Acts 26

1 Agrippa [a Herod king] said to Paul, “You have permission [are permitted, allowed] to speak for yourself [on your own behalf, in your own defense].” Then Paul stretched out [extended, reached out] his hand [as a gesture of respect, to begin] and began his defense [to make his case, to answer for himself]: word study 2 “King [a sovereign ruler] Agrippa [Agrippa II, a Herod king], I consider [think, reckon] myself [personally] fortunate [blessed, happy] to stand [be present] before you [directly addressing] today [in this current time] to defend [give an account of] myself [personally] against [in response to] all [every] the accusations [charges] of the Jews [people of Jewish descent], word study 3 especially [in a special manner] since you are acquainted [expert] with all [every aspect of] the Jewish [of Judah] customs [moral habits] and controversies [questions/disputes]. I beg [pray] you, therefore [as a consequence], to listen [hear] to me patiently [with forbearance]. word study 4 Surely all [every single one] the Jews [people of Judah, Israelites] know [are aware, perceive] how I [Paul, the apostle] have lived [conducted my life, walked] from the earliest days [youth, childhood] of my youth [the state of being young], among [in the midst of, surrounded by] my own people [nation, ethnic group] and in [within, at] Jerusalem [the holy city]. word study 5 They have known me [from the beginning, heretofore] for a long time and can testify [give witness, verify], if they are willing [if they choose to, desire to], that I lived [walked, followed] as a Pharisee [a member of a strict Jewish sect], adhering to [following, according to] the strictest [most exact, precise] sect [division, group] of our [belonging to us, our own] religion [system of worship, faith practice]. word study 6 And now [at this present time] I stand [am standing, have taken my position] on trial [to be judged, under examination] because of my hope [expectation, trust] in the promise [assurance, commitment] that God [the one true deity] made [gave, pledged] to our fathers [ancestors, forefathers], word study 7 the promise [of eternal salvation, from God’s covenant] our twelve tribes [the communities of God’s chosen people] are hoping [with confident expectation, to attain] to realize [to come to, to arrive at] as they earnestly [with intense devotion, constantly] serve [minister to, worship] God [the Almighty, Creator] day [a 24-hour period, a time of light] and night [the time of darkness, a period of rest]. It is because of this hope [this expectation, this trust in God’s goodness], O king [Agrippa, a sovereign ruler], that I am accused [brought charges against, blamed] by the Jews [the people of Judah, the Jewish nation]. word study 8 Why would any of you consider [think it unbelievable, judge it incredible] it incredible [beyond belief, astonishing] that God [the supreme Deity, Creator] raises [brings back to life, resurrects] the dead [lifeless, spiritually or physically deceased]? word study 9 So then [therefore, as a consequence], I too was convinced [thought with myself, had an opinion] that I ought [it was necessary, a must] to do [perform, carry out] all I could [as much as possible, many things] to oppose [be hostile, act against] the name [character, authority] of Jesus [Joshua, God is salvation] of Nazareth [from the city of Nazareth, a Nazoraeus]. word study 10 And that is what I [also, in addition] did in Jerusalem [the city of God, the capital of Palestine]. With authority [permission, power] from the chief priests [high-priests, Jewish leaders] I put many [a large number, numerous] of the saints [holy ones, set apart] in prison [a place of confinement, jail], and when they were condemned [sentenced, judged] to death [physical death, eternal separation], I cast my vote [gave my decision, agreed] against them [in opposition, contrary to]. word study 11 I frequently [often, many times] had them punished [penalized, disciplined] in the synagogues [gatherings, assemblies], and I tried [sought, strove] to make them blaspheme [speak evil, curse]. In my raging [exceeding, furious] fury [anger, indignation] against them, I even [also, additionally] went to foreign [strange, distant] cities [towns, communities] to persecute [pursue, harass] them. word study 12 In this pursuit [on my way, journeying] I was on my way [traveling, going] to Damascus [the city in Syria] with the authority [power, permission] and commission [orders, permission to act] of the chief priests [high-priests, Jewish leaders]. word study 13 About [at the middle of the day, midday] noon, O king [sovereign ruler], as I was on the road [path, journey], I saw [perceived, beheld] a light [brilliant radiance] from heaven [the sky, God’s dwelling place], brighter [more radiant] than the sun [the celestial body that gives light], shining [illuminating, glowing] around me [surrounding my presence] and my companions [those traveling with me, fellow travelers]. word study 14 We all [every single one of us] fell to the ground, and I heard a voice [speaking in the Hebrew language] say to me in Hebrew [the Aramaic vernacular of Palestine], ‘Saul [the Jewish name of the Apostle Paul], Saul, why do you [with such intensity] persecute [pursue, follow] Me? It is hard [difficult, harsh] for you to kick [with such force] against the goads [pricks, sharp points].’ word study 15 ‘Who are You, Lord [master or ruler]?