Acts 26

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Paul’s Testimony to Agrippa

¹Ἀγρίππας δὲ πρὸς τὸν Παῦλον ἔφη Ἐπιτρέπεταί σοι ὑπὲρ σεαυτοῦ λέγειν Τότε ὁ Παῦλος ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα ἀπελογεῖτο

¹Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”

Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:

²Περὶ πάντων ὧν ἐγκαλοῦμαι ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων βασιλεῦ Ἀγρίππα ἥγημαι ἐμαυτὸν μακάριον ἐπὶ σοῦ μέλλων σήμερον ἀπολογεῖσθαι

²“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews,

³μάλιστα γνώστην ὄντα σε πάντων τῶν κατὰ Ἰουδαίους ἐθῶν τε καὶ ζητημάτων διὸ δέομαι μακροθύμως ἀκοῦσαί μου

³especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently.

⁴Τὴν μὲν οὖν βίωσίν μου τὴν ἐκ νεότητος τὴν ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς γενομένην ἐν τῷ ἔθνει μου ἔν τε Ἱεροσολύμοις ἴσασι πάντες οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι

⁴Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from my earliest childhood among my own people, and also in Jerusalem.

⁵προγινώσκοντές με ἄνωθεν ἐὰν θέλωσι μαρτυρεῖν ὅτι κατὰ τὴν ἀκριβεστάτην αἵρεσιν τῆς ἡμετέρας θρησκείας ἔζησα Φαρισαῖος

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

⁶Καὶ νῦν ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι τῆς εἰς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν ἐπαγγελίας γενομένης ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἕστηκα κρινόμενος

⁶And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers,

⁷εἰς ἣν τὸ δωδεκάφυλον ἡμῶν ἐν ἐκτενείᾳ νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν λατρεῦον ἐλπίζει καταντῆσαι περὶ ἧς ἐλπίδος ἐγκαλοῦμαι ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων βασιλεῦ

⁷the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews.

⁸τί ἄπιστον κρίνεται παρ’ ὑμῖν εἰ ὁ Θεὸς νεκροὺς ἐγείρει

⁸Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

⁹Ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ πρὸς τὸ ὄνομα Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναζωραίου δεῖν πολλὰ ἐναντία πρᾶξαι

⁹So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

¹⁰ὃ καὶ ἐποίησα ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις καὶ πολλούς τε τῶν ἁγίων ἐγὼ ἐν φυλακαῖς κατέκλεισα τὴν παρὰ τῶν ἀρχιερέων ἐξουσίαν λαβών ἀναιρουμένων τε αὐτῶν κατήνεγκα ψῆφον

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

¹¹καὶ κατὰ πάσας τὰς συναγωγὰς πολλάκις τιμωρῶν αὐτοὺς ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν περισσῶς τε ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς ἐδίωκον ἕως καὶ εἰς τὰς ἔξω πόλεις

¹¹I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

¹²Ἐν οἷς πορευόμενος εἰς τὴν Δαμασκὸν μετ’ ἐξουσίας καὶ ἐπιτροπῆς τῆς τῶν ἀρχιερέων

¹²In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.

¹³ἡμέρας μέσης κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν εἶδον βασιλεῦ οὐρανόθεν ὑπὲρ τὴν λαμπρότητα τοῦ ἡλίου περιλάμψαν με φῶς καὶ τοὺς σὺν ἐμοὶ πορευομένους

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

¹⁴πάντων τε καταπεσόντων ἡμῶν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἤκουσα φωνὴν λέγουσαν πρός με τῇ Ἑβραΐδι διαλέκτῳ Σαοὺλ Σαούλ τί με διώκεις σκληρόν σοι πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν

¹⁴We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew,^a ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵Ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπα Τίς εἶ Κύριε Ὁ δὲ Κύριος εἶπεν Ἐγώ εἰμι Ἰησοῦς ὃν σὺ διώκεις

¹⁵‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked.

‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.

¹⁶ἀλλὰ ἀνάστηθι καὶ στῆθι ἐπὶ τοὺς πόδας σου εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ὤφθην σοι προχειρίσασθαί σε ὑπηρέτην καὶ μάρτυρα ὧν τε εἶδές με ὧν τε ὀφθήσομαί σοι

¹⁶‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you.

