1Then King Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself”. Then Paul gestured with his hand, and began his defense;
2“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before this day regarding all the things of which I am accused by the Jews;
3Especially because I know you to be expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore, I ask you to listen to me patiently.
4The Jewish people all know my manner of life from my youth, which from my childhood was among my own nation at Jerusalem.
5They have known me for a long time, and can testify, if they were willing, that I lived after the strictest sect of our religion - a Pharisee.
6And now I stand and am on trial for the hope in what God promised to our fathers -
7The promise that our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God day and night, hope to see. It is for this hope's sake, King Agrippa, that the Jews now accuse me.
8Why should it be thought a thing incredible with any of you, that God can raise the dead?
9I truly thought that I ought to do everything in my power to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10Which is exactly what I did in Jerusalem; and many of the saints (believers in Jesus of Nazareth) I put in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them and for their death.
11And I went from synagogue to synagogue, punishing them often, and compelling them to blaspheme; and being obsessed against them, I persecuted them even into foreign cities.
12And then one day, as I traveled (for that purpose) to Damascus, with authority and commission from the chief priests,
13At noon, O king, I saw on the road a brilliant light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were travelling with me.
14And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me, and saying in the Hebrew (Aramaic) language, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads (resist My will).”
15And I said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting.
16But stand up on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen, and of those things in the which I will appear to you;
17I will rescue you from your own people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,
18To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a place (position) among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”
19And so, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to that heavenly vision,
20But declared first to them of Damascus, then at Jerusalem, throughout all the borders of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and demonstrate their repentance by their actions.
21For this, some of the Jews seized me in the temple, and tried to kill me.
22But having, obtained help from God, I continue and stand before you this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said should occur:
23That Christ (the Messiah) would suffer, and that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would bring the message of light to the Jews, and to the Gentiles.”
24And at this point, Festus interrupted in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your much learning has made you mad”.
25But Paul replied, “I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but what I am saying is both true and reasonable.
26For the king knows about these things, and I can speak freely before him; for I believe that none of these things are hidden from him; for these events were not done in a corner (out of public view).
27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
28Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to be a Christian.”
29And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but all that hear me this day were both almost, and altogether, such as I am, except for these chains.” Verse 28, as it appears above in the text, is the way the King James translation renders it. Some other popular translations render it thusly: NIV – “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’”; NLT – “Agrippa interrupted him. ‘Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?’”; ESV – “And Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?’”; BSB – “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?’”; BLB – “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Within so little time do you persuade me to become a Christian?’". So, while the translations vary in their wording, what emerges from any of them is that Paul’s argument was not that of a madman, as suggested by Festus, but very rational and persuasive, as the gospel message is, and should be.
30And then King Agrippa rose, and with him the governor and Bernice, and those sitting with them;
31And after they had gone aside, they said among themselves, “This man is doing nothing worthy of death or imprisonment”.
32Then King Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free, if he had not appealed to Caesar.” Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
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