26 A·grip′pa+ said to Paul: “You are permitted to speak in your own behalf.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to say in his defense:
2 “Concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews,+ King A·grip′pa, I consider myself happy that it is before you I am to make my defense this day, 3 especially because you are an expert on all the customs as well as the controversies among the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently.
4 “Indeed, the manner of life I led from youth up among my people* and in Jerusalem is well-known by all the Jews+ 5 who were previously acquainted with me, if they would be willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our form of worship,+ I lived as a Pharisee.+ 6 But now for the hope of the promise that was made by God to our forefathers,+ I stand on trial; 7 this is the same promise our 12 tribes are hoping to see fulfilled by intensely rendering him sacred service night and day. Concerning this hope I am accused by Jews,+ O King.
8 “Why is it considered* unbelievable among you that God raises up the dead? 9 I, for one, was convinced that I should commit many acts of opposition against the name of Jesus the Naz·a·rene′. 10 This is exactly what I did in Jerusalem, and I locked up many of the holy ones in prisons,+ for I had received authority from the chief priests;+ and when they were to be executed, I cast my vote against them. 11 By punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to recant; and since I was extremely furious with them, I went so far as to persecute them even in outlying cities.
12 “While doing this as I was traveling to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests, 13 I saw at midday on the road, O King, a light beyond the brilliance of the sun flash from heaven around me and around those traveling with me.+ 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice say to me in the Hebrew language: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? To keep kicking against the goads* makes it hard for you.’ 15 But I said: ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said: ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet. This is why I have appeared to you, to choose you as a servant and a witness both of things you have seen and things I will make you see respecting me.+ 17 And I will rescue you from this people and from the nations, to whom I am sending you+ 18 to open their eyes,+ to turn them from darkness+ to light+ and from the authority of Satan+ to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins+ and an inheritance among those sanctified by their faith in me.’
19 “Therefore, King A·grip′pa, I did not become disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but to those in Damascus+ first and then to those in Jerusalem,+ and over all the country of Ju·de′a, and also to the nations, I was bringing the message that they should repent and turn to God by doing works that befit repentance.+ 21 This is why the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.+ 22 However, because I have experienced the help that is from God, I continue to this day bearing witness to both small and great, saying nothing except what the Prophets as well as Moses stated was going to take place+— 23 that the Christ was to suffer+ and that as the first to be resurrected from the dead,+ he was going to proclaim light both to this people and to the nations.”+
24 Now as Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice: “You are going out of your mind, Paul! Great learning is driving you out of your mind!” 25 But Paul said: “I am not going out of my mind, Your Excellency Festus, but I am speaking words of truth and of a sound mind. 26 For a fact, the king to whom I am speaking so freely well knows about these things; I am convinced that not one of these things escapes his notice, for none of this has been done in a corner.+ 27 Do you, King A·grip′pa, believe the Prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 But A·grip′pa said to Paul: “In a short time you would persuade me to become a Christian.” 29 At this Paul said: “I wish to God that whether in a short time or in a long time, not only you but also all those who hear me today would become men such as I am, with the exception of these prison bonds.”
30 Then the king rose and so did the governor and Bernice and the men seated with them. 31 But as they were leaving, they began saying to one another: “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or prison bonds.”+ 32 A·grip′pa then said to Festus: “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”+
27 Now as it was decided for us to sail away to Italy,+ they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to an army officer named Julius, of the unit of Au·gus′tus. 2 Going aboard a ship from Ad·ra·myt′ti·um that was about to sail to ports along the coast of the province of Asia, we set sail; Ar·is·tar′chus,+ a Mac·e·do′ni·an from Thes·sa·lo·ni′ca, was with us. 3 The next day we landed at Si′don, and Julius treated Paul with kindness* and permitted him to go to his friends and enjoy their care.
4 And putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cy′prus, because the winds were against us. 5 Then we navigated through the open sea along Ci·li′cia and Pam·phyl′i·a and put into port at My′ra in Ly′ci·a. 6 There the army officer found a ship from Alexandria that was sailing for Italy, and he made us board it. 7 Then after sailing on slowly quite a number of days, we came to Cni′dus with difficulty. Because the wind did not let us make headway, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Sal·mo′ne. 8 And sailing with difficulty along the coast, we came to a place called Fair Havens, which was near the city of La·se′a.
