1 SolSee ch. 9:15 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself. ” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:
2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense todaymch. 25:7, 19; [ver. 7] against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are familiar with all thenSee ch. 6:14 customs andoSee ch. 18:15 controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 p[Gal. 1:13] My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning amongqch. 24:17; 28:19 my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, thatrch. 22:3 according to the strictestsSee ch. 24:5 party of ourtJames 1:26, 27 religion I have lived asuch. 23:6 a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope invSee ch. 13:32 the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 w[ch. 2:33; Heb. 10:36; 11:13, 39] to whichxMatt. 19:28; Luke 22:30; James 1:1; Rev. 21:12; [Ezra 6:17] our twelve tribes hope toyPhil. 3:11 attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hopezver. 2 I am accused by Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thoughta[ch. 17:3; 1 Cor. 15:12] incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
9 b1 Tim. 1:13; [John 16:2]; See ch. 3:17 I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name ofcch. 22:8 Jesus of Nazareth. 10 dSee ch. 8:3 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authorityever. 12; ch. 9:1, 2, 14, 21; 22:4, 5 from the chief priests, butfSee ch. 22:20 when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 Andgch. 22:19 I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make themhSee ch. 13:45 blaspheme, andich. 9:1 in raging fury against them Ijch. 22:5 persecuted them even to foreign cities.
12 In this connectionkFor ver. 12-18, see ch. 9:3-8; 22:6-11 I journeyed 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, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to melch. 21:40; 22:2 in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It 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 rise andmEzek. 2:1; Dan. 10:11 stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose,nSee ch. 22:14, 15 to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 o[ch. 12:11; 1 Chr. 16:35; Jer. 1:8, 19; 15:20] delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—pSee ch. 9:15 to whom Iq[Rom. 11:13; 1 Tim. 2:7] am sending you 18 rIsa. 35:5; 42:7 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and fromsSee Luke 22:53; 1 Cor. 5:5 the power of Satan to God, that they may receivetSee ch. 5:31 forgiveness of sins anduSee ch. 20:32 a place among those who are sanctifiedv[ch. 15:9; 2 Thess. 2:13] by faith in me. ’
19 Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient towver. 13 the heavenly vision, 20 but declared firstxch. 9:19, 20 to those in Damascus,ych. 9:26-29; 22:17-20 then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and alsozSee ch. 13:46 to the Gentiles, that they shouldaSee ch. 2:38 repent andbSee ch. 14:15 turn to God, performing deedscMatt. 3:8; Luke 3:8 in keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reasondch. 21:27, 30, 31; 24:18 the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 e2 Cor. 1:10; [Heb. 13:5, 6] To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and sof[Eph. 6:13] I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but whatgSee ch. 10:43; 24:14 the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 h[Luke 24:26; Heb. 2:10]; See ch. 3:18 that the Christi[John 12:34] must suffer and that,j1 Cor. 15:20, 23; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5 by being the firstkRom. 1:4 to rise from the dead,l[Eph. 2:17] he would proclaimmver. 18; See Luke 2:32 light both to our people and to the Gentiles. ”
24 And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul,nch. 12:15; [ver. 8; ch. 17:32; 2 Kgs. 9:11; Jer. 29:26; Mark 3:21; John 10:20; 1 Cor. 1:23; 2:14; 4:10] you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind. ” 25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind,oSee ch. 24:2 most excellent Festus, but I am speakingp[2 Pet. 1:16] true andq[2 Cor. 5:13] rational words. 26 Forr[ver. 3] the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe. ” 28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to besch. 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:16 a Christian? ”1Or In a short time you would persuade me to act like a Christian! 29 And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this dayt[1 Cor. 7:7] might become such as I am—except foruSee ch. 21:33 these chains. ”
30 Then the king rose, andvSee ch. 23:24 the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. 31 And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another,wSee ch. 23:29 “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment. ” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus,xch. 28:18 “This man could have been setych. 25:11; 28:19 free if he had not appealedzSee ch. 9:15 to Caesar. ”