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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Acts 26 ISV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/acts/26.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/acts/26-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">ISV</a> > Acts 26</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../acts/25.htm" title="Acts 25">◄</a> Acts 26 <a href="../acts/27.htm" title="Acts 27">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">International Standard Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/isv/esv/acts/26.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="heading">Paul Presents His Case to Agrippa</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Then Agrippa told Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>“I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, that I can defend myself today against all the accusations of the Jewish leaders,<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="26:2 i.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews">a</a></span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>since you are especially familiar with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen patiently to me. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>All the Jews know how I lived from the earliest days of my youth with my own people and in Jerusalem. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>They have known for a long time, if they would but testify to it, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the standards of our strictest religious party.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>“And now I stand here on trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our ancestors. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Our twelve tribes, worshiping day and night with intense devotion, hope to attain it. It is because of this hope, O King, that I am accused by the Jews. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Why is it thought incredible by all of you that God should raise the dead? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Indeed, I myself thought it my duty to take extreme measures against the name of Jesus from Nazareth.<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="26:9 Or Jesus the Nazarene; the Gk. Nazoraios may be a word play between Heb. netser, meaning branch (cf. Isa 11:1), and the name Nazareth.">b</a></span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>That is what I did in Jerusalem. I received authority from the high priests and locked many of the saints in prison. And when I cast my vote against them, they were put to death. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>I would even punish them frequently in every synagogue and try to make them blaspheme. Raging furiously against them, I would hunt them down even in distant cities.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>“That is how I happened to be traveling to Damascus with authority based on a commission from the high priests. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>On the road at noon, O King, I saw a light from heaven that was brighter than the sun. It flashed around me and those who were traveling with me.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>“All of us fell to the ground, and I heard a voice asking me in the Hebrew language, <span class="red">‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me? It is hurting you to keep on kicking against the cattle prods.’<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="26:14 Quoted in The Bacchae by Euripides, although Aeschylus in Prometheus Bound used almost identical language.">c</a></span> </span></p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>“I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="26:15 Or Sir">d</a></span> </p> <p class="reg">“The Lord answered, <span class="red">‘I’m Jesus, whom you are persecuting. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>But get up and stand on your feet, because I’ve appeared to you for the very purpose of appointing you to be my servant and witness of what you’ve seen and of what I’ll show you. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>I’ll continue to rescue you from your people and from the gentiles to whom I’m sending you. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>You will help them understand<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="26:18 Lit. will open their eyes">e</a></span> and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan’s control to God, so that their sins will be forgiven and they will receive a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’</span></p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>“And so, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Instead, I first told the people in Damascus and Jerusalem, then all the people in Judea—and after that the gentiles—to repent, turn to God, and perform deeds that are consistent with such repentance. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>For this reason the Jewish leaders<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="26:21 i.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews">f</a></span> grabbed me in the Temple and kept trying to kill me. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>I’ve had help from God to this day, and so I stand here to testify to both the powerful and the lowly alike, stating only what the prophets and Moses said would happen— <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>that the Messiah<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="26:23 Or Christ">g</a></span> would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead and would bring light both to our people and to the gentiles.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>As he continued his defense, Festus shouted, “You’re out of your mind, Paul! Too much education is driving you crazy!”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>But Paul said, “I’m not out of my mind, Your Excellency Festus. I’m reporting what is absolutely true. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Indeed, the king knows about these things, and I can speak to him freely. For I’m certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, since this wasn’t done in a corner. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe them!”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>Agrippa asked Paul, “Can you so quickly persuade me to become a Christian?”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I wish to God that not only you but everyone listening to me today would become what I am—except for these chains!”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and those who were sitting with him got up. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>As they were leaving, they began to say to each other, “This man hasn’t been doing anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/26-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>Agrippa told Festus, “This man could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to the emperor.”</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="ftn"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn1"><span class="fnb">a</span> 26:2 i.e. Judean leaders; lit. <i>the Jews</i><br /><span class="fnb">b</span> 26:9 Or <i>Jesus the Nazarene</i>; the Gk. <i>Nazoraios</i> may be a word play between Heb. <i>netser,</i> meaning <i>branch</i> (cf. Isa 11:1), and the name <i>Nazareth.</i><br /><span class="fnb">c</span> 26:14 Quoted in <i>The Bacchae</i> by Euripides, although Aeschylus in <i>Prometheus Bound</i> used almost identical language.<br /><span class="fnb">d</span> 26:15 Or <i>Sir</i><br /><span class="fnb">e</span> 26:18 Lit. <i>will open their eyes</i><br /><span class="fnb">f</span> 26:21 i.e. Judean leaders; lit. <i>the Jews</i><br /><span class="fnb">g</span> 26:23 Or <i>Christ</i><br /></span><br><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><div align="center"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1<br />Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation<br />ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../acts/25.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Acts 25"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Acts 25" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../acts/27.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Acts 27"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Acts 27" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/acts/26-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><div align="center" style="background-color:#F2FAFF"><br /><br /><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table><br /><br /><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /> </div><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/botmenubhnm2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span></div></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>