Acts 25:23-26
New American Standard Bible
Paul before Agrippa
23 So, on the next day when (A)Agrippa and (B)Bernice came amid great pomp and entered the auditorium, [a]accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought before them. 24 And Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen present with us, you see this man about whom (C)all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that (D)he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had committed (E)nothing deserving death; and since he himself (F)appealed to [b]the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 [c]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 the charges against him as well.”
Paul’s Defense before Agrippa
26 (G)Now Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul extended his hand and proceeded to make his defense:
2 “Regarding all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today, 3 [d]especially because you are an expert in all (H)customs and [e]questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 “So then, all Jews know (I)my way of life since my youth, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and in 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 trial (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. For this (P)hope, O king, I am being (Q)accused by Jews. 8 Why is it considered incredible among you people (R)if God raises the dead?
9 “So (S)I thought to myself that I had to act in strong opposition to (T)the name of Jesus [f]of Nazareth. 10 And this is [g]just what I (U)did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the [h]saints in prisons, after (V)receiving authority from the chief priests, but I also (W)cast my vote against them when they were being put to death. 11 And (X)as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was (Y)extremely enraged at them, I kept pursuing them (Z)even to [i]foreign cities.
12 “[j]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, [k]brighter than the sun, shining 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 [l](AC)Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? [m]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 get up and (AD)stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to (AE)appoint you as a (AF)servant and (AG)a witness not only to the things in which you have seen Me, 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 [n]power 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 “For that reason, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but continually proclaimed (AP)to those in Damascus first, and (AQ)in Jerusalem, and then all the region of Judea, and even (AR)to the Gentiles, that they are to (AS)repent and turn to God, performing deeds (AT)consistent with repentance. 21 For these reasons some Jews (AU)seized me in the temple and tried (AV)to murder me. 22 So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day (AW)testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what (AX)the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place, 23 as to (AY)whether the [o]Christ was [p]to suffer, and whether, as (AZ)first from the resurrection of the dead, He would proclaim (BA)light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
Footnotes
- Acts 25:23 Lit and with
- Acts 25:25 See note v 21
- Acts 25:26 Lit About whom I
- Acts 26:3 Or because you are especially expert
- Acts 26:3 Or controversial issues
- Acts 26:9 Or the Nazarene
- Acts 26:10 Lit also
- Acts 26:10 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- Acts 26:11 Or outlying
- Acts 26:12 Lit In which things
- Acts 26:13 Lit above the brightness of
- Acts 26:14 I.e., Jewish Aramaic
- Acts 26:14 An idiom referring to an animal’s futile resistance to being prodded with a spiked stick
- Acts 26:18 Or dominion
- Acts 26:23 I.e., Messiah
- Acts 26:23 Lit subject to suffering
Acts 25:23-26
International Standard Version
23 The next day, Agrippa and Bernice arrived with much fanfare and went into the auditorium along with the tribunes and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all you men who are present with us! You see this man about whom the whole Jewish nation petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 I find that he has not done anything deserving of death. But since he has appealed to his Majesty, I have decided to send him. 26 I have nothing reliable to write our Sovereign about him, so I have brought him to all of you, and especially to you, King Agrippa, so that I will have something to write after he is cross-examined. 27 For it seems to me absurd to send a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.”
Paul Presents His Case to Agrippa
26 Then Agrippa told Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense.
2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, that I can defend myself today against all the accusations of the Jewish leaders,[a] 3 since you are especially familiar with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen patiently to me. 4 All the Jews know how I lived from the earliest days of my youth with my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known for a long time, if they would but testify to it, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the standards of our strictest religious party.
6 “And now I stand here on trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our ancestors. 7 Our twelve tribes, worshiping day and night with intense devotion, hope to attain it. It is because of this hope, O King, that I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why is it thought incredible by all of you that God should raise the dead? 9 Indeed, I myself thought it my duty to take extreme measures against the name of Jesus from Nazareth.[b] 10 That is what I did in Jerusalem. I received authority from the high priests and locked many of the saints in prison. And when I cast my vote against them, they were put to death. 11 I would even punish them frequently in every synagogue and try to make them blaspheme. Raging furiously against them, I would hunt them down even in distant cities.
12 “That is how I happened to be traveling to Damascus with authority based on a commission from the high priests. 13 On the road at noon, O King, I saw a light from heaven that was brighter than the sun. It flashed around me and those who were traveling with me.
14 “All of us fell to the ground, and I heard a voice asking me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me? It is hurting you to keep on kicking against the cattle prods.’[c]
15 “I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’[d]
“The Lord answered, ‘I’m Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet, because I’ve appeared to you for the very purpose of appointing you to be my servant and witness of what you’ve seen and of what I’ll show you. 17 I’ll continue to rescue you from your people and from the gentiles to whom I’m sending you. 18 You will help them understand[e] and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan’s control to God, so that their sins will be forgiven and they will receive a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
19 “And so, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 Instead, I first told the people in Damascus and Jerusalem, then all the people in Judea—and after that the gentiles—to repent, turn to God, and perform deeds that are consistent with such repentance. 21 For this reason the Jewish leaders[f] grabbed me in the Temple and kept trying to kill me. 22 I’ve had help from God to this day, and so I stand here to testify to both the powerful and the lowly alike, stating only what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah[g] would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead and would bring light both to our people and to the gentiles.”
Footnotes
- Acts 26:2 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- Acts 26:9 Or Jesus the Nazarene; the Gk. Nazoraios may be a word play between Heb. netser, meaning branch (cf. Isa 11:1), and the name Nazareth.
- Acts 26:14 Quoted in The Bacchae by Euripides, although Aeschylus in Prometheus Bound used almost identical language.
- Acts 26:15 Or Sir
- Acts 26:18 Lit. will open their eyes
- Acts 26:21 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- Acts 26:23 Or Christ
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