Book of Common Prayer
“Paul, you’re mad!”
24 As Paul was making his defense in this way, Festus roared out at the top of his voice, “Paul, you’re mad! All this learning of yours has driven you crazy!”
25 “I’m not mad, most excellent Festus,” responded Paul. “On the contrary, what I say is full of truth and good sense. 26 The king knows about these things, and it is to him that I am speaking so boldly. I cannot believe that any of this has escaped his notice. After all, these things didn’t happen in a corner. 27 Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know you believe them.”
28 “You reckon you’re going to make me a Christian, then,” said Agrippa to Paul, “and pretty quick, too, by the sound of it!”
29 “Whether quick or slow,” replied Paul, “I pray to God that not only you but also all who hear me today will become just as I am—apart, of course, from these chains.”
30 The king, the governor and Bernice, and those sitting with them, got up. 31 As they were going away, they talked to one another about it.
“This man,” they were saying, “has done nothing to deserve death or chains.”
32 And Agrippa commented to Festus, “This man could have been set free, if only he hadn’t gone and appealed to Caesar.”
All at sea
27 When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they handed Paul over, along with some other prisoners, to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Cohort. 2 They got into a ship from Adramyttium, which was intending to sail to various places along the coast of Asia. So off we set. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, came too.
3 Next day we put in at Sidon. Julius was kind to Paul, and allowed him to go to his friends to be cared for. 4 When we left Sidon, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us, 5 and then crossed the sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, arriving at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found a ship going from Alexandria to Italy, and we got on board.
7 After a few days we were making very heavy weather of it, and only got to the shore at Cnidus. Since the wind was not helping us, we sailed under the lee of Crete, off the coast from Salmone. 8 Getting past that point with some difficulty, we came to a place called “Fair Havens,” not far from the town of Lasea.
Watching for the son of man
28 “Learn this lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes soft and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happen, you should know that it is near, right at the gates. 30 I’m telling you the truth: this generation won’t disappear until all of this has happened. 31 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words won’t disappear.
32 “No one knows, though, the day or the hour. The angels in heaven don’t know it; nor does the son; only the father.
33 “Keep watch, stay awake. You don’t know when the moment will arrive. 34 It’s like a man who goes away from home: he leaves his house, giving each of his slaves authority for their own tasks; and he commands the doorkeeper to keep watch. 35 Keep watch, then, because you don’t know when the master of the house is going to come. It might be at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning! 36 You don’t want him to come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 What I am telling you, I am telling everyone: keep watch!”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.