came to pass when I had returned to Jerusalem, and was praying in the 18 temple, I fell into a trance, and saw Him saying to me, 'Make haste and depart from Jerusalem quickly, for they will not admit any evidence of 19 thine regarding me.' And I said, 'But, Lord, they know it was I who imprisoned and flogged those who believed on thee, in synagogue after 20 synagogue; and when the blood of thy witness Stephen was being shed, I stood by also and approved, and took charge of the garments of those 21 who slew him. Yet he said to me, 'Depart: I will send thee forth afar 22 to the Gentiles-." Up to this sentence they had listened to him, then they raised a cry of, " Away with such a fellow from the earth! He 23 is not fit to live!" As they went on clamouring, tossing their garments, 24 and throwing dust into the air, the tribune commanded him to be brought into the barracks, giving orders to have him examined by scourging, so as to ascertain the reason why they shouted at him in this 25 way. But after they had strapped him up for the lash, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a Roman 26 citizen, and that too unconvicted?" On hearing this, the centurion went to the tribune and told him, saying, "What is to be done? this man is a 27 Roman citizen." So the tribune went to him and said, "Tell me, art 28 thou a Roman citizen?" And he said, "Yes." The tribune answered, "I purchased this citizenship for a large sum?" Paul said, "But I was 29 born in it?" Then those who were going to examine him left him alone at once. Moreover, the tribune himself was alarmed to find that he was a Roman citizen, and that he had bound him. 30 [Now on the morrow, in his desire to ascertain the true reason why he was accused by the Jews, he unbound him and ordered the high priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble; then he brought Paul down and set him 23 1 before them. Fixing his eyes on the Sanhedrin, Paul said: "Men and brothers, I have borne myself towards God down to this day with a 2 perfectly good conscience." And the high priest Ananias commanded 3 those who stood beside him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God shall strike thee, thou white-washed wall! What! art thou sitting to judge me according to the law and yet ordering me against 4 the law to be struck?" The bystanders said, "Revilest thou the high 5 priest of God?" "Brothers," said Paul, “I did not know he was high priest." (For it is written, thou shalt not speak evil of a ruler of thy 6 people.) But when Paul discovered that the one half were Sadducees and the other half Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, “Men and brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! For the hope-for the 7 resurrection of the dead I am on trial!" Hardly had he said this, when a discussion broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the 8 meeting was divided. For while the Sadducees say there is no 9 resurrection, no angel or spirit, the Pharisees acknowledge both. So a mighty clamour broke out, and some of the scribes who belonged to the Pharisaic party stood up and hotly maintained, "We find no evil in this 10 man. What if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel -?" Now as the discussion grew violent, the tribune became afraid they would tear Paul asunder; so he ordered the troop of soldiers to go down and carry 11 him from their midst by force, and bring him into the barracks.] The following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer: as thou hast borne witness in Jerusalem to me, so too must thou witness in 12 Rome." When day broke the Jews formed a conspiracy, binding themselves by a curse to neither eat nor drink until they killed Paul. 13, 14 There were more than forty who formed this intrigue. They went to the high priests and the elders, and said, "We have bound ourselves by 15 a solemn curse to taste nothing until we kill Paul. Now then, make you representations to the tribune along with the Sanhedrin, inducing him to bring him down to you on the plea that you propose to investigate his case more accurately; we are all ready to slay him on the road." 16 Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, and getting entrance 17 into the barracks he told Paul. And Paul summoned one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the tribune, for he has 18 some news to give him." So he took and brought him to the tribune, saying, "The prisoner Paul summoned me, and asked me to bring this 19 young man to thee, as he has something to tell thee. Taking him by the hand the tribune retired, and proceeded in private to ask him, "What 20 news hast thou to give me?" He said, "The Jews have agreed to ask thee to bring Paul down to-morrow to the Sanhedrin on the plea 21 that it is proposed 1 to make a more accurate inquiry into his case. Now, do not let them persuade thee. For an ambush is being laid against him by more than forty men, who have bound themselves by a curse to neither eat nor drink until they slay him. They are all ready at this 22 very moment, expecting thou wilt consent." The tribune then dismissed the young man with the injunction, "Let nobody know that thou hast 23 disclosed this to me." And summoning two of the centurions, he said, "Get ready two hundred infantry to march as far as Caesarea, also seventy troopers and two hundred spearmen, at the third hour of 24 the night." Beasts were also to be provided, on which they were to 25 mount Paul, and conduct him in safety to Felix the procurator. Then he wrote a letter in this style: 1 26 "Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent procurator Felix : 27 This man had been arrested by the Jews and was on the point of being reached Cæsarea, presented the letter to the procurator, and also handed 34 Paul over to him. On reading the letter, he asked what province he 35 belonged to; and when he ascertained that it was Cilicia, "I will hear thy cause," said he, "so soon as thy accusers have also arrived." His orders were that he was to be kept in the praetorium of Herod. 