Acts 26–28

Paul Makes His Defense Before King Agrippa

26So Agrippa said to Paul, “It is permitted for you to speak for yourself.” Then Paul extended his^* hand and^* began to defend himself:^*

²“Concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that before you I am about to defend myself today, ³because^* you are especially acquainted with both all the customs and controversial questions with respect to the Jews. Therefore I beg you^* to listen to me with patience.

⁴“Now all the Jews know my manner of life from my youth, that had taken place from the beginning among my own people^a and in Jerusalem, ⁵having known me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that in accordance with the strictest party of our religion I lived as a Pharisee. ⁶And now I stand here on trial on the basis of hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, ⁷to which our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve him^* night and day. Concerning this hope I am being accused by the Jews, O king! ⁸Why is it thought incredible by you people^* that God raises the dead? ⁹Indeed, I myself thought it was necessary to do many things opposed to the name of Jesus the Nazarene, ¹⁰which I also did in Jerusalem, and not only did I lock up many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when^* they were being executed, I cast my vote^b against them.^{* 11}And throughout all the synagogues I punished them often and^* tried to force^* them^* to blaspheme, and because I^* was enraged at them beyond measure, I was pursuing them^* even as far as to foreign cities. ¹²In this activity^c I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and full power of the chief priests. ¹³In the middle of the day along the road, O king, I saw a light from heaven, more than the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those who were traveling with me. ¹⁴And when^* we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Aramaic language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads!’ ¹⁵So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶But get up and stand on your feet, because for this reason I have appeared to you, to appoint you a servant and witness both to the things in which you saw me and to the things in which I will appear to you, ¹⁷rescuing you from the people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, ¹⁸to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

¹⁹“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰but to those in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem and all the region of Judea and to the Gentiles, I proclaimed that they should repent and turn to God, doing deeds worthy of repentance. ²¹On account of these things the Jews seized me in^d the temple courts^* and^* were attempting to kill me.^{* 22}Therefore I have experienced help from God until this day, and^* I stand here testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except what both the prophets and Moses have said were going to happen, ²³that the Christ^e was to suffer and that as the first of the resurrection from the dead, he was going to proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴And as^* he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Your^* great learning is driving^f you insane!”^{g 25}But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but am speaking words of truth and rationality. ²⁶For the king knows about these things, to whom also I am speaking freely, for I am not convinced that these things in any way have escaped^h his notice, because this wasⁱ not done^j in a corner. ²⁷Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know that you believe.” ²⁸But Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?”^{k 29}And Paul replied, “I pray to God, whether in a short time or in a long time, not only you but also all those who are listening to me today may become such people as I also am, except for these bonds!”

³⁰Both the king and the governor got up, and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. ³¹And as they^* were going out, they were talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment.” ³²And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Paul and His Associates Sail for Rome

27And when it was decided that we would sail away to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named^a Julius of the Augustan^b Cohort. ²And we went aboard a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to the places along the coast^* of Asia^c and^* put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. ³And on the next day, we put in at Sidon. And Julius, treating Paul kindly, allowed him^* to go to his^* friends to be cared for.^{d 4}And from there we put out to sea and^* sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us.^{* 5}And after we^* had sailed across the open sea along Cilicia and Pamphylia, we put in at Myra in Lycia. ⁶And there the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and^* put us on board^e it. ⁷And sailing slowly, in many days and with difficulty we came^* to Cnidus. Because^* the wind did not permit us to go further, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. ⁸And sailing along its coast with difficulty, we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near which was the town of Lasea.

⁹And because^* considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast^f was already over, Paul strongly recommended, ¹⁰saying to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage is going to end^g with disaster and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives!” ¹¹But the centurion was convinced even more by the shipmaster and the shipowner than by what was said by Paul. ¹²And because^* the harbor was unsuitable for spending the winter in, the majority decided on a plan to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could arrive at Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing toward the southwest and toward the northwest, to spend the winter there.^*

A Violent Storm at Sea

¹³And when^* a southwest wind began to blow gently, because they^* thought they could accomplish their purpose, they weighed anchor and^* sailed close along Crete. ¹⁴But not long afterward a wind like a hurricane, called the northeaster,^h rushed down from it.^{i 15}And when^* the ship was caught and was not able to head into the wind, we gave way and^* were driven along. ¹⁶And running under the lee of a certain small island called Cauda, we were able with difficulty to get the ship’s boat under control. ¹⁷After^* hoisting it up,^j they made use of supports to undergird the ship. And because they^* were afraid lest they run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and^* thus were driven along. ¹⁸And because^* we were violently battered by the storm, on the next day they began^k jettisoning the cargo,^{* 19}and on the third day they threw overboard the gear of the ship with their own hands. ²⁰But when^* neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and with not a little bad weather confronting us,^* finally all hope was abandoned that we would be saved.

²¹And because^* many were experiencing lack of appetite, at that time Paul stood up in their midst and^* said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice not to put out to sea from Crete, and thus avoided this damage and loss! ²²And now I urge you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life from among you, but only of the ship. ²³For this night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve came to me, ²⁴saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar, and behold, God has graciously granted you all who are sailing with you.’ ²⁵Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will be like this—according to the^l way it was told to me. ²⁶But it is necessary that we run aground on some island.”

²⁷And when the fourteenth night had come, as^* we were being driven in the Adriatic Sea about the middle of the night, the sailors suspected they were approaching some land.^{m 28}And taking soundings, they found twenty fathoms. So going on a little further and taking soundings again, they found fifteen fathoms. ²⁹And because they^* were afraid lest somewhere we run aground against rough places, they threw down four anchors from the stern and^* prayed for day to come. ³⁰And when^* the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending as if they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, ³¹Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain with the ship, you cannot be saved!” ³²Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.ⁿ

³³And until the day was about to come, Paul was urging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited anxiously, and^* you have continued without eating, having taken nothing. ³⁴Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is necessary for your preservation. For not a hair from your head will be lost.” ³⁵And after he^* said these things and took bread, he gave thanks to God in front of them all, and after^* breaking it,^* he began to eat. ³⁶So they all were^* encouraged and partook of food themselves. ³⁷(Now we were in all two hundred seventy six persons on the ship.) ³⁸And when they^* had eaten their fill of food, they lightened the ship by^* throwing the wheat^o into the sea.

The Shipwreck

³⁹Now when day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay having a beach, onto which they decided to run the ship ashore if they could. …