1 And Agrippa was saying to the Paul, “It is permitted for you to speak for yourself.” Then the Paul was making a defense stretching out the hand: 2 “Concerning all things of which I am accused by the Jews, king Agrippa, I consider myself happy before you about to make a defense today. 3 Especially, you being an expert of all things concerning the Jews, of customs and also issues. Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently. 4 Indeed then, my manner of life from youth, being from the beginning in my nation in Jerusalem, all the Jews know. 5 Previously knowing me from the first, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. 6 And now, for hope of the promise to our fathers made by the God, I have stood being judged. 7 Unto which, our twelve tribes in earnest night and day serve, hoping to attain. Concerning which hope, I am being accused, king Agrippa, by Jews. 8 Why is it judged by you unbelievable, i if the God raises the dead?”
9 “I myself, indeed then, thought it necessary to do many things contrary to the name of Joshua the Nazarene. 10 Which I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, receiving from the chief priests the authority. And when they were put to death, I cast a stone. ii 11 And throughout all the synagogues often punishing them, I was compelling to blaspheme. And being exceedingly enraged against them, I was persecuting even as far as unto the outside iii cities.”
12 “In which, also going unto the Damascus, with the authority and commission from the chief priests, 13 at midday, during the way, I saw, king, from heaven, above the brilliance of the Sun, a light shone around me and those going with me. 14 And all of us falling down onto the earth, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Hard for you to kick at goads.' 15 And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said, 'I am Joshua, whom you are persecuting. 16 But, arise and stand on your feet. For unto this I appeared to you, to appoint you a servant and a witness, both of things you saw and of things I will show you, 17 delivering you from the people and the nations, into which I am sending you. iv 18 To open their eyes, so that to turn from darkness into light and from the authority of the Satan unto the God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a portion among those sanctified by faith in me.'”
19 “Whereupon, king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 But, to those in Damascus first and Jerusalem, and into all the country of the Judea, and to the nations, proclaiming to repent and return unto the God, doing works worthy of the repentance.”
21 “Because of these things, the Jews, arresting in the temple, tried to slay me. 22 Therefore, having obtained help from the God until this day, I have stood testifying to small and also to great, saying nothing besides what both the prophets and Moses said was certain to be. 23 That the Christ would suffer, that first v from the dead, he would proclaim light to the people and to the nations.”
24 And with these making his defense, the Festus in a loud voice was saying, “You are mad, Paul! Many writings vi are driving you mad!” 25 And he says, “I am not mad, most excellent Festus. But, I utter words of truth and good judgment. vii 26 For the king knows about these things, to whom I also speak boldly. For to escape him, some of these things, viii I am not persuaded at all, ix for this has not been done in a corner. 27 Do you believe, king Agrippa, the prophets? I know that you do believe.”
28 And the Agrippa was saying to the Paul, “You are persuading me, in a little, to be a Christian.” 29 And the Paul said, “I pray x to the God, both in a little and in much, not only you, but also all who hear me today to be such as I am, except for these bonds.”
30 And when he had said these things, xi the king arose, and the governor, and the Bernice, and those sitting with them. 31 And withdrawing, they were speaking to one another saying that, “This man is doing nothing worthy of death or bonds.” 32 And Agrippa was saying to Festus, “This man was able to be released, if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Translated by Darwin Fish. See original pdf.
- ἄπιστον (apiston) “unbelievable” DLNT, EHV, NET; “incredible” YLT, NKJV, KJV, NAS – this is an adjective for faith, faithful (belief) negated by an alpha (ἄ). ^
- ψῆφον (psêphon) “stone” - NKJV, etc. “vote” - also found in Revelation 2:17(2x) “stone” (NKJV). ^
- ἔξω (exô) “outside” DLNT; “foreign” NKJV, NAS; “strange” KJV, YLT – literally “outside” (e.g. Acts 21:5 TT), here meaning “outside” the Jewish nation (i.e. foreign). ^
- RT adds, νῦν (nun) “now,” not in MT or CT. ^
- πρῶτος (prôtos) “first” NKJV, etc.. This could mean first in the sense “of first rank or position: preeminent” (MW), as in Acts 25:2 (“principle ones” TT, same adjective but in the plural, πρῶτοι [prôtoi]). Yet, since He has been “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8), He evidently is “first from the dead” both in rank/position and time. ^
- γράμματα (grammata) “writings” - Green, WYC “letters”; NKJV, KJV, NAS, YLT “learning” - it is more literally “letters” (e.g. John 7:15; Acts 28:21 NKJV) or “writings” (e.g. 2 Timothy 3:15 NAS). ^
- σωφροσύνης (sôphrosunês) “good judgment” CSB, HCSB; “good sense” NTE, WE; “sanity” Green; “reason” NKJV; “soberness” KJV, YLT – found also in 1 Timothy 2:9 (“moderation” NKJV; “sensibleness” Green; “good sense” CSB), 15 (“self-control” NKJV; “sensibleness” Green; “good sense” CSB). ^
- τι τούτων (ti toutôn) “some of these things” ^
- οὐ πείθομαι οὐδέν (ou peithomai ouden) “I am not persuaded at all” or more literally, “I am not persuaded nothing” - Although most translations do not include the negative, in the Greek Paul uses the negative in an emphatic way in this sentence. The negative is seen in DLNT, “For I am in no way persuaded that any of these things escape-notice-of him.” LEB says, “for I am not convinced that these things in any way have escaped his notice”. ^
- Εὐξαίμην (Euxaimên) “I pray” CEB, LEB, etc.; “I would” NKJV, KJV, NAS – found also in Acts 27:29 (“prayed”); Romans 9:3 (“I could wish”); 2 Corinthians 13:7, 9 (“pray”); James 5:16 (“pray”); 3 John 1:2 (“pray”). ^
- This first part of this verse is not in CT. ^
And some days passing, Agrippa, the king, and Bernice arrived in Caesarea greeting the Festus. -- Αγρίππας (Agrippas) “Agrippa” - found also in Acts 25:22-24, 26; 26:1-2, 7, 19, 27-28, 32.
