Acts 26:1-19 (New American Standard)
View In My BiblePaul's Defense before Agrippa
1 1Agrippa said to Paul, "You are permitted to speak for yourself." Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense : 2 "In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today ; 3 aespecially because you are an expert in all 2customs and bquestions among the Jews ; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. 4 "So then, all Jews know 3my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem ; 5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a 4Pharisee 5according to the strictest 6sect of our religion. 6 "And now I am cstanding trial 7for the hope of 8the promise made by God to our fathers ; 7 the promise 9to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this 10hope, O King, I am being 11accused by Jews. 8 "Why is it considered incredible among you people 12if God does raise the dead ? 9 "So then, 13I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to 14the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 "And this is djust what I 15did in Jerusalem ; not only did I lock up many of the esaints in prisons, having 16received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I 17cast my vote against them. 11 "And 18as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme ; and being 19furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them 20even to fforeign cities. 12 "gWhile so engaged 21as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday , O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, hbrighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 "And when we had 22all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the i23Hebrew dialect, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? jIt is hard for you to kick against the goads.' 15 "And I said, 'Who are You, Lord ?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 'But get up and 24stand on your feet ; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to 25appoint you a 26minister and 27a witness not only to the things which you have kseen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 28rescuing you 29from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to 30open their eyes so that they may turn from 31darkness to light and from the dominion of 32Satan to God, that they may receive 33forgiveness of sins and an 34inheritance among those who have been sanctified by 35faith in Me.' 19 "So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision,New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California. All rights reserved. (New American Standard Version - Holy Bible)
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