24 1 Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and Tertullus, a barrister. They made representations to the procurator 2 against Paul; and after he had been called, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: "As owing to thee we are in the enjoyment of great peace, and as it is owing to thy forethought that this nation has secured reforms 3 everyway and everywhere, we accept these, most excellent Felix, with 4 all gratitude. But-not to detain thee too long-I entreat thee to grant 5 us, in thy courtesy, brief hearing. We have found this man is a pest, 1 Reading μέλλον. an inciter of riot among all the Jews throughout the world, a ringleader 6 of the party of the Nazarenes. He even tried to desecrate the temple; but we seized him, and intended to try him according to our own 7 law. However, Lysias the tribune came forward and took him out of 8 our hands with great violence, ordering his accusers to go to thee. Examine Lysias for thyself and thou wilt be able to ascertain from him 9 about all these accusations that we bring against the prisoner." The Jews 10 also joined in the attack, alleging that such was the case. Then the pro curator nodded to Paul to speak, and he answered: "As I know thou hast been judge to this nation for a number of years, I am greatly encour11 aged in making my defence. As thou canst ascertain, not more than 12 twelve days have passed since I went up to worship at Jerusalem. They never found me in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city disput13 ing with anyone or causing a riot in the crowd; nor can they offer thee 14 any proof of the accusations that they now bring against me. This I certainly own to thee, that according to the way which they call a 'party' I serve our fathers' God; for I believe all that is written throughout the 15 law and in the prophets, cherishing the hope towards God that these men also entertain themselves, namely, that there will be a resurrection of 16 the just and of the unjust. Hence I too take constant pains to keep my 17 conscience clear towards God and men. Now after several years 18 I came with alms and offerings for my nation; and it was in presenting these that they found me in the temple, a man who had been purified, 19 with neither crowd nor tumult. But some Jews from Asia-and they ought to have been here before thee to accuse me of whatever charge 20 they have against me! Or, let these men here speak for themselves! 21 What fault did they find in my appearance before the Sanhedrin ?—unless it was in my one cry as I stood among them, 'For the resurrection of the 22 dead I am on trial to-day before you.'" However, as Felix had a somewhat accurate knowledge of the Way, he put them off, saying, "When Lysias 23 the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.' He also gave instruc tions to the centurion to keep him in custody, but to allow him relaxation, and not to prevent any of his associates from waiting on him. 24 Some days afterwards, Felix arrived with his wife Drusilla, a Jewess; and sending for Paul he listened to what he said upon faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as he reasoned upon uprightness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became uneasy and answered, "Leave me for the present. 26 When I get an opportunity, I will summon thee." At the same time he hoped Paul would give him money, and so he sent for him all the more 27 frequently, and conversed with him. But when two years were completed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and as he wished to ingratiate himself with the Jews, Felix left Paul in bonds. 25 1 So Festus entered on his province, and after three days went up from 2 Caesarea to Jerusalem. And the high priests and leading men of the Jews made representations to him against Paul; also, they besought and 3 begged him, as a favour, to send for him to Jerusalem [while they lay in 4 ambush to kill him on the road]. Festus thereupon replied that Paul was in custody at Caesarea; and as he was himself to leave before long 5 for that place, "Let the principal men among you," said he, "go down 6 with me and accuse the man of whatever harm is in him." Now, after staying among them for eight or ten days at the most, he went down to Caesarea. On the next day he seated himself upon the tribunal and 1 Adding καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἡμέτερον νόμον ἠθελήσαμεν κρίνειν· κατελθὼν δὲ Λυσίας ὁ χιλίαρχος μετὰ πολλῆς βίας ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ἡμῶν ἀπήγαγε, κελεύσας τοὺς κατηγόρους αὐτόν ἔρχεσθαι ἐπὶ σί, 7 ordered Paul to be brought. When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood round him and brought many weighty 8 charges against him, which they were unable to prove, Paul arguing in his defence, "Neither against the Jewish law, nor against the temple, nor 9 against Caesar, have I sinned at all." Wishing to ingratiate himself with the Jews, Festus answered Paul and said, "Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem 10 and be tried there on these charges before me?" Paul said, "I stand before Caesar's tribunal, and there I should be tried; I have committed no offence at all against Jews, and thou knowest that perfectly well. 11 Now, if I am a criminal and have done anything to deserve death, I do not object to die; but if none of their charges against me is true, no 12 one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!" Then, after conferring with the council, Festus replied, "Thou hast appealed to Caesar: to Caesar shalt thou go." 13 Now after the lapse of some days, Agrippa the king and Bernicê 14 reached Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. As they were spending a number of days there, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, 15 "There is a man whom Felix has left behind in prison; and when I was at Jerusalem, the high priests and the elders of the Jews made representa16 tions to me about him, asking for sentence to be passed upon him. My answer to them was, that Romans are not accustomed to give up any man until the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has had a chance of 17 defending himself against the impeachment. So when they came here with me, I interposed no delay; the very next day, I seated myself on the 18 tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. But when the accusers came forward, they laid no accusation of such crimes as I had surmised in this 19 case; their questions in which they opposed him, related to their own superstition, and to some dead person Jesus, whom Paul alleged to be alive. 