] of this has escaped his notice; this was not done in a corner.[h] 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?[i] I know you believe.” 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You will soon persuade me to play the Christian.” 29 Paul replied, “I would pray to God that sooner or later not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am except for these chains.”
30 Then the king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and the others who sat with them. 31 [j]And after they had withdrawn they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing [at all] that deserves death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”(O)
Footnotes
- 26:2–23 Paul’s final defense speech in Acts is now made before a king (see Acts 9:15). In the speech Paul presents himself as a zealous Pharisee and Christianity as the logical development of Pharisaic Judaism. The story of his conversion is recounted for the third time in Acts in this speech (see note on Acts 9:1–19).
- 26:4 Among my people: that is, among the Jews.
- 26:14 In Hebrew: see note on Acts 21:40. It is hard for you to kick against the goad: this proverb is commonly found in Greek literature and in this context signifies the senselessness and ineffectiveness of any opposition to the divine influence in his life.
- 26:16 The words of Jesus directed to Paul here reflect the dialogues between Christ and Ananias (Acts 9:15) and between Ananias and Paul (Acts 22:14–15) in the two previous accounts of Paul’s conversion.
- 26:18 To open their eyes: though no mention is made of Paul’s blindness in this account (cf. Acts 9:8–9, 12, 18; 22:11–13), the task he is commissioned to perform is the removal of other people’s spiritual blindness.
- 26:22 Saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses foretold: see note on Lk 18:31.
- 26:23 That the Messiah must suffer: see note on Lk 24:26.
- 26:26 Not done in a corner: for Luke, this Greek proverb expresses his belief that he is presenting a story about Jesus and the church that is already well known. As such, the entire history of Christianity is public knowledge and incontestable. Luke presents his story in this way to provide “certainty” to his readers about the instructions they have received (Lk 1:4).
- 26:27–28 If the Christian missionaries proclaim nothing different from what the Old Testament prophets had proclaimed (Acts 26:22–23), then the logical outcome for the believing Jew, according to Luke, is to become a Christian.
- 26:31–32 In recording the episode of Paul’s appearance before Agrippa, Luke wishes to show that, when Paul’s case was judged impartially, no grounds for legal action against him were found (see Acts 23:29; 25:25).
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
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