¹⁹ But Jesus^[a] refused and said to him, “Go home to your own people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.”

²⁹ “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah,^[a] can he?”^(A)

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: “May you have abundant prosperity!^{(A) 26} I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people shall tremble and fear before the God of Daniel:

22 “Brothers^[a] and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you.”^(A)

² When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew,^[b] they became even more quiet. Then he said:^(B)

³ “I am a Jew born in Tarsus in Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today.^{(C) 4} I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison,^{(D) 5} as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.^(E)

Paul Tells of His Conversion

⁶ “While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me.^{(F) 7} I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ⁸ I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth^[c] whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.^{(G) 10} I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.’^{(H) 11} Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.^(I)

¹² “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there,^{(J) 13} came to me, and standing beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear his own voice,^{(K) 15} for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard.^{(L) 16} And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’^(M)

Paul Sent to the Gentiles

¹⁷ “After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance^{(N) 18} and saw Jesus^[d] saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.^{(O) 20} And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.’^{(P) 21} Then he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the gentiles.’ ”^(Q)

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.^{(A) 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.^{(B) 6} And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors,^{(C) 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!^{(D) 8} Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?^(E)

⁹ “Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.^{[b](F) 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.^{(G) 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.^(H)

Paul Tells of His Conversion

¹² “With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,^{(I) 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.’^{(J) 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.^{(K) 17} I will rescue you from your people and from the gentiles—to whom I am sending you^{(L) 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.’^(M)

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.^{(N) 21} For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.^{(O) 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:^{(P) 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.”^(Q)

Paul Appeals to Agrippa to Believe

²⁴ While he was making this defense, Festus exclaimed, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane!”^{(R) 25} But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth.^{(S) 26} Indeed, the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely, for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” ²⁸ Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?”^{(T) 29} Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains.”^(U)

³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven,

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

4 ^[a]King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages that live throughout the earth: May you have abundant prosperity!^{(A) 2} The signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me I am pleased to recount.^(B)

⁹ A writing of King Hezekiah of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness: