[영어 성경] Acts chapter 26

Ac. 26:1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak

for yourself.” So Paul motioned with his hand and began his

defence:

Ac. 26:2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before

you today as I make my defence against all the accusations of

the Jews,

Ac. 26:3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the

Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to

listen to me patiently.

Ac. 26:4 “The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a

child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and

also in Jerusalem.

Ac. 26:5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they

are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion,

I lived as a Pharisee.

Ac. 26:6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised

our fathers that I am on trial today.

Ac. 26:7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see

fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O King, it

is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me.

Ac. 26:8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises

the dead?

Ac. 26:9 “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible

to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

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Ac. 26:10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of

the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when

they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

Ac. 26:11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have

them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my

obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to

persecute them.

Ac. 26:12 “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the

authority and commission of the chief priests.

Ac. 26:13 About noon, O King, as I was on the road, I saw a light from

heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my

companions.

Ac. 26:14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in

Aramaic, [Or Hebrew] `Saul, Saul, why do you persecute

me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

Ac. 26:15 “Then I asked, `Who are you, Lord?’ “`I am Jesus, whom

you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.

Ac. 26:16 `Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you

to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have

seen of me and what I will show you.

Ac. 26:17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the

Gentiles. I am sending you to them

Ac. 26:18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and

from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive

forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are

sanctified by faith in me.’

Ac. 26:19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision

from heaven.

Ac. 26:20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in

all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they

should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by

their deeds.

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Ac. 26:21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried

to kill me.

Ac. 26:22 But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand

here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing

beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen —

Ac. 26:23 that the Christ [Or Messiah] would suffer and, as the first to

rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people

and to the Gentiles.”

Ac. 26:24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defence. “You are out

of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is

driving you insane.”

Ac. 26:25 “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What

I am saying is true and reasonable.

Ac. 26:26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely

to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his

notice, because it was not done in a corner.

Ac. 26:27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

Ac. 26:28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short

time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

Ac. 26:29 Paul replied, “Short time or long — I pray God that not only

you but all who are listening to me today may become what I

am, except for these chains.”

Ac. 26:30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and

those sitting with them.

Ac. 26:31 They left the room, and while talking with one another, they

said, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or

imprisonment.”

Ac. 26:32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if

he had not appealed to Caesar.”