New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:
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And Agrippa said to Paul, You may put your cause before us. Then Paul, stretching out his hand, made his answer, saying:
2 "I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews,
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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:
3 because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.
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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.
4 "All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem.
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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;
5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee.
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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.
6 And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors,
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And now I am here to be judged because of the hope given by God's word to our fathers;
7 a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews!
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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!
8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
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Why, in your opinion, is it outside belief for God to make the dead come to life again?
9 "Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
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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.
10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.
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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.
11 By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.
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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.
12 "With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,
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Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests,
13 when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.
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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.
14 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 hurts you to kick against the goads.'
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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.
15 I asked, "Who are you, Lord?' The Lord answered, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
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And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking.
16 But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.
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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;
17 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you
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And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,
18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
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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.
19 "After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
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So, then, King Agrippa, I did not go against the vision from heaven;
20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance.
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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.
21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
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For this reason, the Jews took me in the Temple, and made an attempt to put me to death.
22 To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place:
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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;
23 that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles."
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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.
24 While he was making this defense, Festus exclaimed, "You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane!"
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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.
25 But Paul said, "I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth.
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Then Paul said, I am not off my head, most noble Festus, but my words are true and wise.
26 Indeed the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely; for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner.
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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.
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe."
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King Agrippa, have you faith in the prophets? I am certain that you have.
28 Agrippa said to Paul, "Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?"
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And Agrippa said to Paul, A little more and you will be making me a Christian.
29 Paul replied, "Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains."
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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.
30 Then the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated with them;
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And the king and the ruler and Bernice and those who were seated with them got up;
31 and as they were leaving, they said to one another, "This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment."
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And when they had gone away they said to one another, This man has done nothing which might give cause for death or prison.
32 Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to the emperor."
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And Agrippa said to Festus, This man might have been made free, if he had not put his cause before Caesar.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.