Y Agripa^a dijo a Pablo: Se te permite hablar en tu favor. Entonces Pablo, extendiendo la mano, comenzó su defensa:

2 Con respecto a todo aquello de que los judíos me acusan, me considero afortunado, oh rey Agripa, de poder¹ presentar hoy mi defensa delante de ti, 3 sobre todo, porque eres experto¹ en todas las costumbres y controversias entre los judíos^a; por lo cual te ruego que me escuches con paciencia. 4 Pues bien, todos los judíos conocen^a mi vida¹ desde mi juventud, que desde el principio transcurrió entre los de mi pueblo² y en Jerusalén; 5 puesto que ellos han sabido de mí desde hace mucho tiempo, si están dispuestos a testificar, que viví como fariseo^a, de acuerdo con la secta^b más estricta^c de nuestra religión. 6 Y ahora soy sometido a juicio por la esperanza^a de la promesa hecha por Dios a nuestros padres^b: 7 que nuestras doce tribus^a esperan alcanzar al servir fielmente a Dios noche y día. Y por esta esperanza^b, oh rey, soy acusado por los judíos^c. 8 ¿Por qué se considera increíble entre vosotros que Dios resucite a los muertos^a? 9 Yo ciertamente había creído que debía hacer muchos males^a en contra del nombre de Jesús de Nazaret^b. 10 Y esto es precisamente¹ lo que hice en Jerusalén; nosolo encerré en cárceles a muchos de los santos^a con la autoridad recibida de los principales sacerdotes^b, sino que también, cuando eran condenados a muerte, yo daba mi voto contra ellos^c. 11 Y castigándolos con frecuencia en todas las sinagogas^a, procuraba obligarlos a blasfemar; y enfurecido en gran manera contra ellos^b, seguía persiguiéndolos aun hasta en las ciudades extranjeras^1c.

12 ^aOcupado en esto¹, cuando iba para Damasco con autoridad y comisión de los principales sacerdotes, 13 al mediodía, oh rey, yendo de camino, vi una luz procedente del cielo más brillante que el sol, que resplandecía en torno mío y de los que viajaban conmigo. 14 Y después de que todos caímos al suelo^a, oí una voz que me decía en el idioma hebreo^1b: «Saulo, Saulo, ¿por qué me persigues? Dura cosa te es dar coces contra el aguijón». 15 Yo entonces dije: «¿Quién eres, Señor?». Y el Señor dijo: «Yo soy Jesús a quien tú persigues. 16 Pero levántate y ponte en pie^a; porque te he aparecido con el fin de designarte^b como ministro y testigo^c, nosolo de las cosas que¹ has visto, sino también de aquellas en que me apareceré a ti^d; 17 librándote^a del pueblo judío y de los gentiles^b, a los cuales yo te envío, 18 para que abras sus ojos^a a fin de que se vuelvan de la oscuridad a la luz^b, y del dominio de Satanás a Dios^c, para que reciban, por la fe en mí^d, el perdón de pecados^e y herencia entre los que han sido santificados^f». 19 Por consiguiente, oh rey Agripa, no fui desobediente a la visión celestial, 20 sino que anunciaba, primeramente a los que estaban en Damasco^a y también en Jerusalén^b, y después por toda la región de Judea, y aun a los gentiles^c, que debían arrepentirse^d y volverse a Dios, haciendo obras dignas de arrepentimiento^e. 21 Por esta causa, algunos judíos me prendieron en el templo^a y trataron de matarme^b. 22 Así que habiendo recibido ayuda de Dios, continúo hasta este día testificando^a tanto a pequeños como a grandes, no declarando más que lo que los profetas y Moisés dijeron que sucedería^b: 23 que¹ el Cristo² había de padecer^3a, y que por motivo de su resurrección de entre los muertos^b, Él debía ser el primero en proclamar luz tanto al pueblo judío como a los gentiles^c.

24 Mientras Pablo decía esto en su defensa, Festo dijo* a gran voz: ¡Pablo, estás loco! ¡Tu mucho saber^1a te está haciendo perder la cabeza²! 25 Mas Pablo dijo*: No estoy loco, excelentísimo^a Festo, sino que hablo palabras de verdad y de cordura. 26 Porque el rey entiende estas cosas^a, y también le hablo con confianza, porque estoy persuadido de que él no ignora nada de esto; pues esto no se ha hecho en secreto¹. 27 Rey Agripa, ¿crees en los profetas? Yo sé que crees. 28 Y Agripa respondió a Pablo: En poco tiempo¹ me persuadirás² a que me haga cristiano^a. 29 Y Pablo dijo: Quisiera¹ Dios que, ya fuera en poco tiempo o en mucho², nosolo tú, sino también todos los que hoy me oyen, llegaran a ser tal como yo soy, a excepción de estas cadenas^a.

30 Entonces el rey, el gobernador, Berenice^a y los que estaban sentados con ellos se levantaron, 31 y mientras se retiraban, hablaban entre ellos, diciendo: Este hombre no ha hecho* nada que merezca muerte o prisión^1a. 32 Y Agripa dijo a Festo: Podría ser puesto en libertad este hombre^a, si no hubiera apelado al César^b.

^aAgrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense:

2 “In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today; 3 ¹especially because you are an expert in all ^acustoms and ²questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

4 “So then, all Jews know ^amy manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem; 5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a ^aPharisee ^baccording to the strictest ^csect of our religion. 6 And now I am ¹standing trial ^afor the hope of ^bthe promise made by God to our fathers; 7 the promise ^ato which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this ^bhope, O King, I am being ^caccused by Jews. 8 Why is it considered incredible among you people ^aif God does raise the dead?

