20 ⁷ On the Saturday night, in our assembly for the breaking of bread, Paul, who was to leave next day, addressed them, and went on speaking until midnight. 20 ⁸ Now there were many lamps in the upper room where we were assembled; 20 ⁹ and a youth named Eutychus, who was sitting on the window-ledge, grew more and more sleepy as Paul went on talking. At last he was completely overcome by sleep, fell from the third storey to the ground, and was picked up for dead. 20 ¹⁰ Paul went down, threw himself upon him, seizing him in his arms, and said to them, 'Stop this commotion: there is still life in him.' 20 ¹¹ He then went upstairs, broke bread and ate, and after much conversation, which lasted until dawn, he departed. 20 ¹² And they took the boy away alive and were immensely comforted.
- The Voyage from Troas to Miletus  Ac.20.13-16

20 ¹³ We went ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement, as he was going to travel by road. 20 ¹⁴ When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 20 ¹⁵ Next day we sailed from there and arrived opposite Chios, and on the second day we made Samos. On the following day Some witnesses read: ... Samos, and, after stopping at Trogyllium, on the following day ... we reached Miletus. 20 ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to pass by Ephesus and so avoid having to spend time in the province of Asia; he was eager to be in Jerusalem, if he possibly could, on the day of Pentecost. - Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders  Ac.20.17-38

20 ¹⁷ He did, however, send from Miletus to Ephesus and summon the elders of the congregation; 20 ¹⁸ and when they joined him, he spoke as follows:

'You know how, from the day that I first set foot in the province of Asia, for the whole time that I was with you, 20 ¹⁹ I served the Lord in all humility amid the sorrows and trials that came upon me through the machinations of the Jews. 20 ²⁰ You know that I kept back nothing that was for your good: I delivered the message to you; I taught you, in public and in your homes; 20 ²¹ with Jews and Gentiles alike I insisted on repentance before God and trust in our Lord Jesus. 20 ²² And now, as you see, I am on my way to Jerusalem, under the constraint of the Spirit. Or: under an inner compulsion. Of what will befall me there I know nothing, 20 ²³ except that in city after city the Holy Spirit assures me that imprisonment and hardships await me. 20 ²⁴ For myself, I set no store by life; I only want to finish the race, and complete the task which the Lord Jesus assigned to me, of bearing my testimony to the gospel of God's grace.
20 ²⁵ 'One word more: I have gone about among you proclaiming the Kingdom, but now I know that none of you will see my face again. 20 ²⁶ That being so, I here and now declare that no man's fate can be laid at my door; for I have kept back nothing; 20 ²⁷ I have disclosed to you the whole purpose of God.

20 ²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has given you charge, as shepherds of the church of the Lord, Some witnesses read: of God. which he won for himself by his own blood. Or, according to some witnesses: by the blood of his Own. 20 ²⁹ I know that when I am gone, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 20 ³⁰ Even from your own body there will be men coming forward who will distort the truth to induce the disciples to break away and follow them. 20 ³¹ So be on the alert; remember how for three years, night and day, I never ceased to counsel each of you, and how I wept over you.
20 ³² 'And now I commend you to God and to his gracious word, which has power to build you up and give you your heritage among all who are dedicated to him. 20 ³³ I have not wanted anyone's money or clothes for myself; 20 ³⁴ you all know that these hands of mine earned enough for the needs of me and my companions. 20 ³⁵ I showed you that it is our duty to help the weak in this way, by hard work, and that we should keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, who himself said, "Happiness lies more in giving than in receiving."'

20 ³⁶ As he finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed. 20 ³⁷ Then there were loud cries of sorrow from them all, as they folded Paul in their arms and kissed him. 20 ³⁸ What distressed them most was his saying that they would never see his face again. So they escorted him to his ship.
- Paul's Journey to Jerusalem  Ac.21.1-16

21 ¹ When we had parted from them and set sail, we made a straight run and came to Cos; next day to Rhodes, and thence to Patara. Some witnesses add: and Myra. 21 ² There we found a ship bound for Phoenicia, so we went aboard and sailed in her. 21 ³ We came in sight of Cyprus, and leaving it to port, we continued our voyage to Syria, and put in at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her cargo. 21 ⁴ We went and found the disciples and stayed there a week; and they, warned by the Spirit, urged Paul to abandon his visit to Jerusalem. 21 ⁵ But when our time ashore was ended, we left and continued our journey; and they and their wives and children all escorted us out of the city. We knelt down on the beach and prayed, 21 ⁶ then bade each other good-bye; we went aboard, and they returned home.

