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.
Jairus’s daughter and the woman with chronic bleeding
40 Jesus returned. A large crowd was waiting for him, and welcomed him back. 41 A man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell down in front of his feet. He pleaded with him to come to his house, 42 because he had an only daughter, twelve years old, who was dying. So they set off, and the crowd pressed close in around him.
43 There was a woman who had had an internal hemorrhage for twelve years. She had spent all she had on doctors, but had not been able to find a cure from anyone. 44 She came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of his robe. Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
45 “Who touched me?” asked Jesus.
Everybody denied it. “Master,” said Peter, “the crowds are crushing you and pressing you!”
46 “Somebody touched me,” said Jesus. “Power went out from me, and I knew it.”
47 When the woman saw that she couldn’t remain hidden, she came up, trembling, and fell down in front of him. She told him, in front of everyone, why she had touched him, and how she had been healed instantly.
48 “Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
49 While he was still speaking, someone arrived from the synagogue-ruler’s house. “Your daughter’s dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any longer.”
50 “Don’t be afraid,” said Jesus when he heard it. “Just believe, and she will be rescued.”
51 When they got to the house, he didn’t let anyone come in with them except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Everyone was weeping and wailing for her.
“Don’t cry,” said Jesus. “She isn’t dead; she’s asleep.” 53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But he took her by the hand. “Get up, child,” he called. 55 Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. He told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded, but he told them to tell nobody what had happened.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.