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.”