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26:1  Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You may speak in your defense." So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense:
26:2  "I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders,
26:3  for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!
26:4  "As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem.
26:5  If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion.
26:6  Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God's promise made to our ancestors.
26:7  In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope!
26:8  Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?
26:9  "I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene.
26:10  Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death.
26:11  Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.
26:12  "One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests.
26:13  About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions.
26:14  We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.'
26:15  "'Who are you, lord?' I asked. "And the Lord replied, 'I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.
26:16  Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. You are to tell the world what you have seen and what I will show you in the future.
26:17  And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles
26:18  to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God's people, who are set apart by faith in me.'
26:19  "And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven.
26:20  I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God--and prove they have changed by the good things they do.
26:21  Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me.
26:22  But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen--
26:23  that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God's light to Jews and Gentiles alike."
26:24  Suddenly, Festus shouted, "Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!"
26:25  But Paul replied, "I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth.
26:26  And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner!
26:27  King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do--"
26:28  Agrippa interrupted him. "Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?"
26:29  Paul replied, "Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains."
26:30  Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others stood and left.
26:31  As they went out, they talked it over and agreed, "This man hasn't done anything to deserve death or imprisonment."
26:32  And Agrippa said to Festus, "He could have been set free if he hadn't appealed to Caesar."