9 A considerable time had passed and by now it was hazardous to navigate, because even the fast of Atonement Day+ was already over, so Paul made a recommendation 10 to them: “Men, I can see that this voyage is going to result in damage and great loss not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.”* 11 However, the army officer listened to the pilot and the shipowner rather than to what Paul was saying. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable for wintering, the majority advised setting sail from there to see if they could somehow make it to spend the winter in Phoenix, a harbor of Crete that opens toward the northeast and toward the southeast.
13 When the south wind blew softly, they thought they had achieved their purpose, and they lifted anchor and began sailing along Crete close to the shore. 14 After a short time, however, a violent wind called Eu·ro·aq′ui·lo* rushed down on it. 15 As the ship was violently seized and was not able to keep its head against the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 Then we ran under the shelter of a small island called Cau′da, and yet we were hardly able to get the skiff* at the stern of the ship under control. 17 But after hoisting it aboard, they used supports to undergird the ship, and fearing that they would run aground on the Syr′tis,* they lowered the gear and so were driven along. 18 Because we were being violently tossed by the storm, they began to lighten the ship the following day. 19 And on the third day, they threw away the tackling of the ship with their own hands.
20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a violent* storm was battering us, all hope of our being saved finally began to fade. 21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up in their midst and said: “Men, you certainly should have taken my advice and not have put out to sea from Crete and as a result suffered this damage and loss.+ 22 Still, I now urge you to take courage, for not one* of you will be lost, only the ship will. 23 This night an angel+ of the God to whom I belong and to whom I render sacred service stood by me 24 and said: ‘Have no fear, Paul. You must stand before Caesar,+ and look! God has granted to you all those sailing with you.’ 25 So take courage, men, for I believe God that it will be exactly as I was told. 26 However, we must be cast ashore on some island.”+
27 Now when the 14th night fell and we were being tossed about on the Sea of A′dri·a, at midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were getting near to some land. 28 They sounded the depth and found it 20 fathoms,* so they proceeded a short distance and again made a sounding and found it 15 fathoms.* 29 And fearing that we might run aground on the rocks, they cast out four anchors from the stern and began wishing for it to become day. 30 But when the sailors began trying to escape from the ship and were lowering the skiff into the sea under the pretense of intending to let down anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the army officer and the soldiers: “Unless these men remain in the ship, you cannot be saved.”+ 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.
33 Now close to daybreak, Paul encouraged them all to take some food, saying: “Today is the 14th day you have been waiting anxiously, and you have gone without taking any food at all. 34 So I encourage you to eat some food; this is in the interests of your safety, for not a hair of the head of any one of you will perish.” 35 After he said this, he took bread, gave thanks to God before them all, broke it, and started eating. 36 So they all took courage and began taking some food themselves. 37 In all we were 276 persons* in the ship. 38 When they had eaten enough food to be satisfied, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat overboard into the sea.+
39 When daylight came, they could not recognize the land,+ but they saw a bay with a beach and were determined to beach the ship there if they could. 40 So they cut away the anchors and let them fall into the sea, at the same time loosening the lashings of the rudder oars; and after hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. 41 When they struck a shoal washed on each side by the sea, they ran the ship aground and the bow got stuck and stayed immovable, but the stern began to be violently broken to pieces by the waves.+ 42 At this the soldiers decided to kill the prisoners so that no one might swim away and escape. 43 But the army officer was determined to bring Paul safely through and prevented them from carrying out their plan. He commanded those able to swim to jump into the sea and make it to land first, 44 and the rest were to follow, some on planks and some on pieces of the ship. So all were brought safely to land.+
28 After we made it to safety, we learned that the island was called Malta.+ 2 And the foreign-speaking people* showed us extraordinary kindness.* They kindled a fire and received all of us kindly because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. 3 But when Paul collected a bundle of sticks and laid it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the foreign-speaking people caught sight of the venomous creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another: “Surely this man is a murderer, and although he made it to safety from the sea, Justice* did not permit him to keep on living.” 5 However, he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 But they were expecting him to swell up or suddenly to drop dead. After they waited for a long time and saw that nothing bad happened to him, they changed their mind and began saying he was a god.
