Acts 26–28

Paul’s Early Life

26Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”

So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself: ²“I think myself ^ahappy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer ^bfor myself before you concerning all the things of which I am ^caccused by the Jews, ³especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.

⁴“My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. ⁵They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to ^dthe strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. ^6eAnd now I stand and am judged for the hope of ^fthe promise made by God to our fathers. ⁷To this promise ^gour twelve tribes, earnestly serving God ^hnight and day, ⁱhope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. ⁸Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

^9j“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things ¹contrary to the name of ^kJesus of Nazareth. ^10lThis I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority ^mfrom the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ⁿAnd I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

Paul Recounts His Conversion

^12o“While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, ¹³at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. ¹⁴And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew 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 He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, ^pto make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. ¹⁷I will ²deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, ^qto whom I ³now send you, ^18rto open their eyes, in order ^sto turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, ^tthat they may receive forgiveness of sins and ^uan inheritance among those who are ^vsanctified ⁴by faith in Me.’

Paul’s Post-Conversion Life

¹⁹“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰but ^wdeclared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do ^xworks befitting repentance. ²¹For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²²Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those ^ywhich the prophets and ^zMoses said would come—^23athat the Christ would suffer, ^bthat He would be the first to rise from the dead, and ^cwould proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

Agrippa Parries Paul’s Challenge

²⁴Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, ^dyou are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”

²⁵But he said, “I am not ⁵mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. ²⁶For the king, before whom I also speak freely, ^eknows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner. ²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”

²⁸Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

²⁹And Paul said, ^f“I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them; ³¹and when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, ^g“This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.”

³²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set ^hfree ⁱif he had not appealed to Caesar.”

The Voyage to Rome Begins

27And when ^ait was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment. ²So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. ^bAristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. ³And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius ^ctreated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. ⁴When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. ⁵And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. ⁶There the centurion found ^dan Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board.

⁷When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of ^eCrete off Salmone. ⁸Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

Paul’s Warning Ignored

⁹Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous ^fbecause ¹the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, ¹⁰saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” ¹¹Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. ¹²And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there.

In the Tempest

¹³When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. ¹⁴But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called ²Euroclydon. ¹⁵So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her ³drive. ¹⁶And running under the shelter of an island called ⁴Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. ¹⁷When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the ⁵Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. ¹⁸And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. ¹⁹On the third day ^gwe threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. ²⁰Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.

²¹But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. ²²And now I urge you to take ⁶heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ^23hFor there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and ⁱwhom I serve, ²⁴saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ ²⁵Therefore take heart, men, ^jfor I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. ²⁶However, ^kwe must run aground on a certain island.”

²⁷Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land. ²⁸And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. ²⁹Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and ⁷prayed for day to come. ³⁰And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, ³¹Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” ³²Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.

³³And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing. ³⁴Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, ^lsince not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.” ³⁵And when he had said these things, he took bread and ^mgave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat. ³⁶Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves. ³⁷And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six ⁿpersons on the ship. ³⁸So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea.

Shipwrecked on Malta

³⁹When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible. ⁴⁰And they ⁸let go the anchors and left them in the sea, meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore. ⁴¹But striking ⁹a place where two seas met, ^othey ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves.

⁴²And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. ⁴³But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, ⁴⁴and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was ^pthat they all escaped safely to land.

Paul’s Ministry on Malta

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