21 ⁷ We made the passage from Tyre and reached Ptolemais, where we greeted the brotherhood and spent one day with them. 21 ⁸ Next day we left and came to Caesarea. We went to the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. 21 ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters, who possessed the gift of prophecy. 21 ¹⁰ When we had been there several days, a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judaea. 21 ¹¹ He came to us, took Paul's belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, 'These are the words of the Holy Spirit: Thus will the Jews in Jerusalem bind the man to whom this belt belongs, and hand him over to the Gentiles.' 21 ¹² When we heard this, we and the local people begged and implored Paul to abandon his visit to Jerusalem. 21 ¹³ Then Paul gave his answer: 'Why all these tears? Why are you trying to weaken my resolution? For my part I am ready not merely to be bound but even to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.' 21 ¹⁴ So, as he would not be persuaded, we gave up and said, 'The Lord's will be done.'

21 ¹⁵ At the end of our stay we packed our baggage and took the road up to Jerusalem. 21 ¹⁶ Some of the disciples from Caesarea came along with us, bringing a certain Mnason of Cyprus, a Christian from the early days, with whom we were to lodge. - Paul Visits James  Ac.21.17-26

21 ¹⁷ So we reached Jerusalem, where the brotherhood welcomed us gladly. 21 ¹⁸ Next day Paul paid a visit to James; we were with him, and all the elders attended. 21 ¹⁹ He greeted them, and then described in detail all that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 21 ²⁰ When they heard this, they gave praise to God. Then they said to Paul: 'You see, brother, how many thousands of converts we have among the Jews, all of them staunch upholders of the Law. 21 ²¹ Now they have been given certain information about you: it is said that you teach all the Jews in the gentile world to turn their backs on Moses, telling them to give up circumcising their children and following our way of life. 21 ²² What is the position, then? They are sure to hear that you have arrived. You must therefore do as we tell you. 21 ²³ We have four men here who are under a vow; 21 ²⁴ take them with you and go through the ritual of purification with them, paying their expenses, after which they may shave their heads. Then everyone will know that there is nothing in the stories they were told about you, but that you are a practising Jew and keep the Law yourself. 21 ²⁵ As for the gentile converts, we sent them our decision that they must abstain from meat that has been offered to idols, from blood, from anything that has been strangled, Some witnesses omit: from anything that has been strangled. and from fornication.' 21 ²⁶ So Paul took the four men, and next day, after going through the ritual of purification with them, he went into the temple to give notice of the date when the period of purification would end and the offering be made for each one of them.
- Paul Arrested in the Temple  Ac.21.27-36

21 ²⁷ BUT JUST BEFORE the period of seven days was up, the Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him, 21 ²⁸ shouting, 'Men of Israel, help, help! This is the fellow who spreads his doctrine all over the world, attacking our people, our law, and this sanctuary. On top of all this he has brought Gentiles into the temple and profaned this holy place. 21 ²⁹ For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
21 ³⁰ The whole city was in a turmoil, and people came running from all directions. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple; and at once the doors were shut. 21 ³¹ While they were clamouring for his death, a report reached the officer commanding the cohort, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 21 ³² He immediately took a force of soldiers with their centurions and came down on the rioters at the double. As soon as they saw the commandant and his troops, they stopped beating Paul. 21 ³³ The commandant stepped forward, arrested him, and ordered him to be shackled with two chains; he then asked who the man was and what he had been doing. 21 ³⁴ Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another. As he could not get at the truth because of the hubbub, he ordered him to be taken into barracks. 21 ³⁵ When Paul reached the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. 21 ³⁶ For the whole crowd were at their heels yelling, 'Kill him!'
- Paul Defends Himself  Ac.21.37-22.5

21 ³⁷ Just before Paul was taken into the barracks he said to the commandant, 'May I have a word with you?' The commandant said, 'So you speak Greek, do you? 21 ³⁸ Then you are not the Egyptian who started a revolt some time ago and led a force of four thousand terrorists out into the wilds?' 21 ³⁹ Paul replied, 'I am a Jew, a Tarsian from Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city. I ask your permission to speak to the people.' 21 ⁴⁰ When permission had been given, Paul stood on the steps and with a gesture called for the attention of the people. As soon as quiet was restored, he addressed them in the Jewish language:

22 ¹ 'Brothers and fathers, give me a hearing while I make my defence before you.'

22 ² When they heard him speaking to them in their own language, they listened the more quietly.