7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the principal man of the island, whose name was Pub′li·us, and he welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 It so happened that the father of Pub′li·us was lying in bed sick with fever and dysentery, and Paul went in to him and prayed, laid his hands on him, and healed him.+ 9 After this occurred, the rest of the people on the island who were sick also began to come to him and be cured.+ 10 They also honored us with many gifts, and when we were setting sail, they loaded us up with whatever we needed.
11 Three months later we set sail in a ship with the figurehead “Sons of Zeus.” The ship was from Alexandria and had wintered in the island. 12 Putting into port at Syracuse, we remained there for three days; 13 from there we went along and arrived at Rhe′gi·um. A day later a south wind sprang up and we made it into Pu·te′o·li on the second day. 14 Here we found brothers and were urged to remain with them for seven days, and so we went toward Rome. 15 From there the brothers, when they heard the news about us, came as far as the Marketplace of Ap′pi·us and Three Taverns to meet us. On catching sight of them, Paul thanked God and took courage.+ 16 When finally we entered Rome, Paul was permitted to stay by himself with the soldier guarding him.
17 However, three days later he called together the principal men of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them: “Men, brothers, although I had done nothing contrary to the people or the customs of our forefathers,+ I was handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.+ 18 And after making an examination,+ they wanted to release me, for there were no grounds for putting me to death.+ 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar,+ but not because I had any accusation to make against my nation. 20 So for this reason I asked to see and speak to you, for it is because of the hope of Israel that I have this chain around me.”+ 21 They said to him: “We have not received letters about you from Ju·de′a, nor have any of the brothers who came from there reported or spoken anything bad about you. 22 But we think it proper to hear from you what your thoughts are, for truly as regards this sect,+ we know that it is spoken against everywhere.”*+
23 They now arranged for a day to meet with him, and they came in even greater numbers to him in his lodging place. And from morning to evening, he explained the matter to them by bearing thorough witness concerning the Kingdom of God, to persuade them about Jesus+ from both the Law of Moses+ and the Prophets.+ 24 Some began to believe the things he said; others would not believe. 25 So because they disagreed with one another, they began to leave, and Paul made this one comment:
“The holy spirit aptly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your forefathers, 26 saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “You will indeed hear but by no means understand, and you will indeed look but by no means see.+ 27 For the heart of this people has grown unreceptive, and with their ears they have heard without response, and they have shut their eyes, so that they might never see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn back and I heal them.”’+ 28 So let it be known to you that this salvation from God has been sent out to the nations;+ they will certainly listen to it.”+ 29* ——
30 So he remained there for an entire two years in his own rented house,+ and he would kindly receive all those who came to him, 31 preaching the Kingdom of God to them and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with the greatest freeness of speech,*+ without hindrance.
*Emphasis mine.
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus and called to be an apostle, set apart for God’s good news,+ 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who came to be from the offspring* of David+ according to the flesh, 4 but who with power was declared God’s Son+ according to the spirit of holiness by means of resurrection from the dead+—yes, Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received undeserved kindness and an apostleship+ with a view to obedience by faith among all the nations+ respecting his name, 6 among which nations you also have been called to belong to Jesus Christ— 7 to all those who are in Rome as God’s beloved ones, called to be holy ones:
May you have undeserved kindness and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First of all, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ concerning all of you, because your faith is talked about throughout the whole world. 9 For God, to whom I render sacred service with my spirit in connection with the good news about his Son, is my witness of how without ceasing I always mention you in my prayers,+ 10 begging that if at all possible I may now at last succeed in coming to you by God’s will. 11 For I am longing to see you, that I may impart some spiritual gift to you for you to be made firm; 12 or, rather, that we may have an interchange of encouragement+ by one another’s faith, both yours and mine.
