^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.”