9 “So then, ^aI thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to ^bthe name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And this is ¹just what I ^adid in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the ²saints in prisons, having ^breceived authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I ^ccast my vote against them. 11 And ^aas I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being ^bfuriously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them ^ceven to ¹foreign cities.

12 “¹While so engaged ^aas 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, ¹brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 And when we had ^aall fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the ^1bHebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? ²It 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 ^astand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to ^bappoint you a ^cminister and ^da witness not only to the things which you have ¹seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 ^arescuing you ^bfrom the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to ^aopen their eyes so that they may turn from ^bdarkness to light and from the dominion of ^cSatan to God, that they may receive ^dforgiveness of sins and an ^einheritance among those who have been sanctified by ^ffaith in Me.’

19 “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both ^ato those of Damascus first, and also ^bat Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even ^cto the Gentiles, that they should ^drepent and turn to God, performing deeds ^eappropriate to repentance. 21 For this reason some Jews ^aseized me in the temple and tried ^bto put me to death. 22 So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day ^atestifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what ^bthe Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; 23 ^1athat ²the Christ was ³to suffer, and ⁴that ^bby reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim ^clight both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

24 While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! ¹Your great ^alearning is ²driving you mad.” 25 But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, ^amost excellent Festus, but I utter words ¹of sober truth. 26 For the king ^1aknows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a ²corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you ¹do.” 28 Agrippa replied to Paul, “¹In a short time you ²will persuade me to ³become a ^aChristian.” 29 And Paul said, “¹I would wish to God, that whether ²in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these ^achains.”

30 ^aThe king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, 31 and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “^aThis man is not doing anything worthy of death or ¹imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been ^aset free if he had not ^bappealed to Caesar.”

Then ^aAgrippa said to Paul, “You are now permitted to speak on your own behalf.” At that, Paul stretched out his hand as an orator and made his defense as follows:

2 “I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, since it is before you that I am to make my defense today regarding all the charges brought against me by the Jews, 3 especially because you are an expert fully knowledgeable, experienced and unusually conversant in all the Jewish ^acustoms and controversial issues; therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

4 “So then, all the Jews know ^amy manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation the Jewish people, and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time, if they are willing to testify to it, that ^aaccording to the ¹strictest ^bsect of our religion, I have lived as a ^cPharisee. 6 And now I am standing trial ^afor the hope of ^bthe promise made by God to our fathers. Acts 13:32, 33 7 ^aWhich hope of the Messiah and the resurrection our twelve tribes confidently expect to realize as they serve and worship God in earnest night and day. And for this ^bhope, O King, I am being ^caccused by Jews! 8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you ^athat God raises the dead?

9 “So then, ^aI once thought to myself that it was my duty to do many things in opposition to ^bthe name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And this is just what I ^adid in Jerusalem; I not only locked up many of the saints (God’s people) in prison after ^breceiving authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being condemned to death, I ^1ccast my vote against them. 11 And ^aI often punished them making them suffer in all the synagogues and tried to force them to blaspheme; and in my ^bextreme rage at them, I kept hunting them ^ceven to foreign cities harassing and persecuting them.

12 “While so engaged, ^aas I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission and full power of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven surpassing the brightness of the sun, shining all around me and those who were traveling with me. 14 And when we ^aall had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice in the ^bHebrew dialect (Jewish Aramaic) saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? ¹It is hard for you to kick repeatedly against the ²goads offering pointless resistance.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 Get up and ^astand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to ^bappoint you to serve as a ^cminister and as ^da witness to testify, with authority, not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you, 17 choosing you for Myself and ^arescuing you ^bfrom the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, Ezek 2:1, 3 18 to ^aopen their spiritual eyes so that they may turn from ^bdarkness to light and from the power of ^cSatan to God, that they may receive ^dforgiveness and release from their sins and an ^einheritance among those who have been sanctified (set apart, made holy) by ^ffaith in Me.’ Is 42:7, 16

19 “So, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but I openly proclaimed first ^ato those at Damascus, then ^bat Jerusalem and throughout the region of Judea, and even ^cto the Gentiles, that they should ^drepent change their inner self—their old way of thinking and turn to God, doing deeds and living lives which are ^econsistent with repentance. 21 Because of this some Jews ^aseized me in the temple and tried ^bto kill me. 22 But I have had help from God to this day, and I stand before people ^atestifying to small and great alike, stating nothing except what ^bthe Prophets and Moses said would come to pass— 23 ^athat the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) was to suffer, and that He ^bby being the first to rise from the dead with an incorruptible body would proclaim ^clight (salvation) both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

24 While Paul was making this defense, Festus said loudly, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great ^aeducation is turning you toward madness.” 25 But Paul replied, “I am not out of my mind, ^amost excellent and noble Festus, but with a sound mind I am uttering rational words of truth and reason. 26 For your majesty the king ^aunderstands these things, and therefore I am also speaking to him with confidence and boldness, since I am convinced that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner hidden from view, in secret. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the writings of the Prophets their messages and words? I know that you do.” 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time and with so little effort you almost persuade me to become a ^aChristian.” 29 And Paul replied, “Whether in a short time or long, I wish to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these ^achains.”

30 Then ^athe king stood up, and with him the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them; 31 and after they had gone out, they began saying to one another, “^aThis man is not doing anything worthy of death or even of imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been ^aset free if he had not ^bappealed to ¹Caesar (Emperor Nero) .”