The Bible in Basic English BBE
Orthodox Jewish Bible OJB
1 And Agrippa said to Paul, You may put your cause before us. Then Paul, stretching out his hand, made his answer, saying:
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6 And Agrippa said to Rav Sha’ul, "It is permitted for you to speak concerning yourself." Then Rav Sha’ul, having stretched out his hand, was making his hitstaddekut (defense), saying,
2 In my opinion I am happy, King Agrippa, to be able to give my answer before you today to all these things which the Jews say against me:
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"I have considered myself fortunate that it is before you, Agrippa HaMelech, that I am able to make my hitstaddekut today concerning everything of which I am accused by Yehudim.
3 The more so, because you are expert in all questions to do with the Jews and their ways: so I make my request to you to give me a hearing to the end.
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"Most of all, you are a bukki (expert, meivin) in all the minhagim and issues of the Yehudim; therefore, I beg you to listen patiently to me.
4 All the Jews have knowledge of my way of life from my early years, as it was from the start among my nation, and at Jerusalem;
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"All the Yehudim have da’as of my Yiddishkeit from my earliest youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Yerushalayim.
5 And they are able to say, if they would give witness, that I was living as a Pharisee, in that division of our religion which is most regular in the keeping of the law.
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"They have had da’as of this for a long time, if they are willing to bear edut, that according to the most machmir kat of our Orthodox Jewish faith my life has been lived out as a Parush.
6 And now I am here to be judged because of the hope given by God's word to our fathers;
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"And now I stand here on trial on account of my tikvah in the havtacha made to Avoteinu,
7 For the effecting of which our twelve tribes have been working and waiting night and day with all their hearts. And in connection with this hope I am attacked by the Jews, O king!
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"A havtacha Sheneym Asar Shevateinu have tikvah to attain, as they with earnestness worship Hashem yomam valailah. It if for this tikvah, your Excellency, that I am accused by Yehudim!
8 Why, in your opinion, is it outside belief for God to make the dead come to life again?
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"Why is it considered incredible by any of you that Hashem makes the Mesim to stand up alive?
9 For I, truly, was of the opinion that it was right for me to do a number of things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
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"Indeed, I myself thought it necessary to do many opposing things against ha-Shem of Yehoshua from Natzeret.
10 And this I did in Jerusalem: and numbers of the saints I put in prison, having had authority given to me from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my decision against them.
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"And this I also did in Yerushalayim; and armed with samchut received from the Rashei Hakohanim, many of the kadoshim I locked up in the beis hasohar; and I cast my vote keneged (against) them when they received the death penalty.
11 And I gave them punishment frequently, in all the Synagogues, forcing them to say things against God; and burning with passion against them, I went after them even into far-away towns.
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"And throughout all the shuls I often punished them, forcing them to commit Chillul Hashem gidduf (blasphemy), and since I was so enraged against them, I was bringing redifah on them even as far as foreign cities.
12 Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests,
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"This it was, that as I was traveling to Damascus with authorization and permission from the Rashei Hakohanim,
13 In the middle of the day, on the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who were journeying with me.
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"At noon on the derech, O Melech, I saw from Shomayim an ohr, more brilliant than the shemesh, shining around me and around the ones traveling with me.
14 And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you.
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"And we all fell down to the ground. Then I heard a kol saying to me in the language of the Hebrews, ‘Sha’ul, Sha’ul, why are you bringing redifah upon me? It is hard for you to kick keneged (against) the prod.’
15 And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking.
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"And I said, ‘Who are you Adoni?’ And HaAdon said, ‘I am Yehoshua upon whom you are bringing redifah.
16 But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me;
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‘But get up and stand on your feet. For this tachlis, then, I appeared to you, to give you s’michah as a mesharet, an eved, and an eidus (witness), both of what things you have seen and the things which I will reveal to you. [Ezek 2:1; Dan 10:11]
17 And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,
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‘I will deliver you from your own people and from the Goyim to whom I am sending you, [YIRMEYAH 1:8,19]
18 To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me.
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‘To open their eyes, to turn them from choshech to ohr and from the samchut of Hasatan to Hashem, that they receive selichat avon and nachalah among the ones having been set apart in kedushah by emunah in me.' [YESHAYAH 35:5; TEHILLIM 18:28; YESHAYAH 42:7,16]
19 So, then, King Agrippa, I did not go against the vision from heaven;
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"O Agrippa HaMelech, I was not disobedient to the chazon from Shomayim. [YESHAYAH 50:5]
20 But I went about, first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, and through all the country of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, preaching a change of heart, so that they, being turned to God, might give, in their works, the fruits of a changed heart.
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"But beginning with the ones in Damascus and also with those in Yerushalayim, and with all the region of Yehudah and with the Goyim, I was preaching they should make teshuva and turn to Hashem, doing ma’asim mitzvot worthy of teshuva. [YIRMEYAH 18:11; 35:15]
21 For this reason, the Jews took me in the Temple, and made an attempt to put me to death.
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"Because of these things, the unbelieving Yehudim seized me while I was in the Beis Hamikdash, and were trying to kill me.
22 And so, by God's help, I am here today, witnessing to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come about;
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"To this day I have obtained ezer (help) from Hashem, to stand and give solemn edut (testimony) before both ketanim and Gedolim, testifying about nothing beyond the Orthodox Jewish faith based on what the Nevi’im and Moshe Rabbenu said would happen:
23 That the Christ would go through pain, and being the first to come back from the dead, would give light to the people and to the Gentiles.
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"That is, the yissurim (sufferings) of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, and that by being rishon to stand up alive in the Techiyas HaMoshiach, he would proclaim ohr both to K’lal Yisroel and the Nations."
24 And when he made his answer in these words, Festus said in a loud voice, Paul, you are off your head; your great learning has made you unbalanced.
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And while he was saying these things in his hitstaddekut, Festus in a kol gadol shouts, "Rav Sha’ul, all your yeshiva learning has made you meshuggah!"
25 Then Paul said, I am not off my head, most noble Festus, but my words are true and wise.
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But Rav Sha’ul says, "I am not meshuggah, most excellent Festus; I am speaking dvarim of Emes and Ta’am (Reason).
26 For the king has knowledge of these things, to whom I am talking freely; being certain that all this is common knowledge to him; for it has not been done in secret.
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"For HaMelech has da’as of these matters, to whom also I am speaking freely, for I am sure that absolutely none of these things escape his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.
27 King Agrippa, have you faith in the prophets? I am certain that you have.
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"Agrippa HaMelech, do you believe in the Nevi’im? I have da’as that you do believe."
28 And Agrippa said to Paul, A little more and you will be making me a Christian.
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And Agrippa said to Rav Sha’ul, "You think, do you, that as quick as that you can make me mekabel Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach?"
29 And Paul said, It is my prayer to God that, in little or great measure, not only you, but all those hearing me today might be even as I am, but for these chains.
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But Rav Sha’ul said, "I would daven that Hashem, quickly or not, might make not only you but all listening to me today as I am, apart from these sharsherot (chains)."
30 And the king and the ruler and Bernice and those who were seated with them got up;
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HaMelech and the Moshel and Bernice and the ones sitting with them got up.
31 And when they had gone away they said to one another, This man has done nothing which might give cause for death or prison.
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And having withdrawn, they were saying to one another, "This man does nothing worthy of the death penalty or imprisonment."
32 And Agrippa said to Festus, This man might have been made free, if he had not put his cause before Caesar.
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And Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been released, if he had not appealed to Caesar."
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The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.