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Acts 26:1-32 — Paul Before Agrippa

Acts.26.1-32

¹Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak on your own behalf.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: ²“I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that today I am about to make my defense before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, ³especially because you are knowledgeable about all the customs and controversies among the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. ⁴All the Jews know my manner of life from my youth, how from the beginning I lived among my own nation and in Jerusalem. ⁵They have known me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I lived as a Pharisee. ⁶And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, ⁷the promise our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, O king. ⁸Why is it thought incredible among you if God raises the dead? ⁹I myself, therefore, thought that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority received from the chief priests, I shut up many of the saints in prisons, and when they were being put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹And in all the synagogues I often punished them and tried to force them to blaspheme; and in my raging fury against them, I kept persecuting them even in foreign cities. ¹²In this course, as I was traveling to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, ¹³at midday on the road I saw, O king, a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. ¹⁴And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads .’ ¹⁵And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶But rise and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as a servant and witness both of what you have seen of me and of what I will show you. ¹⁷I will rescue 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 authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in me.’ ¹⁹“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰but first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, I kept proclaiming that they should repent and turn to God, doing deeds worthy of repentance. ²¹For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and were trying to kill me. ²²Therefore, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except what both the prophets and Moses said was going to happen: ²³that the Christ would suffer, and that as the first to rise from the dead he would proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles.” ²⁴As he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you mad!” ²⁵But Paul said, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking words of truth and sound judgment. ²⁶For the king knows about these things, and I also speak boldly to him. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. ²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” ²⁸And Agrippa said to Paul, “In such a short time you are persuading me to make me a Christian ?” ²⁹And Paul said, “I would pray to God that whether in a short time or after a long one, not only you but also all who hear me today might become such as I am, except for these chains.” ³⁰Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those seated with them. ³¹And when they had withdrawn, they were saying to one another, “This man is doing nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.” ³²And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Translation Notes

4/11/2026

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