Acts 26:4–32

⁴“The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child,^r from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. ⁵They have known me for a long time^s and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect^t of our religion, living as a Pharisee.^{u 6}And now it is because of my hope^v in what God has promised our ancestors^w that I am on trial today. ⁷This is the promise our twelve tribes^x are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night.^y King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me.^{z 8}Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?^a

⁹“I too was convinced^b that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose^c the name of Jesus of Nazareth.^{d 10}And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people^e in prison,^f and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.^{g 11}Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished,^h and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.

¹²“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission 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, and I heard a voiceⁱ saying to me in Aramaic,^aj ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ¹⁶‘Now get up and stand on your feet.^k I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.^{l 17}I will rescue you^m from your own people and from the Gentiles.ⁿ I am sending you to them ¹⁸to open their eyes^o and turn them from darkness to light,^p and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins^q and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’^r

¹⁹“So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient^s to the vision from heaven. ²⁰First to those in Damascus,^t then to those in Jerusalem^u and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles,^v I preached that they should repent^w and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.^{x 21}That is why some Jews seized me^y in the temple courts and tried to kill me.^{z 22}But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen^a—²³that the Messiah would suffer^b and, as the first to rise from the dead,^c would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”^d

²⁴At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind,^e Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning^f is driving you insane.”

²⁵“I am not insane, most excellent^g Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. ²⁶The king is familiar with these things,^h and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a 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 persuade me to be a Christian?”ⁱ

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.”^j

³⁰The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice^k and those sitting with them. ³¹After they left the room, they began saying to one another, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”^l

³²Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free^m if he had not appealed to Caesar.”ⁿ