CHAPTER 26
1 And Agrippa said to Paul, It is suffered to thee, to speak for thyself. Then Paul held forth the hand, and began to yield reason.
2 Of all things, in which I am accused of the Jews, thou king Agrippa, I guess me blessed at thee, when I shall defend me this day;
3 mostly for thou knowest all things that be among Jews, customs and questions. For which thing, I beseech, hear me patiently.
4 For all Jews that before knew me from the beginning, know my life from youth;
5 that from the beginning was in my folk in Jerusalem, if they will bear witnessing [or bear witness], that by the most certain sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee.
6 And now for the hope of repromission, that is made to our fathers of God, I stand subject in doom;
7 in which hope our twelve lineages, serving night and day hope to come; of which hope, sir king, I am accused of the Jews.
8 What unbelieveful thing is deemed at you, if God raiseth dead men?
9 And soothly I guessed, that I ought to do many contrary things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 Which thing also I did in Jeru-salem, and I enclosed many of the saints in prison, when I had taken power of the princes of priests. And when they were slain, I brought [or I gave] the sentence.
11 And by all synagogues oft I punished them, and constrained to blaspheme; and more I waxed mad against them, and pursued [till] into alien cities.
12 In which, [the] while I went to Damascus, with power and suffering of the princes of priests,
13 at midday, in the way I saw, sir king, that from heaven a light shined about me, passing the shining of the sun, and about them that were together with me.
14 And when we all had fallen down into the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, what persecutest [or pursuest] thou me? it is hard to [or for] thee, to kick against the prick.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest [or pursuest].
16 But rise up, and stand on thy feet. For why to this thing I appeared to thee, that I ordain thee minister and witness of those things that thou hast seen, and of those things in which I shall show [or shall appear] to thee.
17 And I shall deliver thee from peoples and folks, to which now I send thee,
18 to open the eyes of them, that they be converted [or turned] from darkness to light, and from power of Satan to God, that they take remission of sins, and part among saints, by faith that is in me.
19 Wherefore, sir king Agrippa, I was not unbelieveful to the heavenly vision;
20 but I told [or I showed] to them, that be at Damascus first, and at Jerusalem, and by all the country of Judea, and to heathen men, that they should do penance, and be converted to God, and do worthy works of penance.
21 For this cause, Jews took me, when I was in the temple, to slay me.
22 But I was helped by the help of God [till] into this day, and stand, witnessing to less and to more. And I say nothing else than which things the prophets and Moses spake that shall come,
23 if Christ is to suffer, if he is the first of the again-rising of dead men, that shall show light to the people and to heathen men.
24 When he spake these things, and yielded reason, Festus said with great voice, Paul, thou maddest [or thou waxest mad]; many letters turn thee to madness.
25 And Paul said, I mad not, thou best Festus, but I speak out the words of truth and of soberness.
26 For also the king, to whom I speak steadfastly, knoweth of these things; for I deem, that nothing of these is hid from him; for neither in a corner was aught of these things done.
27 Believest thou, king Agrippa, to prophets? I know that thou believest.
28 And Agrippa said to Paul, In little thing thou counselest me [for] to be made a christian man.
29 And Paul said, I desire with God, both in little and in great, not only thee, but all these that hear today, to be made such as I am, except these bonds.
30 And the king rose up, and the president, and Bernice, and they that sat nigh to them.
31 And when they went away, they spake together, and said, That this man hath not done anything worthy death, neither [or] bonds.
32 And Agrippa said to Festus, This man might be delivered [or dismissed], if he had not appealed to the emperor [or to Caesar].