Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 26

Aug 12, 2020 at 23:02 Twitter · Facebook

Acts 26 NASB - New American Standard Bible

Chapter 26 of Acts—New American Standard Bible (NASB)

• « Prev
• Acts 26 of 28
• Next »

1. ¶ ¹Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense:
2. ¶ “In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today;
3. ^[a]especially because you are an expert in all ²customs and ^[b]questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4. ¶ “So then, all Jews know ³my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem;
5. since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a ⁴Pharisee ⁵according to the strictest ⁶sect of our religion.
6. And now I am ^[c]standing trial ⁷for the hope of ⁸the promise made by God to our fathers;
7. the promise ⁹to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this ¹⁰hope, O King, I am being ¹¹accused by Jews.
8. Why is it considered incredible among you people ¹²if God does raise the dead?
9. ¶ “So then, ¹³I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to ¹⁴the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10. And this is ^[d]just what I ¹⁵did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the ^[e]saints in prisons, having ¹⁶received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I ¹⁷cast my vote against them.
11. And ¹⁸as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being ¹⁹furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them ²⁰even to ^[f]foreign cities.
12. ¶ “^[g]While so engaged ²¹as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,
13. at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, ^[h]brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me.
14. And when we had ²²all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the ^[i]23Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? ^[j]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15. And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
16. But get up and ²⁴stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to ²⁵appoint you a ²⁶minister and ²⁷a witness not only to the things which you have ^[k]seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you;
17. ²⁸rescuing you ²⁹from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you,
18. to ³⁰open their eyes so that they may turn from ³¹darkness to light and from the dominion of ³²Satan to God, that they may receive ³³forgiveness of sins and an ³⁴inheritance among those who have been sanctified by ³⁵faith in Me.’
19. ¶ “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision,
20. but kept declaring both ³⁶to those of Damascus first, and also ³⁷at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even ³⁸to the Gentiles, that they should ³⁹repent and turn to God, performing deeds ⁴⁰appropriate to repentance.
21. For this reason some Jews ⁴¹seized me in the temple and tried ⁴²to put me to death.
22. So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day ⁴³testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what ⁴⁴the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place;
23. ^[l]45that ^[m]the Christ was ^[n]to suffer, and ^[o]that ⁴⁶by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim ⁴⁷light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
24. ¶ While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! ^[p]Your great ⁴⁸learning is ^[q]driving you mad.”
25. But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, ⁴⁹most excellent Festus, but I utter words ^[r]of sober truth.
26. For the king ^[s]50knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a ^[t]corner.
27. King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you ^[u]do.”
28. Agrippa replied to Paul, “^[v]In a short time you ^[w]will persuade me to ^[x]become a ⁵¹Christian.”
29. And Paul said, “^[y]I would wish to God, that whether ^[z]in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these ⁵²chains.”
30. ¶ ⁵³The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them,
31. and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “⁵⁴This man is not doing anything worthy of death or ^[aa]imprisonment.”
32. And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been ⁵⁵set free if he had not ⁵⁶appealed to Caesar.”

• « Prev
• Acts 26 of 28
• Next »

FOOTNOTES

1. ^ Or because you are especially expert
2. ^ Or controversial issues
3. ^ Lit being tried
4. ^ Lit also
5. ^ Or holy ones
6. ^ Or outlying
7. ^ Lit In which things
8. ^ Lit above the brightness of
9. ^ I.e. Jewish Aramaic
10. ^ An idiom referring to an animal’s futile resistance to being prodded with goads
11. ^ Two early mss read seen Me
12. ^ Lit whether
13. ^ I.e. the Messiah
14. ^ Lit subject to suffering
15. ^ Lit whether
16. ^ Lit The many letters
17. ^ Lit turning you to madness
18. ^ Lit of truth and rationality
19. ^ Or understands
20. ^ I.e. a hidden or secret place
21. ^ Lit believe
22. ^ Or With a little
23. ^ Or are trying to convince
24. ^ Lit make
25. ^ Or I would pray to
26. ^ Or with a little or with much
27. ^ Lit bonds

REFERENCES

1. ^ Ac 9:15
2. ^ Ac 6:14; 25:19; 26:7
3. ^ Ga 1:13f; Pp 3:5
4. ^ Ac 23:6; Pp 3:5
5. ^ Ac 22:3
6. ^ Ac 15:5
7. ^ Ac 24:15; 28:20
8. ^ Ac 13:32
9. ^ Jm 1:1
10. ^ Ac 24:15; 28:20
11. ^ Ac 26:2
12. ^ Ac 23:6
13. ^ Jn 16:2; 1Ti 1:13
14. ^ Jn 15:21
15. ^ Ac 8:3; 9:13
16. ^ Ac 9:1f
17. ^ Ac 22:20
18. ^ Mt 10:17; Ac 22:19
19. ^ Ac 9:1
20. ^ Ac 22:5
21. ^ Ac 26:12-18; 9:3-8; 22:6-11
22. ^ Ac 9:7
23. ^ Ac 21:40
24. ^ Eze 2:1; Da 10:11
25. ^ Ac 22:14
26. ^ Lu 1:2
27. ^ Ac 22:15
28. ^ Je 1:8, 19
29. ^ 1Ch 16:35; Ac 9:15
30. ^ Is 35:5; 42:7, 16; Eph 5:8; Col 1:13; 1Pe 2:9
31. ^ Jn 1:5; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12f; 1Th 5:5; 1Pe 2:9
32. ^ Mt 4:10
33. ^ Lu 24:47; Ac 2:38
34. ^ Ac 20:32
35. ^ Ac 20:21
36. ^ Ac 9:19ff
37. ^ Ac 9:26-29; 22:17-20
38. ^ Ac 9:15; 13:46
39. ^ Ac 3:19
40. ^ Mt 3:8; Lu 3:8
41. ^ Ac 21:27, 30
42. ^ Ac 21:31
43. ^ Lu 16:28
44. ^ Ac 10:43; 24:14
45. ^ Mt 26:24; Ac 3:18
46. ^ 1Co 15:20, 23; Col 1:18; Re 1:5
47. ^ Is 42:6; 49:6; Lu 2:32; 2Co 4:4
48. ^ Jn 7:15; 2Ti 3:15
49. ^ Ac 23:26; 24:3
50. ^ Ac 26:3
51. ^ Ac 11:26
52. ^ Ac 21:33
53. ^ Ac 25:23
54. ^ Ac 23:29
55. ^ Ac 28:18
56. ^ Ac 25:11

Read Acts Chapter 26 in other Bible versions:

• Acts Chapter 26 - ASV
• Acts Chapter 26 - KJV
• Acts Chapter 26 - NWT
• Acts Chapter 26 - RSV