22 ³ 'I am a true-born Jew,' he said, 'a native of Tarsus in Cilicia. I was brought up in this city, and as a pupil of Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in every point of our ancestral law. I have always been ardent in God's service, as you all are today. 22 ⁴ And so I began to persecute this movement to the death, arresting its followers, men and women alike, and putting them in chains. 22 ⁵ For this I have as witnesses the High Priest and the whole Council of Elders. I was given letters from them to our fellow-Jews at Damascus, and had started out to bring the Christians there to Jerusalem as prisoners for punishment; and this is what happened. 22 ⁶ I was on the road and nearing Damascus, when suddenly about midday a great light flashed from the sky all around me, 22 ⁷ and I fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice saying to me, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 22 ⁸ I answered, "Tell me. Lord, who you are." "I am Jesus of Nazareth," he said, "whom you are persecuting." 22 ⁹ My companions saw the light, but did not hear the voice that spoke to me. 22 ¹⁰ "What shall I do, Lord?" I said, and the Lord replied, "Get up and continue your journey to Damascus; there you will be told of all the tasks that are laid upon you." 22 ¹¹ As I had been blinded by the brilliance of that light, my companions led me by the hand, and so I came to Damascus.

22 ¹² 'There, a man called Ananias, a devout observer of the Law and well spoken of by all the Jews of that place, 22 ¹³ came and stood beside me and said, "Saul, my brother, recover your sight." 22 ¹⁴ Instantly I recovered my sight and saw him. He went on: "The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear his very voice, 22 ¹⁵ because you are to be his witness before the world, and testify to what you have seen and heard. 22 ¹⁶ And now why delay? Be baptized at once, with invocation of his name, and wash away your sins."
- Paul Sent to the Gentiles  Ac.22.17-21

22 ¹⁷ 'After my return to Jerusalem, I was praying in the is temple when I fell into a trance 22 ¹⁸ and saw him there, speaking to me. "Make haste", he said, "and leave Jerusalem without delay, for they will not accept your testimony about me." 22 ¹⁹ "Lord," I said, "they know that I imprisoned those who believe in thee, and flogged them in every synagogue; 22 ²⁰ and when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed I stood by, approving, and I looked after the clothes of those who killed him." 22 ²¹ But he said to me, "Go, for I am sending you far away to the Gentiles." '
- Paul and the Roman Tribune  Ac.22.22-29

22 ²² Up to this point they had given him a hearing; but now they began shouting, 'Down with him! A scoundrel like that is better dead!' 22 ²³ And as they were yelling and waving their cloaks and flinging dust in the air, 22 ²⁴ the commandant ordered him to be brought into the barracks and gave instructions to examine him by flogging, and find out what reason there was for such an outcry against him. 22 ²⁵ But when they tied him up for the lash, Or: tied him up with thongs. Paul said to the centurion who was standing there, 'Can you legally flog a man who is a Roman citizen, and moreover has not been found guilty?' 22 ²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went and reported it to the commandant. 'What do you mean to do?' he said. 'This man is a Roman citizen.' 22 ²⁷ The commandant came to Paul. 'Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?' he asked. 'Yes', said he. 22 ²⁸ The commandant rejoined, 'It cost me a large sum to acquire this citizenship.' Paul said, 'But it was mine by birth.' 22 ²⁹ Then those who were about to examine him withdrew hastily, and the commandant himself was alarmed when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had put him in irons.
- Paul before the Council  Ac.22.30-23.11

22 ³⁰ THE FOLLOWING DAY, wishing to be quite sure what charge the Jews were bringing against Paul, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire Council to assemble. He then took Paul down and stood him before them.

23 ¹ Paul fixed his eyes on the Council and said, 'My brothers, I have lived all my life, and still live today, with a perfectly clear conscience before God.' 23 ² At this the High Priest Ananias ordered his attendants to strike him on the mouth. 23 ³ Paul retorted, 'God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me in accordance with the Law, and then in defiance of the Law you order me to be struck!' 23 ⁴ The attendants said, 'Would you insult God's High Priest?' 23 ^{5 [ Ex.22.28. ]} 'My brothers,' said Paul, 'I had no idea that he was High Priest; Scripture, I know, says: "You must not abuse the ruler of your people." '

23 ⁶ Now Paul was well aware that one section of them were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, so he called out in the Council, 'My brothers, I am a Pharisee, a Pharisee born and bred; and the true issue in this trial is our hope of the resurrection of the dead.' 23 ⁷ At these words the Pharisees and Sadducees fell out among themselves, and the assembly was divided. 23 ⁸ (The Sadducees deny that there is any resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees accept them.) 23 ⁹ So a great uproar broke out, and some of the doctors of the law belonging to the Pharisaic party openly took sides and declared, 'We can find no fault with this man; perhaps an angel or spirit has spoken to him.' 23 ¹⁰ The dissension was mounting, and the commandant was afraid that Paul would be torn in pieces, so he ordered the troops to go down, pull him out of the crowd, and bring him into the barracks.

