Acts 26

1Then Agrippa said to Paul: You have permission to speak for yourself. So Paul motioned with his hand and began to explain himself:

2King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today, as I explain myself against all the accusations the Jews have made,

3This is especially true because you know all about Jewish customs and arguments. So I beg you to listen to me patiently.

4The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country and also in Jerusalem.

5They have known me for a long time. If they are willing, they can tell you that I lived as a Pharisee, in the strictest group of our religion.

6And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today.

7This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see come true, as they serve God earnestly day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me.

8Why should any of you find it hard to believe that God raises the dead?

9I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

10And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With the authority of the chief priests, I put many of the Lord's people in prison. When they were put to death, I voted against them.

11Many times I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished. I tried to force them to curse the name of Jesus. I was so filled with anger against them that I even went to foreign cities to hurt them there.

12On one of these trips, I was going to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests.

13About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions.

14We all fell to the ground. I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to fight against me.

15Then I asked: Who are you, Lord? The Lord replied: I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting.

16Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.

17I will rescue you from your own people and from the non-Jewish people. I am sending you to them,

18To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light. Turn them from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are set apart for me by faith.

19So then, King Agrippa, I did not disobey the vision from heaven.

20First I preached to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and all Judea, and then to the non-Jewish people. I told them they should turn from their sins to God, and show that turning by what they do.

21It was for this reason that the Jews grabbed me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.

22But God has helped me to this very day. So I stand here and tell my story to everyone, small and great alike. I am saying nothing more than what the prophets and Moses said would happen —

23That the Messiah would suffer. He would be the first to rise from the dead, and He would bring the message of light to His own people and to the non-Jewish people.

24At this point Festus interrupted Paul as he was explaining himself. He shouted: You are out of your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you crazy.

25Paul replied: I am not crazy, most excellent Festus. What I am saying is true and makes sense.

26The king knows about these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am sure that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done off in some hidden corner.

27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.

28Then Agrippa said to Paul: Do you think that in such a short time you can convince me to become a Christian?

29Paul replied: Short time or long — I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.

30The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them.

31After they left the room, they said to one another: This man is not doing anything that deserves death or prison.

32Agrippa said to Festus: This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.