Acts 25:23-26
Legacy Standard Bible
Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice
23 So, on the next day when (A)Agrippa came [a]together with (B)Bernice amid great pomp, and entered the hall [b]accompanied by the [c]commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the order of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom (C)all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that (D)he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had committed (E)nothing worthy of death, and since he himself (F)appealed to [d]the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 [e]Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”
26 (G)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 [f]especially because you are an expert in all (H)customs and [g]questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 “So then, all Jews know (I)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 (J)Pharisee (K)according to the strictest (L)sect of our religion. 6 And now I am standing here being tried (M)for the hope of (N)the promise made by God to our fathers; 7 the promise (O)to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this (P)hope, O King, I am being (Q)accused by Jews. 8 Why is it considered unbelievable among all of you (R)if God does raise the dead?
9 “So then, (S)I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to (T)the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 10 And this is [h]just what I (U)did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the [i]saints in prisons, having (V)received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I (W)cast my vote against them. 11 And (X)as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being (Y)furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them (Z)even to [j]foreign cities.
Paul Tells of His Conversion
12 “[k]While so engaged (AA)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, [l]brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 And when we had (AB)all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the [m](AC)Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? [n]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 (AD)stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to (AE)appoint you a (AF)servant and (AG)a witness not only to the things which you have [o]seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 (AH)rescuing you (AI)from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to (AJ)open their eyes so that they may turn from (AK)darkness to light and from the authority of (AL)Satan to God, that they may receive (AM)forgiveness of sins and an (AN)inheritance among those who have been sanctified by (AO)faith in Me.’
19 “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both (AP)to those of Damascus first, and also (AQ)at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even (AR)to the Gentiles, that they should (AS)repent and turn to God, practicing deeds (AT)appropriate to repentance. 21 For this reason some Jews (AU)seized me in the temple and were trying (AV)to put me to death. 22 Therefore, having obtained help from God to this day, I stand here (AW)bearing witness both to small and great, stating nothing but what (AX)the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; 23 [p](AY)that the [q]Christ was [r]to suffer, and [s]that (AZ)as first of the resurrection from the dead, He was going to proclaim (BA)light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
Footnotes
- Acts 25:23 Lit and Bernice
- Acts 25:23 Lit and with
- Acts 25:23 Military leader over 1,000 soldiers
- Acts 25:25 v 21, note 1
- Acts 25:26 Lit About whom I have nothing definite
- 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 25:23-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul Brought before Agrippa
23 So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then Festus gave the order and Paul was brought in.(A) 24 And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish community petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.(B) 25 But I found that he had done nothing deserving death, and when he appealed to his Imperial Majesty, I decided to send him.(C) 26 But I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write, 27 for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.”
Paul Defends Himself before Agrippa
26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:(D)
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 because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.(E)
4 “All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem.(F) 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee.(G) 6 And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors,(H) 7 a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, Your Excellency,[a] that I am accused by Jews!(I) 8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?(J)
9 “Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.[b](K) 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.(L) 11 By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme, and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.(M)
Paul Tells of His Conversion
12 “With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,(N) 13 when at midday along the road, Your Excellency,[c] I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew[d] language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.’(O) 15 I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me[e] and to those in which I will appear to you.(P) 17 I will rescue you from your people and from the gentiles—to whom I am sending you(Q) 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’(R)
Paul Tells of His Preaching
19 “After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance.(S) 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.(T) 22 To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place:(U) 23 that the Messiah[f] must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the gentiles.”(V)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.