Acts 26
26
Paul’s Apologia Before King Agrippa
1 So Agrippa said to Paul, “It is allowed for you to speak for yourself.” Then Paul extended his hand and began his defence:
2 “Concerning all the allegations* of which I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself happy that before you I am going to defend myself today, 3 particularly because you are an expert in all the customs and controversial questions of the Jews. Therefore, I implore you to listen to me patiently.
4 “Now my way of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews, 5 having known me from the earliest stages, if they would be willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they intently* worship night and day. Concerning this hope, I am being accused by the Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thought unbelievable by you that God raises the dead?
9 “Indeed, I myself thought that I ought to do many things antagonistic to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, 10 which I also did in Jerusalem. And I confined many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were being put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. And being exceedingly mad at them, I was pursuing them even as far as foreign cities.*
12 “In relation to this, I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 In the middle of the day, I saw, O king, a light from heaven on the road, above the resplendence of the sun, shining around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 And after we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 Then I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus,* whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this specific purpose: * to appoint you a servant and witness both of the things in which you have seen Me and of the things in which I will appear to you, 17 rescuing you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to open their eyes,* in order 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 who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven, 20 but to those in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem and all the region of Judea and to the Gentiles, I kept declaring that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of repentance. 21 On account of these events,* the Jews arrested me in the temple,* and were trying to kill me. 22 Therefore, I have obtained help from God until this day, and I stand here bearing witness to both small and great, saying nothing aside from what both the Prophets and Moses have said were going to happen, 23 that the Christ would suffer, and that, He would be the first by the resurrection of the dead, to preach light both to the people and to the Gentiles.”
24 And while he was saying these things in his defence, Festus said in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is turning you mad.” 25 But Paul said, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking words of truth and rationality. 26 For the king knows about these things, to whom also I am speaking with boldness. For I am convinced that none of these things in any way has eluded his attention, for this has not been done in a corner.* 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 But Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you persuading me to become a Christian in such a short time?” 29 And Paul responded,* “I pray to God, whether in a short time or in a long one, that not only you, but also all those who are hearing me today, may become such as I also am, except for these chains.”
30 And the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. 31 And after they had withdrawn, they began speaking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free, if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Notes
2 Greek things
7 Or earnestly
11 Greek even as far as to foreign cities
15 Some ancient manuscripts insert the Nazarene at this point to create a parallel reading with 22:8
16 Greek for this
18 Two ancient Greek manuscripts instead read to open blind eyes
18 Or share
21 Greek things
21 Or outer courts of the temple
26 Or a secret place
29 The word responded is not in the Greek text, but is added here for the purpose of clarification
Currently Selected:
Acts 26: AFINTLIT
Highlight
Copy
Compare
Share
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