13 But I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that many times I have intended to come to you—but I have been prevented until now—in order that I might acquire some fruitage also among you just as among the rest of the nations. 14 Both to Greeks and to foreigners,* both to wise and to senseless ones, I am a debtor; 15 so I am eager to declare the good news also to you there in Rome.+ 16 For I am not ashamed of the good news;+ it is, in fact, God’s power for salvation to everyone having faith,+ to the Jew first+ and also to the Greek.+ 17 For in it God’s righteousness is being revealed by faith and for faith,+ just as it is written: “But the righteous one will live by reason of faith.”+
18 For God’s wrath+ is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who are suppressing the truth+ in an unrighteous way, 19 because what may be known about God is clearly evident among them, for God made it clear to them.+ 20 For his invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made,+ even his eternal power+ and Godship,+ so that they are inexcusable. 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God nor did they thank him, but they became empty-headed in their reasonings and their senseless hearts became darkened.+ 22 Although claiming they were wise, they became foolish 23 and turned the glory of the incorruptible God into something like the image of corruptible man and birds and four-footed creatures and reptiles.*+
24 Therefore, God, in keeping with the desires of their hearts, gave them up to uncleanness, so that their bodies might be dishonored among them. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for the lie and venerated* and rendered sacred service to the creation rather than the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen. 26 That is why God gave them over to uncontrolled sexual passion,+ for their females changed the natural use of themselves into one contrary to nature;+ 27 likewise also the males left the natural use of* the female and became violently inflamed in their lust toward one another, males with males,+ working what is obscene and receiving in themselves the full penalty,* which was due for their error.+
28 Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God,* God gave them over to a disapproved mental state, to do the things not fitting.+ 29 And they were filled with all unrighteousness,+ wickedness, greed,*+ and badness, being full of envy,+ murder,+ strife, deceit,+ and malice,+ being whisperers,* 30 backbiters,+ haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, schemers of what is harmful,* disobedient to parents,+ 31 without understanding,+ false to agreements, having no natural affection, and merciless. 32 Although these know full well the righteous decree of God—that those practicing such things are deserving of death+—they not only keep on doing them but also approve of those practicing them.
2 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are,+ if you judge; for when you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.+ 2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in harmony with truth, against those who practice such things.
3 But do you suppose, O man, that while you judge those who practice such things and yet you do them, you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness+ and forbearance*+ and patience,+ because you do not know that God in his kindness is trying to lead you to repentance?+ 5 But according to your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and of the revealing of God’s righteous judgment.+ 6 And he will pay back to each one according to his works:+ 7 everlasting life to those who are seeking glory and honor and incorruptibleness+ by endurance in work that is good; 8 however, for those who are contentious and who disobey the truth but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and anger.+ 9 There will be tribulation and distress on every person* who works what is harmful, on the Jew first and also on the Greek; 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who works what is good, for the Jew first+ and also for the Greek.+ 11 For there is no partiality with God.+
12 For all those who sinned without law will also perish without law;+ but all those who sinned under law will be judged by law.+ 13 For the hearers of law are not the ones righteous before God, but the doers of law will be declared righteous.+ 14 For when people of the nations, who do not have law,+ do by nature the things of the law, these people, although not having law, are a law to themselves. 15 They are the very ones who demonstrate the matter of the law to be written in their hearts, while their conscience is bearing witness with them, and by* their own thoughts they are being accused or even excused. 16 This will take place in the day when God through Christ Jesus judges the secret things of mankind,+ according to the good news I declare.
17 If, now, you are a Jew in name+ and rely on law and take pride in God, 18 and you know his will and approve of things that are excellent because you are instructed* out of the Law,+ 19 and you are convinced that you are a guide of the blind, a light for those in darkness, 20 a corrector of the unreasonable ones, a teacher of young children, and having the framework of the knowledge and of the truth in the Law— 21 do you, however, the one teaching someone else, not teach yourself?+ You, the one preaching, “Do not steal,”+ do you steal? 22 You, the one saying, “Do not commit adultery,”+ do you commit adultery? You, the one abhorring idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who take pride in law, do you dishonor God by your transgressing of the Law? 24 For “the name of God is being blasphemed among the nations because of you,” just as it is written.+
25 Circumcision+ is, in fact, of benefit only if you practice law;+ but if you are a transgressor of law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 If, therefore, an uncircumcised person+ keeps the righteous requirements of the Law, his uncircumcision will be counted as circumcision, will it not?+ 27 And the physically uncircumcised person will, by carrying out the Law, judge you who are a transgressor of law despite having its written code and circumcision. 28 For he is not a Jew who is one on the outside,+ nor is circumcision something on the outside, on the flesh.+ 29 But he is a Jew who is one on the inside,+ and his circumcision is that of the heart+ by spirit and not by a written code.+ That person’s praise comes from God, not from people.+
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