| 26:1 | So Agrippa* said to Paul, “You have permission* to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand* and began his defense:* |
| 26:2 | “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa,* I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today, |
| 26:3 | because you are especially* familiar with all the customs and controversial issues* of the Jews. Therefore I ask* you to listen to me patiently. |
| 26:4 | Now all the Jews know the way I lived* from my youth, spending my life from the beginning among my own people* and in Jerusalem.* |
| 26:5 | They know,* because they have known* me from time past,* if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party* of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.* |
| 26:6 | And now I stand here on trial* because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors,* |
| 26:7 | a promise* that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God* night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me,* Your Majesty!* |
| 26:8 | Why do you people* think* it is unbelievable* that* God raises the dead? |
| 26:9 | Of course,* I myself was convinced* that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. |
| 26:10 | And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received* from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote* against them when they were sentenced to death.* |
| 26:11 | I punished* them often in all the synagogues* and tried to force* them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged* at them, I went to persecute* them even in foreign cities. |
| 26:12 | “While doing this very thing,* as I was going* to Damascus with authority and complete power* from the chief priests, |
| 26:13 | about noon along the road, Your Majesty,* I saw a light from heaven,* brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around* me and those traveling with me. |
| 26:14 | When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,* ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself* by kicking against the goads.’* |
| 26:15 | So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord replied,* ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. |
| 26:16 | But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance* as a servant and witness* to the things* you have seen* and to the things in which I will appear to you. |
| 26:17 | I will rescue* you from your own people* and from the Gentiles, to whom* I am sending you |
| 26:18 | to open their eyes so that they 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.’ |
| 26:19 | “Therefore, King Agrippa,* I was not disobedient* to the heavenly* vision, |
| 26:20 | but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea,* and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God,* performing deeds consistent with* repentance. |
| 26:21 | For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts* and were trying to kill me. |
| 26:22 | I have experienced* help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except* what the prophets and Moses said* was going to happen: |
| 26:23 | that* the Christ* was to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, to proclaim light both to our people* and to the Gentiles.”* |
| 26:24 | As Paul* was saying these things in his defense, Festus* exclaimed loudly, “You have lost your mind,* Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane!” |
| 26:25 | But Paul replied,* “I have not lost my mind, most excellent Festus,* but am speaking* true and rational* words. |
| 26:26 | For the king knows about these things, and I am speaking freely* to him,* because I cannot believe* that any of these things has escaped his notice,* for this was not done in a corner.* |
| 26:27 | Do you believe the prophets,* King Agrippa?* I know that you believe.” |
| 26:28 | Agrippa* said to Paul, “In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?”* |
| 26:29 | Paul replied, “I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time* not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.”* |
| 26:30 | So the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them, |
| 26:31 | and as they were leaving they said to one another,* “This man is not doing anything deserving* death or imprisonment.” |
| 26:32 | Agrippa* said to Festus,* “This man could have been released* if he had not appealed to Caesar.”* |
Kisah Para Rasul 26 - NET Bible [draft]
