Acts 26
Legacy Standard Bible
26 (A)Now Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul, stretching out his hand, began to make his defense:
2 “Concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I regard myself blessed, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today; 3 [a]especially because you are an expert in all (B)customs and [b]questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 “So then, all Jews know (C)my manner of life from my youth, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem; 5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a (D)Pharisee (E)according to the strictest (F)sect of our religion. 6 And now I am standing here being tried (G)for the hope of (H)the promise made by God to our fathers; 7 the promise (I)to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this (J)hope, O King, I am being (K)accused by Jews. 8 Why is it considered unbelievable among all of you (L)if God does raise the dead?
9 “So then, (M)I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to (N)the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 10 And this is [c]just what I (O)did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the [d]saints in prisons, having (P)received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I (Q)cast my vote against them. 11 And (R)as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being (S)furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them (T)even to [e]foreign cities.
Paul Tells of His Conversion
12 “[f]While so engaged (U)as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, [g]brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 And when we had (V)all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the [h](W)Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? [i]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise up and (X)stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to (Y)appoint you a (Z)servant and (AA)a witness not only to the things which you have [j]seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 (AB)rescuing you (AC)from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to (AD)open their eyes so that they may turn from (AE)darkness to light and from the authority of (AF)Satan to God, that they may receive (AG)forgiveness of sins and an (AH)inheritance among those who have been sanctified by (AI)faith in Me.’
19 “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both (AJ)to those of Damascus first, and also (AK)at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even (AL)to the Gentiles, that they should (AM)repent and turn to God, practicing deeds (AN)appropriate to repentance. 21 For this reason some Jews (AO)seized me in the temple and were trying (AP)to put me to death. 22 Therefore, having obtained help from God to this day, I stand here (AQ)bearing witness both to small and great, stating nothing but what (AR)the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; 23 [k](AS)that the [l]Christ was [m]to suffer, and [n]that (AT)as first of the resurrection from the dead, He was going to proclaim (AU)light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
24 Now while [o]Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! [p]Great (AV)learning is driving you out of your mind.” 25 But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, (AW)most excellent Festus, but I utter words [q]of sober truth. 26 For the king [r](AX)knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a [s]corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know you believe.” 28 But Agrippa replied to Paul, “[t]In such short time [u]are you persuading me to become a (AY)Christian?” 29 And Paul said, “I would pray to God, that whether [v]in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these (AZ)chains.”
30 (BA)And the king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, 31 and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “(BB)This man is not doing anything worthy of death or [w]imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been (BC)set free if he had not (BD)appealed to Caesar.”
Footnotes
- Acts 26:3 Or because you are especially expert
- Acts 26:3 Or controversial issues
- Acts 26:10 Lit also
- Acts 26:10 Or holy ones
- Acts 26:11 Or outlying
- Acts 26:12 Lit In which things
- Acts 26:13 Lit above the brightness of
- Acts 26:14 Jewish Aramaic
- Acts 26:14 An idiom referring to an animal’s futile resistance to being prodded with goads
- Acts 26:16 Two early mss seen Me
- Acts 26:23 Lit whether
- Acts 26:23 Messiah
- Acts 26:23 Lit subject to suffering
- Acts 26:23 Lit whether
- Acts 26:24 Lit he
- Acts 26:24 Lit The many letters
- Acts 26:25 Lit of truth and rationality
- Acts 26:26 Or understands
- Acts 26:26 A hidden or secret place
- Acts 26:28 Or With a little
- Acts 26:28 Or you are persuading me to become a Christian
- Acts 26:29 Or with a little or with much
- Acts 26:31 Lit bonds
Acts 26
Christian Standard Bible
Paul’s Defense before Agrippa
26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”
Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: 2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially since you are very knowledgeable about all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 “All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem.(A) 5 They have known me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived as a Pharisee.(B) 6 And now I stand on trial because of the hope(C) in what God promised(D) to our ancestors, 7 the promise our twelve tribes hope to reach as they earnestly serve him night and day. King Agrippa, I am being accused by the Jews because of this hope.(E) 8 Why do any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 9 In fact, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things in opposition to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.(F) 10 I actually did this in Jerusalem, and I locked up many of the saints in prison, since I had received authority for that from the chief priests. When they were put to death, I was in agreement against them.(G) 11 In all the synagogues I often punished them and tried to make them blaspheme.(H) Since I was terribly enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.
Paul’s Account of His Conversion and Commission
12 “I was traveling to Damascus under(I) these circumstances with authority and a commission from the chief priests. 13 King Agrippa, while on the road at midday, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic,[a] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’(J)
15 “I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.(K) 17 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them(L) 18 to open their eyes(M) so that they may turn[b] from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’(N)
19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 Instead, I preached to those in Damascus first, and to those in Jerusalem and in all the region of Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance.(O) 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and were trying to kill me. 22 To this very day, I have had help from God, and I stand and testify to both small and great, saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said would take place(P)— 23 that the Messiah would suffer, and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”(Q)
Agrippa Not Quite Persuaded
24 As he was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You’re out of your mind,(R) Paul! Too much study is driving you mad.”
25 But Paul replied, “I’m not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. On the contrary, I’m speaking words of truth and good judgment.(S) 26 For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak boldly to him. For I am convinced that none of these things has escaped his notice, since this was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe.”
28 Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so easily?” [c]
29 “I wish before God,” replied Paul, “that whether easily or with difficulty,[d] not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am—except for these chains.”(T)
30 The king, the governor, Bernice, and those sitting with them got up, 31 and when they had left they talked with each other and said, “This man is not doing anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”(U)
32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”(V)
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