23 ¹¹ The following night the Lord appeared to him and said, 'Keep up your courage, you have affirmed the truth about me in Jerusalem, and you must do the same in Rome.'
- The Plot against Paul's Life  Ac.23.12-22

23 ¹² When day broke, the Jews banded together and took an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 23 ¹³ There were more than forty in this conspiracy. 23 ¹⁴ They came to the chief priests and elders and said, 'We have bound ourselves by a solemn oath not to taste food until we have killed Paul. 23 ¹⁵ It is now for you, acting with the Council, to apply to the commandant to bring him down to you, on the pretext of a closer investigation of his case; and we have arranged to do away with him before he arrives.'

23 ¹⁶ But the son of Paul's sister heard of the ambush; he went to the barracks, obtained entry, and reported it to Paul. 23 ¹⁷ Paul called one of the centurions and said, 'Take this young man to the commandant; he has something to report.' 23 ¹⁸ The centurion took him and brought him to the commandant. 'The prisoner Paul', he said, 'sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you; he has something to tell you.' 23 ¹⁹ The commandant took him by the arm, drew him aside, and asked him, 'What is it you have to report?' 23 ²⁰ He said, 'The Jews have made a plan among themselves and will request you to bring Paul down to the Council tomorrow, on the pretext of obtaining more precise information about him. 23 ²¹ Do not listen to them; for a party more than forty strong are lying in wait for him. They have sworn not to eat or drink until they have done away with him; they are now ready, and wait only for your consent.' 23 ²² So the commandant dismissed the young man, with orders not to let anyone know that he had given him this information.
- Paul Sent to Felix the Governor  Ac.23.23-35

23 ²³ Then he called a couple of his centurions and issued these orders: 'Get ready two hundred infantry to proceed to Caesarea, together with seventy cavalrymen and two hundred light-armed troops; Or: two hundred spearmen (the meaning of the Greek word is uncertain). parade three hours after sunset. 23 ²⁴ Provide also mounts for Paul so that he may ride through under safe escort to Felix the Governor.' 23 ²⁵ And he wrote a letter to this effect:

23 ²⁶ 'Claudius Lysias to His Excellency the Governor Felix. Your Excellency: 23 ²⁷ This man was seized by the Jews and was on the point of being murdered when I intervened with the troops and removed him, because I discovered that he was a Roman citizen. 23 ²⁸ As I wished to ascertain the charge on which they were accusing him, I took him down to their Council. 23 ²⁹ I found that the accusation had to do with controversial matters in their law, but there was no charge against him meriting death or imprisonment. 23 ³⁰ However, I have now been informed of an attempt to be made on the man's life, so I am sending him to you at once, and have also instructed his accusers to state their case against him before you.' Some witnesses read: ' ... before you. Farewell.'

23 ³¹ Acting on their orders, the infantry took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 23 ³² Next day they returned to their barracks, leaving the cavalry to escort him the rest of the way. 23 ³³ The cavalry entered Caesarea, delivered the letter to the Governor, and handed Paul over to him. 23 ³⁴ He read the letter, asked him what province he was from, and learned that he was from Cilicia. 23 ³⁵ 'I will hear your case', he said, 'when your accusers arrive.' He then ordered him to be held in custody at his headquarters in Herod's palace.
- The Case against Paul  Ac.24.1-9

24 ¹ FIVE DAYS LATER the High Priest Ananias came down, accompanied by some of the elders and an advocate named Tertullus, and they laid an information against Paul before the Governor. 24 ² When the prisoner was called, Tertullus opened the case.

'Your Excellency,' he said, 'we owe it to you that we enjoy unbroken peace. It is due to your provident care that, in all kinds of ways and in all sorts of places, improvements are being made for the good of this province. 24 ³ We welcome this, sir, most gratefully. 24 ⁴ And now, not to take up too much of your time, I crave your indulgence for a brief statement of our case. 24 ⁵ We have found this man to be a perfect pest, a fomenter of discord among the Jews all over the world, a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 24 ⁶ He even made an attempt to profane the temple; and then we arrested him." Some manuscripts insert here: It was our intention to try him under our law; 24 ⁷ Some witnesses insert here: but Lysias the commandant intervened and took him by force out of our hands, 24 ⁸ Some witnesses insert here: ordering his accusers to come before you. If you will examine him yourself you can ascertain from him the truth of all the charges we bring.' 24 ⁹ The Jews supported the attack, alleging that the facts were as he stated.
- Paul Defends Himself before Felix  Ac.24.10-23

