Acts 25:23-26

Modern English Version

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the hall with the commanders and the leading men of the city. When Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all the men who are present with us, you see this man, concerning whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death. But when he himself appealed to Caesar, I decided to send him. ²⁶ But I have nothing to write to His Majesty concerning him. Therefore I have brought him before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that upon examination, I might have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without signifying the charges against him.”

Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa

26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”

So Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: ² “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that today I shall make my defense before you against all the accusations of the Jews, ³ especially because you are an expert in all customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to patiently listen to me.

⁴ “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning in my own nation and at Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. ⁵ They knew me from the beginning and could testify, if they wished, how according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived as a Pharisee. ⁶ And now I stand on trial for hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, ⁷ to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God day and night. Concerning this hope, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. ⁸ Why is it judged incredible by you that God raises the dead?

⁹ “I, too, thought that I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, ¹⁰ which I indeed did in Jerusalem and locked up many of the saints in prison by authority from the chief priests. And when they were killed, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being extremely enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion^(A)

¹² “So I went to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests. ¹³ At midday, O King, I saw along the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. ¹⁴ When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵ “I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’

“He said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But rise and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness both of what you have seen and of what I will yet reveal to you. ¹⁷ I will deliver you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I now send you, ¹⁸ to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Paul’s Testimony to Jews and Gentiles

¹⁹ “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but declared first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do works proving their repentance. ²¹ For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²² Therefore having obtained help from God, I continue to this day, testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen: ²³ that the Christ must suffer, that He would be the first who would rise from the dead, and would announce light to His own people and to the Gentiles.”