¹⁷ἐξαιρούμενός σε ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰς οὓς ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω σε

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

¹⁸ἀνοῖξαι ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν τοῦ ἐπιστρέψαι ἀπὸ σκότους εἰς φῶς καὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν τοῦ λαβεῖν αὐτοὺς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν καὶ κλῆρον ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις πίστει τῇ εἰς ἐμέ

¹⁸to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’

¹⁹Ὅθεν βασιλεῦ Ἀγρίππα οὐκ ἐγενόμην ἀπειθὴς τῇ οὐρανίῳ ὀπτασίᾳ

¹⁹So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

²⁰ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἐν Δαμασκῷ πρῶτόν τε καὶ Ἱεροσολύμοις πᾶσάν τε τὴν χώραν τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀπήγγελλον μετανοεῖν καὶ ἐπιστρέφειν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν ἄξια τῆς μετανοίας ἔργα πράσσοντας

²⁰First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.

²¹ἕνεκα τούτων με Ἰουδαῖοι συλλαβόμενοι ὄντα ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἐπειρῶντο διαχειρίσασθαι

²¹For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts^a and tried to kill me.

²²Ἐπικουρίας οὖν τυχὼν τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄχρι τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης ἕστηκα μαρτυρόμενος μικρῷ τε καὶ μεγάλῳ οὐδὲν ἐκτὸς λέγων ὧν τε οἱ προφῆται ἐλάλησαν μελλόντων γίνεσθαι καὶ Μωϋσῆς

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

²³εἰ παθητὸς ὁ Χριστός εἰ πρῶτος ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν φῶς μέλλει καταγγέλλειν τῷ τε λαῷ καὶ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν

²³that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”

Festus Interrupts Paul’s Defense

²⁴Ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀπολογουμένου ὁ Φῆστος μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ φησιν Μαίνῃ Παῦλε τὰ πολλά σε γράμματα εἰς μανίαν περιτρέπει

²⁴At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”

²⁵Ὁ δὲ Παῦλος Οὐ μαίνομαι φησίν Κράτιστε Φῆστε ἀλλὰ ἀληθείας καὶ σωφροσύνης ῥήματα ἀποφθέγγομαι

²⁵But Paul answered, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and sobriety.

²⁶ἐπίσταται γὰρ περὶ τούτων ὁ βασιλεύς πρὸς ὃν καὶ παρρησιαζόμενος λαλῶ λανθάνειν γὰρ αὐτὸν τι τούτων οὐ πείθομαι οὐθέν οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἐν γωνίᾳ πεπραγμένον τοῦτο

²⁶For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak freely to him. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.

²⁷πιστεύεις βασιλεῦ Ἀγρίππα τοῖς προφήταις οἶδα ὅτι πιστεύεις

²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

²⁸Ὁ δὲ Ἀγρίππας πρὸς τὸν Παῦλον Ἐν ὀλίγῳ με πείθεις Χριστιανὸν ποιῆσαι

²⁸Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?”

²⁹Ὁ δὲ Παῦλος Εὐξαίμην ἂν τῷ Θεῷ καὶ ἐν ὀλίγῳ καὶ ἐν μεγάλῳ οὐ μόνον σὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀκούοντάς μου σήμερον γενέσθαι τοιούτους ὁποῖος καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι παρεκτὸς τῶν δεσμῶν τούτων

²⁹“Short time or long,” Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰Ἀνέστη τε ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ὁ ἡγεμὼν ἥ τε Βερνίκη καὶ οἱ συνκαθήμενοι αὐτοῖς

³⁰Then the king and the governor rose, along with Bernice and those seated with them.

³¹καὶ ἀναχωρήσαντες ἐλάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες ὅτι Οὐδὲν θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν ἄξιον τι πράσσει ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος

³¹On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”

³²Ἀγρίππας δὲ τῷ Φήστῳ ἔφη Ἀπολελύσθαι ἐδύνατο ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος εἰ μὴ ἐπεκέκλητο Καίσαρα

³²And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”