24 ¹⁰ Then the Governor motioned to Paul to speak, and he began his reply: 'Knowing as I do that for many years you have administered justice in this province, 24 ¹¹ I make my defence with confidence. You can ascertain the facts for yourself. It is not more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage. 24 ¹² They did not find me arguing with anyone, or collecting a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or up and down the city; 24 ¹³ and they cannot make good the charges they bring against me. 24 ¹⁴ But this much I will admit: I am a follower of the new way (the "sect" they speak of), and it is in that manner that I worship the God of our fathers; for I believe all that is written in the Law and the prophets, 24 ¹⁵ and in reliance on God I hold the hope, which my accusers too accept, that there is to be a resurrection of good and wicked alike. 24 ¹⁶ Accordingly I, no less than they, train myself to keep at all times a clear conscience before God and man.
24 ¹⁷ 'After an absence of several years I came to bring charitable gifts to my nation and to offer sacrifices. 24 ¹⁸ They found me in the temple ritually purified and engaged in this service. I had no crowd with me, and there was no disturbance. But some Jews from the province of Asia were there, 24 ¹⁹ and if they had any charge against me it is they who ought to have been in court to state it. 24 ²⁰ Failing that, it is for these persons here present to say what crime they discovered when I was brought before the Council, 24 ²¹ apart from this one open assertion which I made as I stood there: "The true issue in my trial before you today is the resurrection of the dead."'

24 ²² Then Felix, who happened to be well informed about the Christian movement, adjourned the hearing. 'When Lysias the commanding officer comes down', he said, 'I will go into your case.' 24 ²³ He gave orders to the centurion to keep Paul under open arrest and not to prevent any of his friends from making themselves useful to him.
- Paul Held in Custody  Ac.24.24-27

24 ²⁴ Some days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess, and sending for Paul he let him talk to him about faith in Christ Jesus. 24 ²⁵ But when the discourse turned to questions of morals, self-control, and the coming judgement, Felix became alarmed and exclaimed, 'That will do for the present; when I find it convenient I will send for you again.' 24 ²⁶ At the same time he had hopes of a bribe from Paul; and for this reason he sent for him very often and talked with him. 24 ²⁷ When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. Wishing to curry favour with the Jews, Felix left Paul in custody.
- Paul Appeals to Caesar  Ac.25.1-12

25 ¹ THREE DAYS AFTER taking up his appointment Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 25 ² where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders brought before him the case against Paul. 25 ³ They asked Festus to favour them against him, and pressed for him to be brought up to Jerusalem, for they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. 25 ⁴ Festus, however, replied, 'Paul is in safe custody at Caesarea, and I shall be leaving Jerusalem shortly myself; 25 ⁵ so let your leading men come down with me, and if there is anything wrong, let them prosecute him.'

25 ⁶ After spending eight or ten days at most in Jerusalem, he went down to Caesarea, and next day he took his seat in court and ordered Paul to be brought up. 25 ⁷ When he appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood round bringing many grave charges, which they were unable to prove. 25 ⁸ Paul's plea was: 'I have committed no offence, either against the Jewish law, or against the temple, or against the Emperor.' 25 ⁹ Festus, anxious to ingratiate himself with the Jews, turned to Paul and asked, 'Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial on these charges before me there?' 25 ¹⁰ But Paul said, 'I am now standing before the Emperor's tribunal, and that is where I must be tried. Against the Jews I have committed no offence, as you very well know. 25 ¹¹ If I am guilty of any capital crime, I do not ask to escape the death penalty; but if there is no substance in the charges which these men bring against me, it is not open to anyone to hand me over as a sop to them. I appeal to Caesar!' 25 ¹² Then Festus, after conferring with his advisers, replied, 'You have appealed to Caesar: to Caesar you shall go.'
- Paul Brought before Agrippa and Bernice  Ac.25.13-27

25 ¹³ After an interval of some days King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea on a courtesy visit to Festus. 25 ¹⁴ They spent several days there, and during this time Festus laid Paul's case before the king. 'We have a man', he said, 'left in custody by Felix; 25 ¹⁵ and when I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and elders of the Jews laid an information against him, demanding his condemnation. 25 ¹⁶ I answered them, "It is not Roman practice to hand over any accused man before he is confronted with his accusers and given an opportunity of answering the charge." 25 ¹⁷ So when they had come here with me I lost no time; the very next day I took my seat in court and ordered the man to be brought up. 25 ¹⁸ But when his accusers rose to speak, they is brought none of the charges I was expecting; 25 ¹⁹ they merely had certain points of disagreement with him about their peculiar religion, and about someone called Jesus, a dead man whom Paul alleged to be alive. 25 ²⁰ Finding myself out of my depth in such discussions, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and stand his trial there on these issues. 25 ²¹ But Paul appealed to be remanded in custody for His Imperial Majesty's decision, and I ordered him to be detained until I could send him to the Emperor.' 25 ²² Agrippa said to Festus, 'I should rather like to hear the man myself.' 'Tomorrow', he answered, 'you shall hear him.'

