^aNow Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul extended his hand and proceeded to make his defense:

2 “Regarding all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate 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 way of life since my youth, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and in 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 standing 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. For this ^bhope, O king, I am being ^caccused by Jews. 8 Why is it considered incredible among you people ^aif God raises the dead?

9 “So ^aI thought to myself that I had to act in strong opposition to ^bthe name of Jesus ¹of Nazareth. 10 And this is ¹just what I ^adid in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the ²saints in prisons, after ^breceiving authority from the chief priests, but I also ^ccast my vote against them when they were being put to death. 11 And ^aas I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was ^bextremely 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 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 as a ^cservant and ^da witness not only to the things in which you have seen Me, 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 ¹power 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 “For that reason, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but continually proclaimed ^ato those in Damascus first, and ^bin Jerusalem, and then all the region of Judea, and even ^cto the Gentiles, that they are to ^drepent and turn to God, performing deeds ^econsistent with repentance. 21 For these reasons some Jews ^aseized me in the temple and tried ^bto murder me. 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 as to ^awhether the ¹Christ was ²to suffer, and whether, as ^bfirst from the resurrection of the dead, He would proclaim ^clight both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

24 While ¹Paul was stating these things in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! ²Your great ^alearning is ³driving you insane.” 25 But Paul *said, “I am not insane, ^amost excellent Festus; on the contrary, I am speaking out with ¹truthful and rational words. 26 For the king ^1aknows about these matters, and I also speak to him 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 believe.” 28 Agrippa replied to Paul, “¹In a short time you are going to persuade me to ²make a ^aChristian of myself.” 29 And Paul said, “I would ¹wish to God that even ²in a short or long time not only you, but also all who hear me this day would become such as I myself 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 out, they began talking to one another, saying, “^aThis man is not doing anything deserving death or ¹imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could 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) .”

^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.”

^aNow Agrippa said to Paul, “You are ¹permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul, stretching out his hand, began to make his defense:

2 “Concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I regard myself blessed, 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, 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 standing here being tried ^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 unbelievable among all of you ^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 the Nazarene. 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 language, ‘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 rise up and ^astand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to ^bappoint you a ^cservant 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 authority 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, practicing deeds ^eappropriate to repentance. 21 For this reason some Jews ^aseized me in the temple and were trying ^bto put me to death. 22 Therefore, having obtained help from God to this day, I stand here ^abearing witness both to small and great, stating nothing but what ^bthe Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; 23 ^1athat the ²Christ was ³to suffer, and ⁴that ^bas first of the resurrection from the dead, He was going to proclaim ^clight both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

24 Now while ¹Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! ²Great ^alearning is driving you out of your mind.” 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 you believe.” 28 But Agrippa replied to Paul, “¹In such short time ²are you persuading me to become a ^aChristian?” 29 And Paul said, “I would pray to God, that whether ¹in 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 ^aAnd the 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 could have been ^aset free if he had not ^bappealed to Caesar.”