{"book":"Acts","slug":"acts","ch":26,"genre":"prose","sub":"The Acts of the Apostles","prev":"acts/25","next":"acts/27","verses":[{"v":1,"t":"Agrippa said to Paul,“ You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out [his] hand [and] began his defense:","f":[],"lines":[{"style":"reg","t":"Agrippa said to Paul,“ You have permission to speak for yourself.”"},{"style":"reg","t":"Then Paul stretched out [his] hand [and] began his defense:"}],"h":"Paul’s Testimony to Agrippa","style":"reg"},{"v":2,"t":"“ King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of [the] Jews,","f":[]},{"v":3,"t":"especially [since] you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg [you], therefore, to listen to me patiently.","f":[]},{"v":4,"t":"Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from [my] earliest childhood among my own people, and also in Jerusalem.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":5,"t":"They have known me for a long time [and] can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.","f":[]},{"v":6,"t":"And now I stand on trial because of [my] hope in the promise [that] God made to our fathers,","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":7,"t":"[ the promise ] our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve [ God ] day and night. [It is] because of [this] hope, O king, [that] I am accused by the Jews.","f":[]},{"v":8,"t":"Why {would} any of you consider it incredible that God raises [the] dead?","f":[]},{"v":9,"t":"So then, I [too] was convinced that I ought to do all [I could] to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":10,"t":"And [that] is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and [when] they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against [them].","f":[]},{"v":11,"t":"I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, [and] I tried to make [them] blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, {I} even [went] to foreign cities to persecute [them].","f":[]},{"v":12,"t":"In this [pursuit] I was on my way to Damascus with [the] authority and commission of the chief priests.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":13,"t":"About noon, O king, [as I was] on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.","f":[]},{"v":14,"t":"We all fell to the ground, [and] I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew,‘ Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? [It is] hard for you to kick against [the] goads.’","f":["Or in Aramaic; literally in the Hebrew language"],"lines":[{"style":"","t":"We all fell to the ground, [and] I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew,"},{"style":"red","t":"‘ Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? [It is] hard for you to kick against [the] goads.’"}],"style":"red"},{"v":15,"t":"‘ Who are You, Lord?’ I asked.‘ I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.","f":[],"lines":[{"style":"reg","t":"‘ Who are You, Lord?’ I asked."},{"style":"reg","t":"‘ I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied."}],"style":"reg"},{"v":16,"t":"‘ But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you.","f":[],"style":"red"},{"v":17,"t":"I will rescue you from [your own] people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to [them]","f":[]},{"v":18,"t":"to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, [that] they may receive forgiveness of sins and [an] inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’","f":[]},{"v":19,"t":"So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":20,"t":"First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy [of their] repentance.","f":[]},{"v":21,"t":"For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple [courts] [and] tried to kill [me].","f":["Literally the temple"]},{"v":22,"t":"[But] I have had God’s help to this day, [and] I stand [here] to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":23,"t":"that the Christ would suffer, [and as the] first to rise from [the] dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”","f":[]},{"v":24,"t":"At this stage of [Paul’s] defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice,“ You are insane, Paul! [Your] great learning is driving you to madness!”","f":[],"h":"Festus Interrupts Paul’s Defense","style":"reg"},{"v":25,"t":"But Paul answered,“ I am not insane, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and sobriety.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":26,"t":"For the king knows about these [matters], and I can speak freely to [him]. I am confident that none of this has escaped his [notice], because [it] was not done in a corner.","f":[]},{"v":27,"t":"King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you [do].”","f":[]},{"v":28,"t":"Then Agrippa [said] to Paul,“ Can you persuade me in such a short [time] to become a Christian?”","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":29,"t":"“ Short [time] [or] long,” Paul [replied],“ I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.”","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":30,"t":"Then the king and the governor rose, along with Bernice and those seated with them.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":31,"t":"On their way out, they said to one another,“ This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”","f":[]},{"v":32,"t":"And Agrippa said to Festus,“ This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”","f":[],"style":"reg"}]}