25 ²³ So next day Agrippa and Bernice came in full state and entered the audience-chamber accompanied by high-ranking officers and prominent citizens; and on the orders of Festus Paul was brought up. 25 ²⁴ Then Festus said, 'King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man: the whole body of the Jews approached me both in Jerusalem and here, loudly insisting that he had no right to remain alive. 25 ²⁵ But it was clear to me that he had committed no capital crime, and when he himself appealed to His Imperial Majesty, I decided to send him. 25 ²⁶ But I, have nothing definite about him to put in writing for our Sovereign. Accordingly I have brought him up before you all and particularly before you. King Agrippa, so that as a result of this preliminary inquiry I may have something to report. 25 ²⁷ There is no sense, it seems to me, in sending on a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.'
- Paul Defends Himself before Agrippa  Ac.26.1-11

26 ¹ Agrippa said to Paul, 'You have our permission to speak for yourself.' Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defence:

26 ² 'I consider myself fortunate. King Agrippa, that it is before you that I am to make my defence today upon all the charges brought against me by the Jews, 26 ³ particularly as you are expert in all Jewish matters, both our customs and our disputes. And therefore I beg you to give me a patient hearing.

26 ⁴ 'My life from my youth up, the life I led from the beginning among my people and in Jerusalem, is familiar to all Jews. 26 ⁵ Indeed they have known me long enough and could testify, if they only would, that I belonged to the strictest group in our religion: I lived as a Pharisee. 26 ⁶ And it is for a hope kindled by God's promise to our forefathers that I stand in the dock today. 26 ⁷ Our twelve tribes hope to see the fulfilment of that promise, worshipping with intense devotion day and night; and for this very hope I am impeached, and impeached by Jews, Your Majesty. 26 ⁸ Why is it considered incredible among you that God should raise dead men to life?

26 ⁹ 'I myself once thought it my duty to work actively against the name of Jesus of Nazareth; 26 ¹⁰ and I did so in Jerusalem. It was I who imprisoned many of God's people by authority obtained from the chief priests; and when they were condemned to death, my vote was cast against them. 26 ¹¹ In all the synagogues I tried by repeated punishment to make them renounce their faith; indeed my fury rose to such a pitch that I extended my persecution to foreign cities.
- Paul Tells of His conversion  Ac.26.12-18- Ac.9.1-19 | NEB Contents | notes

26 ¹² 'On one such occasion I was travelling to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests; 26 ¹³ and as I was on my way. Your Majesty, in the middle of the day I saw a light from the sky, more brilliant than the sun, shining all around me and my travelling-companions. 26 ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and then I heard a voice saying to me in the Jewish language, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you, this kicking against the goad." 26 ¹⁵ I said, "Tell me, Lord, who you are"; and the Lord replied, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 26 ¹⁶ But now, rise to your feet and stand upright. I have appeared to you for a purpose: to appoint you my servant and witness, to testify both to what you have seen and to what you shall yet see of me. 26 ¹⁷ I will rescue you from this people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you. 26 ¹⁸ I send you to open their eyes and turn them from is darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to God, so that, by trust in me, they may obtain forgiveness of sins, and a place with those whom God has made his own."
- Paul's Testimony to Jews and Gentiles  Ac.26.19-23

26 ¹⁹ 'And so. King Agrippa, I did not disobey the heavenly vision. 26 ²⁰ I turned first to the inhabitants of Damascus, and then to Jerusalem and all the country of Judaea, and to the Gentiles, and sounded the call to repent and turn to God, and to prove their repentance by deeds. 26 ²¹ That is why the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to do away with me. 26 ²² But I had God's help, and so to this very day I stand and testify to great and small alike. I assert nothing beyond what was foretold by the prophets and by Moses: 26 ²³ that the Messiah must suffer, and that he, the first to rise from the dead, would announce the dawn to Israel and to the Gentiles.'
- Paul Appeals to Agrippa to Believe  Ac.26.24-32

26 ²⁴ While Paul was thus making his defence, Festus shouted at the top of his voice, 'Paul, you are raving; too much study is driving you mad.' 26 ²⁵ 'I am not mad, Your Excellency,' said Paul; 'what I am saying is sober truth. 26 ²⁶ The king is well versed in these matters, and to him I can speak freely. I do not believe that he can be unaware of any of these facts, for this has been no hole-and-corner business. 26 ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.' 26 ²⁸ Agrippa said to Paul, 'You think it will not take much to win me over and make a Christian of me.' 26 ²⁹ 'Much or little,' said Paul, 'I wish to God that not only you, but all those also who are listening to me today, might become what I am, apart from these chains.'

