26:1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense:

26:2 "King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,

26:3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

26:4 "The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem.

26:5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.

26:6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today.

26:7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me.

26:8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

26:9 "I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

26:10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

26:11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

26:12 "On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.

26:13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions.

26:14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

26:15 "Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' "'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied.

26:16 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.

26:17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them

26:18 to open their eyes and turn them 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.'

26:19 "So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.

26:20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.

26:21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.

26:22 But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen--

26:23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."

26:24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane."

26:25 "I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable.

26:26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.

26:27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."

26:28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

26:29 Paul replied, "Short time or long--I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."

26:30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them.

26:31 They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment."

26:32 Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."