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus [the Greek name for Joshua, meaning God is salvation], whom you are persecuting [pursuing with hostile intent],’ the Lord [a title of respect and authority] replied. word study 16 ‘But get up [arise, stand up from a position of rest] and stand on your feet [be in an upright position, physically or figuratively]. For I have appeared [been seen, revealed myself] to you to appoint [choose, decide on] you as a servant [minister, one who attends to the needs of others] and as a witness [one who sees or experiences something and can testify to it] of what you have seen [perceived, experienced] from Me and what I will show [reveal, make known] you. word study 17 I [the sender] will rescue [delivering, saving] you [the one being sent] from your own people [a specific nation] and from the Gentiles [non-Jewish people, nations]. I [the sender] am sending [setting apart] you [the one being sent] to them word study 18 to open [make accessible, bring to understanding] their eyes, so that they may turn [return, convert] from darkness [spiritual ignorance, the absence of light] to light [enlightenment, spiritual understanding] and from the power [authority, control] of Satan [the adversary, the accuser] to God [the supreme deity, the Creator], that they may receive [take, accept] forgiveness [pardon, remission] of sins [transgressions, rebellions] and an inheritance [a share, a portion] among those sanctified [made holy, set apart] by faith [trust, confidence] in Me [the Messiah, the Savior].’ word study 19 So then, King [a sovereign ruler] Agrippa, I was not [completely] disobedient [unpersuadable] to the [specific] heavenly [from God’s realm] vision [a spiritual experience]. word study 20 First [before all others, initially] to those in Damascus [a city in Syria] and Jerusalem [the capital of Palestine], then to everyone in the region [country, territory] of Judea [a region in southern Palestine, below Samaria], and then to the Gentiles [non-Jewish people, nations], I declared [announced, preached] that they should repent [change their mind, turn away from sin] and turn [revert, convert] to God [the one true deity, Creator], performing [doing, accomplishing] deeds [works, actions] worthy [deserving, suitable] of their repentance [feeling sorry for sin, changing their ways]. word study 21 For this reason [because of these things, on account of this] the Jews [people from Judah, Jewish descent] seized [caught, apprehended] me in the temple [sacred place, the Temple in Jerusalem] courts and tried [made an attempt, endeavoured] to kill [lay hands on violently, handle roughly] me. word study 22 But I have had God’s [divine, heavenly] help [assistance, aid] to this day, and I stand [remain, abide] here to testify [bear witness, give evidence] to small [humble, lowly] and great [important, noble] alike. I am saying [speaking, declaring] nothing beyond [except, outside of] what the prophets [messengers of God, spokesmen] and Moses [the lawgiver, leader] said would happen [come to pass, be fulfilled]: word study 23 that the Christ [Messiah, anointed one] would suffer [go through pain, experience affliction], and as the first [foremost] to rise from the dead [come back to life, be resurrected], would proclaim [declare, announce publicly] light [spiritual illumination, understanding] to our people [nation, community] and to the Gentiles [non-Jewish people, foreigners].” word study 24 At this stage [point, moment] of Paul’s [the apostle, originally Saul] defense [apology, self-justification], Festus [the Roman procurator] exclaimed [said with a loud voice, interrupted] in a loud voice [with great intensity], “You are [have become, are being driven to be] insane [mad, beside yourself], Paul [the apostle]! Your great [extensive, abundant] learning [knowledge, education] is driving [turning, leading] you to [toward, into] madness [insanity, a state of frenzy]!” word study 25 But Paul answered, “I am not [completely] insane [raving insanely], most excellent [noble, of high rank] Festus; I am speaking words [declarations, utterances] of truth [reality, accuracy] and sobriety [mental soundness, sanity]. word study 26 For the king [ruler, sovereign] knows about these matters [things, events], and I can speak [talk, communicate] freely [boldly, confidently] to him. I am confident [persuaded, convinced] that none [not one, no part] of this [these things, events] has escaped [is hidden from] his notice, because it was not done [happened, took place] in a corner [secretly, privately]. word study 27 King [sovereign ruler, monarch] Agrippa, do you believe [trust in, have faith in] the prophets [messengers of God, speakers of His word]? I know [perceive, am aware] you do [trust, have confidence].” word study 28 Then Agrippa [a Herod king] said to Paul, “Can you persuade [convince, make a believer] me in such a short time [with little effort, in a brief moment] to become [be, come into being] a Christian [a follower of Christ, disciple of Jesus]?” word study 29 “Short time [little or long, brief or extended] or long,” Paul [the apostle, formerly Saul] replied, “I wish [pray, deeply desire] to God [the Almighty, Creator] that not only you [as an individual, personally] but all [every single one, without exception] who hear [listen, pay attention, obey] me this day [today, at this moment] may become [be transformed, changed into] what I am [a follower of Christ, a believer], except [with the exception, aside from] for these chains [bonds, shackles, restraints].” word study 30 Then the king [sovereign ruler, monarch] and the governor [high-ranking official, ruler] rose, along with Bernice [a member of the Herodian family, victorious] and those [people, individuals] seated [sitting, in attendance] with them [in their company, together]. word study 31 On their way out [having withdrawn, gone aside], they said to one another [to each other, speaking among themselves], “This man [a human, a person] has done [performed, committed] nothing [no act, none] worthy [deserving, suitable] of death [physical or spiritual, eternal separation] or [as an alternative, instead] imprisonment [chains, bondage, confinement].” word study 32 And Agrippa [the king, a ruler] said to Festus [the Roman governor], “This man [a human, a person] could have been released [set at liberty, freed] if he had not appealed [called on, invoked] to Caesar [the Roman emperor, the supreme authority].” word study