26 ³⁰ With that the king rose, and with him the Governor, Bernice, and the rest of the company, 26 ³¹ and after they had withdrawn they talked it over. 'This man', they said, 'is doing nothing that deserves death or imprisonment.' 26 ³² Agrippa said to Festus, 'The fellow could have been discharged, if he had not appealed to the Emperor.'
- Paul Sails for Rome  Ac.27.1-12

27 ¹ WHEN IT WAS DECIDED that we should sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan Cohort. 27 ² We embarked in a ship of Adramyttium, bound for ports in the province of Asia, and put out to sea. In our party was Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 27 ³ Next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius very considerately allowed Paul to go to his friends to be cared for. 27 ⁴ Leaving Sidon we sailed under the lee of Cyprus because of the head-winds, 27 ⁵ then across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, and so reached Myra in Lycia.
27 ⁶ There the centurion found an Alexandrian vessel bound for Italy and put us aboard. 27 ⁷ For a good many days we made little headway, and we were hard put to it to reach Cnidus. Then, as the wind continued against us, off Salmone we began to sail under the lee of Crete, 27 ⁸ and, hugging the coast, struggled on to a place called Fair Havens, not far from the town of Lasea.

27 ⁹ By now much time had been lost, the Fast was already over, and it was risky to go on with the voyage. 27 ¹⁰ Paul therefore gave them this advice: 'I can see, gentlemen,' he said, 'that this voyage will be disastrous: it will mean grave loss, loss not only of ship and cargo but also of life.' 27 ¹¹ But the centurion paid more attention to the captain and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said; 27 ¹² and as the harbour was unsuitable for wintering, the majority were in favour of putting out to sea, hoping, if they could get so far, to winter at Phoenix, a Cretan harbour exposed south-west and north-west. - The Storm at Sea  Ac.27.13-38

27 ¹³ So when a southerly breeze sprang up, they thought that their purpose was as good as achieved, and, weighing anchor, they sailed along the coast of Crete hugging the land. 27 ¹⁴ But before very long a fierce wind, the 'North-easter' as they call it, tore down from the landward side. 27 ¹⁵ It caught the ship and, as it was impossible to keep head to wind, we had to give way and run before it. 27 ¹⁶ We ran under the lee of a small island called Cauda, and with a struggle managed to get the ship's boat under control. 27 ¹⁷ When they had hoisted it aboard, they made use of tackle and under-girded the ship. Then, because they were afraid of running on to the shallows of Syrtis, they lowered the mainsail and let her drive. 27 ¹⁸ Next day, as we were making very heavy weather, they began to lighten the ship; 27 ¹⁹ and on the third day they jettisoned the ship's gear with their own hands. 27 ²⁰ For days on end there was no sign of either sun or stars, a great storm was raging, and our last hopes of coming through alive began to fade.

27 ²¹ When they had gone for a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, 'You should have taken my advice, gentlemen, not to sail from Crete; then you would have avoided this damage and loss. 27 ²² But now I urge you not to lose heart; not a single life will be lost, only the ship. 27 ²³ For last night there stood by me an angel of the God whose I am and whom I worship. 27 ²⁴ "Do not be afraid, Paul," he said; "it is ordained that you shall appear before the Emperor; and, be assured. God has granted you the lives of all who are sailing with you." 27 ²⁵ So keep up your courage: I trust in God that it will turn out as I have been told; 27 ²⁶ though we have to be cast ashore on some island.'

27 ²⁷ The fourteenth night came and we were still drifting in the Sea of Adria. In the middle of the night the sailors felt that land was getting nearer. 27 ²⁸ They sounded and found twenty fathoms. Sounding again after a short interval they found fifteen fathoms; 27 ²⁹ and fearing that we might be cast ashore on a rugged coast they dropped four anchors from the stem and prayed for daylight to come. 27 ³⁰ The sailors tried to abandon ship; they had already lowered the ship's boat, pretending they were going to lay out anchors from the bows, 27 ³¹ when Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, 'Unless these men stay on board you can none of you come off safely.' 27 ³² So the soldiers cut the ropes of the boat and let her drop away.