20 Perplexed about the method of inquiry into these subjects, I asked if he 21 would go to Jerusalem and be tried upon them there; but as Paul entered an appeal to be kept and examined by the Emperor, I ordered him to be 22 kept till I could remit him to Caesar." "I should like," said Agrippa to Festus, "to hear the man myself." "Thou shalt hear him," said he, "to23 morrow." So the next day, Agrippa and Bernicê came with great pomp and entered the hall of audience, accompanied by the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city; and by order of Festus, Paul was 24 brought in. Then says Festus, "King Agrippa and all the company now present, here you see the man about whom all the Jewish multitude, both at Jerusalem and in this place, have applied to me, loudly declaring that he 25 must live no longer. However, I found that he had done nothing to deserve death; and as he entered an appeal himself to the Emperor, I 26 decided to send him. But as I have nothing reliable to write with regard to him to the sovereign, I have brought him before you; and especially before thee, king Agrippa, that as the result of an examination 27 I may have something to write. For it seems to me absurd to send a prisoner without indicating at the same time the particulars of which he 26 1 is accused." So Agrippa said to Paul, "Thou hast permission to speak for thyself." Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded with his 2 defence: "I consider myself fortunate, king Agrippa, in being able to-day to defend myself before thee upon all that the Jews charge me 3 with, as thou art particularly well informed upon all Jewish questions 4 and customs. I pray thee then to hear me patiently. My general life from youth up, passed from the outset among my own nation and 5 at Jerusalem, is known to all the Jews. From the very first they know, if they would own to it, that I lived according to the most rigor6 ous party in our religion, as a Pharisee. (And now it is for the hope of 7 the promise which God made to our fathers that I stand here on trial, a promise which our twelve tribes hope to attain by serving God earnestly night and day. It is for this hope, O king, that Jews impeach me !-) 9 Well then, I thought to myself that I must actively oppose the name of Jesus 10 the Nazarene. Which indeed I did in Jerusalem, by shutting up many of the saints in prison, after I got authority from the high priests; also by 11 giving my vote against them when they were put to death; also by attempting to compel them to blaspheme, by frequently punishing them in every synagogue. Maddened beyond measure against them, I pursued them 12 actually as far as the foreign cities. In the course of this, as I journeyed 13 to Damascus with the authority and commission of the high priests, I saw on the road at midday, O king, a light from the sky more dazzling than 14 the sun, flash round me and my fellow-travellers. We all fell to the ground. And I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, "Saul, Saul, why art thou persecuting me? It is ill for thee to kick 15 against the goad." And I said, "Who art thou, sir?" And the Lord 16 said, "I am Jesus, and thou art persecuting me. But rise and stand on thy feet; for I have appeared to thee in order to appoint thee a servant and a witness of what thou hast seen, and of the visions in which thou shalt 17 see me. I will rescue thee from the people and from the Gentiles—to whom I 18 send thee for the opening of their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive the remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified, by faith in 19 me." Upon this, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly 20 vision, but I brought word first to those at Damascus and at Jerusalem, then through all the land of Judaea, and also to the Gentiles, that they were 21 to repent and turn to God, by doing deeds that befitted repentance. This is 22 why Jews arrested me in the temple and attempted to murder me. Thanks then to the succour which I have to this day obtained from God, here I stand, testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the pro8 phets and Moses said would come to pass. Why should you judge it incred23 ible that God should raise the dead, that the Christ should suffer, that he first by a resurrection from the dead should proclaim light both to the 24 people and to the Gentiles?" As he made this defence, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, thou art mad! Great learning drives thee 25 insane!" "Most excellent Festus," Paul said, "I am not mad; I utter words 26 of truth and sense. Why, the king knows about these things! To the king I speak with confidence, for I cannot believe any one of these things is 27 unfamiliar to him; this has not taken place in a corner. King Agrippa, 28 dost thou believe the prophets? I know thou dost."-And Agrippa said to Paul, "A little more and thou wouldst have me act the Christian!" 29 "A little more or not," said Paul, "I would to God not only thou but also all who hear me this day might become what I am, except for these bonds!" 30 Then the king rose and the procurator, also Bernicê and those who 31 sat with them; and on retiring and talking to one another they agreed, 32"This man has done nothing to deserve death or bonds." As for Agrippa, he said to Festus, "This man might have been released, if he had not appealed to Caesar." 27 1 Now when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Imperial cohort 2 named Julius. Embarking in an Adramyttian ship which was bound for |