Parallel Bible results for "acts 26"

Acts 26

Hebrew Names Version HNV

1 Agrippa said to Sha'ul, "You may speak for yourself." Then Sha'ul stretched out his hand, and made his defense.

2 "I think myself happy, King Agrippa, that I am to make my defense before you this day concerning all the things whereof I am accused by the Yehudim,

3 especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which are among the Yehudim. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.

4 "Indeed, all the Yehudim know my way of life from my youth up, which was from the beginning among my own nation and at Yerushalayim;

5 having known me from the first, if they are willing to testify, that after the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Parush.

6 Now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers,

7 which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Yehudim, King Agrippa!

8 Why is it judged incredible with you, if God does raise the dead?

9 "I myself most assuredly thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Yeshua of Natzeret.

10 This I also did in Yerushalayim. I both shut up many of the holy ones in prisons, having received authority from the chief Kohanim, and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them.

11 Punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to make them blaspheme. Being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

12 "Whereupon as I journeyed to Dammesek with the authority and commission from the chief Kohanim,

13 at noon, O King, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me.

14 When we had all fallen to the eretz, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Sha'ul, Sha'ul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

15 "I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' "He said, 'I am Yeshua, whom you persecute.

16 But arise, and stand on your feet, for to this end have I appeared to you, to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things which I will reveal to you;

17 delivering you from the people, and from the Goyim, to whom I send you,

18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Hasatan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

19 "Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,

20 but declared first to them of Dammesek, at Yerushalayim, and throughout all the country of Yehudah, and also to the Goyim, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.

21 For this reason the Yehudim seized me in the temple, and tried to kill me.

22 Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moshe did say should come,

23 how the Messiah must suffer, and how he first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to these people and to the Goyim."

24 As he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "Sha'ul, you are crazy! Your great learning is driving you insane!"

25 But he said, "I am not crazy, most excellent Festus, but boldly declare words of truth and reasonableness.

26 For the king knows of these things, to whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him, for this has not been done in a corner.

27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe."

28 Agrippa said to Sha'ul, "With a little persuasion are you trying to make me a Messianic?"

29 Sha'ul said, "I pray to God, that whether with little or with much, not only you, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these bonds."

30 The king rose up with the governor, and Bernice, and those who sat with them.

31 When they had withdrawn, they spoke one to another, saying, "This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds."

32 Agrippa said to Festus, "This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."

The Message Bible MSG

1 Agrippa spoke directly to Paul: "Go ahead - tell us about yourself."

2 "I can't think of anyone, King Agrippa, before whom I'd rather be answering all these Jewish accusations than you,

3 knowing how well you are acquainted with Jewish ways and all our family quarrels.

4 "From the time of my youth, my life has been lived among my own people in Jerusalem.

5 Practically every Jew in town who watched me grow up - and if they were willing to stick their necks out they'd tell you in person - knows that I lived as a strict Pharisee, the most demanding branch of our religion.

6 It's because I believed it and took it seriously,

7 committed myself heart and soul to what God promised my ancestors - the identical hope, mind you, that the twelve tribes have lived for night and day all these centuries - it's because I have held on to this tested and tried hope that I'm being called on the carpet by the Jews. They should be the ones standing trial here, not me!

8 For the life of me, I can't see why it's a criminal offense to believe that God raises the dead.

9 "I admit that I didn't always hold to this position. For a time I thought it was my duty to oppose this Jesus of Nazareth with all my might.

10 Backed with the full authority of the high priests, I threw these believers - I had no idea they were God's people! - into the Jerusalem jail right and left, and whenever it came to a vote, I voted for their execution.

11 I stormed through their meeting places, bullying them into cursing Jesus, a one-man terror obsessed with obliterating these people. And then I started on the towns outside Jerusalem.

12 "One day on my way to Damascus, armed as always with papers from the high priests authorizing my action,

13 right in the middle of the day a blaze of light, light outshining the sun, poured out of the sky on me and my companions. Oh, King, it was so bright!

14 We fell flat on our faces. Then I heard a voice in Hebrew: 'Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me? Why do you insist on going against the grain?'

15 "I said, 'Who are you, Master?'

16 But now, up on your feet - I have a job for you. I've handpicked you to be a servant and witness to what's happened today, and to what I am going to show you.

17 "'I'm sending you off

18 to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I'm sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.'

19 "What could I do, King Agrippa? I couldn't just walk away from a vision like that! I became an obedient believer on the spot.

20 I started preaching this life-change - this radical turn to God and everything it meant in everyday life - right there in Damascus, went on to Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, and from there to the whole world.

21 "It's because of this 'whole world' dimension that the Jews grabbed me in the Temple that day and tried to kill me. They want to keep God for themselves.

22 But God has stood by me, just as he promised, and I'm standing here saying what I've been saying to anyone, whether king or child, who will listen. And everything I'm saying is completely in line with what the prophets and Moses said would happen:

23 One, the Messiah must die; two, raised from the dead, he would be the first rays of God's daylight shining on people far and near, people both godless and God-fearing."

24 That was too much for Festus. He interrupted with a shout: "Paul, you're crazy! You've read too many books, spent too much time staring off into space! Get a grip on yourself, get back in the real world!"

25 But Paul stood his ground. "With all respect, Festus, Your Honor, I'm not crazy. I'm both accurate and sane in what I'm saying.

26 The King knows what I'm talking about. I'm sure that nothing of what I've said sounds crazy to him. He's known all about it for a long time. You must realize that this wasn't done behind the scenes.

27 You believe the prophets, don't you, King Agrippa? Don't answer that - I know you believe."

28 But Agrippa did answer: "Keep this up much longer and you'll make a Christian out of me!"

29 Paul, still in chains, said, "That's what I'm praying for, whether now or later, and not only you but everyone listening today, to become like me - except, of course, for this prison jewelry!"

30 The king and the governor, along with Bernice and their advisors, got up

31 and went into the next room to talk over what they had heard. They quickly agreed on Paul's innocence, saying, "There's nothing in this man deserving prison, let alone death."

32 Agrippa told Festus, "He could be set free right now if he hadn't requested the hearing before Caesar."