27 ³³ Shortly before daybreak Paul urged them all to take some food. 'For the last fourteen days', he said, 'you have lived in suspense and gone hungry; you have eaten nothing whatever. 27 ³⁴ So I beg you to have something to eat; your lives depend on it. Remember, not a hair of your heads will be lost.' 27 ³⁵ With these words, he took bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began eating. 27 ³⁶ Then they all plucked up courage, and took food themselves. 27 ³⁷ There were on board two hundred and seventy-six of us in all. 27 ³⁸ When they had eaten as much as they wanted they lightened the ship by dumping the corn in the sea.
- The Shipwreck  Ac.27.39-44

27 ³⁹ When day broke they could not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a sandy beach, on which they planned, if possible, to run the ship ashore. 27 ⁴⁰ So they slipped the anchors and let them go; at the same time they loosened the lashings of the steering-paddles, set the foresail to the wind, and let her drive to the beach. 27 ⁴¹ But they found themselves caught between cross-currents and ran the ship aground, so that the bow stuck fast and remained immovable, while the stem was being pounded to pieces by the breakers. 27 ⁴² The soldiers thought they had better kill the prisoners for fear that any should swim away and escape; 27 ⁴³ but the centurion wanted to bring Paul safely through and prevented them from carrying out their plan. He gave orders that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land; 27 ⁴⁴ the rest were to follow, some on planks, some on parts of the ship. And thus it was that all came safely to land.
- Paul on the Island of Malta  Ac.28.1-10

28 ¹ Once we had made our way to safety we identified the island as Malta. 28 ² The rough islanders treated us with uncommon kindness: because it was cold and had started to rain, they lit a bonfire and made us all welcome. 28 ³ Paul had got together an armful of sticks and put them on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened on his hand. 28 ⁴ The islanders, seeing the snake hanging on to his hand, said to one another, 'The man must be a murderer; he may have escaped from the sea, but divine justice has not let him live.' 28 ⁵ Paul, however, shook off the snake into the fire and was none the worse. 28 ⁶ They still expected that any moment he would swell up or drop down dead, but after waiting a long time without seeing anything extraordinary happen to him, they changed their minds and now said, 'He is a god.'

28 ⁷ In the neighbourhood of that place there were lands belonging to the chief magistrate of the island, whose name was Publius. He took us in and entertained us hospitably for three days. 28 ⁸ It so happened that this man's father was in bed suffering from recurrent bouts of fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and, after prayer, laid his hands upon him and healed him; 28 ⁹ whereupon the other sick people on the island came also and were cured. 28 ¹⁰ They honoured us with many marks of respect, and when we were leaving they put on board provision for our needs.
- Paul Arrives at Rome  Ac.28.11-16

28 ¹¹ Three months had passed when we set sail in a ship which had wintered in the island; she was the Castor and Pollux of Alexandria. 28 ¹² We put in at Syracuse and spent three days there; 28 ¹³ then we sailed round and arrived at Rhegium. After one day a south wind sprang up and we reached Puteoli in two days. 28 ¹⁴ There we found fellow-Christians and were invited to stay a week with them. And so to Rome. 28 ¹⁵ The Christians there had had news of us and came out to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Tres Tabernae, and when Paul saw them, he gave thanks to God and took courage.
28 ¹⁶ WHEN WE ENTERED ROME Paul was allowed to lodge by himself with a soldier in charge of him. - Paul Preaches in Rome  Ac.28.17-31

28 ¹⁷ Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders; and when they were assembled, he said to them: 'My brothers, I, who never did anything against our people or the customs of our forefathers, am here as a prisoner; I was handed over to the Romans at Jerusalem. 28 ¹⁸ They examined me and would have liked to release me because there was no capital charge against me; 28 ¹⁹ but the Jews objected, and I had no option but to appeal to the Emperor; not that I had any accusation to bring against my own people. 28 ²⁰ That is why I have asked to see you and talk to you, because it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am in chains, as you see.' 28 ²¹ They replied, 'We have had no communication from Judaea, nor has any countryman of ours arrived with any report or gossip to your discredit. 28 ²² We should like to hear from you what your views are; all we know about this sect is that no one has a good word to say for it.'

28 ²³ So they fixed a day, and came in large numbers as his guests. He dealt at length with the whole matter; he spoke urgently of the kingdom of God and sought to convince them about Jesus by appealing to the Law of Moses and the prophets. This went on from dawn to dusk. 28 ²⁴ Some were won over by his arguments; others remained sceptical. 28 ²⁵ Without reaching any agreement among themselves they began to disperse, aut not before Paul had said one thing more: 'How well the Holy Spirit spoke to your fathers through the prophet Isaiah

28 ³⁰ He stayed there two full years at his own expense, with a welcome for all who came to him, 28 ³¹ proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the facts about the Lord Jesus Christ quite openly and without hindrance.