Βερνίκη (Bernikê) “Bernice” - found also in Acts 25:23; 26:30.
And two years being fulfilled, the Felix received a successor, Porcius Festus. And desiring grace to be placed to the Jews, the Felix left the Paul bound. -- Φῆστον (Phêston) “Festus” - found also in Acts 25:1, 4, 9, 12-14, 22-24; 26:24-25, 32.
And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' -- Joshua spoke in Hebrew, see Acts 26:14.
Then, the Paul and the Barnabus, having no small dissension and debate with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabus and some others from them to go down to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this question. -- ζητήματος (zêtêmatos) “question” NKJV, KJV, YLT, etc.; “issue” NAS, CSB, etc. - used in the context of a controversial question or issue (Acts 18:15; 23:29; 25:19; 26:3).
And finding, he brought him unto Antioch. And it was, they gathered together with the assembly a whole year and taught a considerable crowd. And the disciples were first in Antioch to be called Christians. -- Χριστιανούς (Christianous) “Christians” - also found in Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16.
And falling upon the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” -- Σαούλ (Saoul) - “Saul” - same as in Greek OT (LXX) and closer phonetically to ל ואאוּש) shâ'ul) of the Hebrew OT. Σαούλ (Saoul) is different than the “Saul” Σαῦλος (Saulos) of Acts 9:1; etc.. See Acts 7:58 and footnote therein. Σαούλ (Saoul) is also found in Acts 9:17; 13:21 (King Saul of OT); 22:7, 13; 26:14.
And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Joshua, whom you are persecuting, hard for you to kick at goads. -- This last phrase is not found in the MT or CT, but is found in the RT, σκληρόν σοι πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν (sklêron soi pros kentra laktizein) “hard for you to kick at goads.” MT, CT, and RT all have this phrase in Acts 26:14. Thus, it is included herein. κέντρα (kentra) - “goads” - found also in Acts 26:14 (“goads”); 1 Corinthians 15:55-56 (“sting”); Revelation 9:10 (“stings”). Also, Acts 26:14 reveals Joshua said this to Saul in the “Hebrew language.” See also Psalm 81:5 where God says, “I heard a language I did not understand” (context, vs 5-7).
And the men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing indeed the voice and seeing no one. -- ἀκούοντες μὲν τῆς φωνῆς (akouontes men tês phônês) - “hearing indeed the voice” - Acts 22:9 says the opposite: τὴν δὲ φωνὴν οὐκ ἤκουσαν (tên de phônên ouk êkousan) “and they did not hear the voice.” Scripture teaches one can hear and not hear, “hearing they do not hear” (Matthew 13:13) = hearing without understanding.
μηδένα δὲ θεωροῦντες (mêdena de theôrountes) - “and seeing no one.” - Acts 22:9 says they “indeed saw the light” τὸ μὲν φῶς ἐθεάσαντο (to men phôs etheasanto). So, they saw the light, but didn't see Christ. But, Paul did see Him (Acts 9:17 “who appeared to you”; 26:16 “I have appeared to you”).
..and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” -- nazwraiov (nazôraios) - “Nazarene” - found also only in Matthew 26:71; Luke 18:37; 24:19 (Majority & Received Texts); John 18:5, 7; 19:19; Acts 2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 22:8; 24:5; 26:9. The term for “of Nazareth” is nazarhnov (nazarênos) found only in Mark 1:24; 10:47; 14:67; 16:6; Luke 4:34; 24:19 (Critical Text).
"Be well-disposed quickly toward your opponent while you are on the way with him, lest the opponent deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and he throw you into prison. -- uphreth (upêretê) – "officer” - found also only in Matthew 26:58 (“servants”); Mark 14:54 (“servants”), 65 (“officers); Luke 1:2 (“ministers”); 4:20 (“attendent”); John 7:32, 45-46 (“officers”); 18:3, 12, 18, 22 (“officers”), 36 (“servants”); 19:6 (“officers”); Acts 5:22, 26 (“officers”); 13:5 (“assistant”); 26:16 (“minister”); 1 Corinthians 4:1 (“servants”) NKJV.
And immediately Joshua compelled vii the disciples viii to embark into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he sent the crowds away. -- hnagkasen (ênagkasen) - "compelled" - found also in Mark 6:45 (same context); Luke 14:23; Acts 26:11; 28:19; 2 Corinthians 12:11; Galatians 2:3, 14; 6:12.
But turning he said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of man." -- Man's agenda here = Satan's (see also Acts 26:18; Ephesians 2:1-3).
“And coming also, the one who had received the one talent, said, 'Lord, knowing you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering from where you did not scatter, -- sklhrov (sklêros) - “hard” - found also Matthew 25:24; John 6:60; Acts 26:14; James 3:4; Jude 15.
For I was praying, I myself, to be accursed from the Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to flesh... -- Εὐχόμην (Euchomên) “I was praying”; TLV “I would pray”; YLT “I was wishing,” see footnote for Acts 26:29.
Then Joshua says to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘The Lord your God you shall worship and him only shall you serve.” -- Σατανα (satana) - "Satan" - from Hebrew שָׂטָן (sâtân) meaning "adversary" (e.g. Numbers 22:22, 32; 1 Kings 11:14). In the New Testament σατανας (satanas) "satan" is used with the definite article referring to Satan the person most of the time (Matthew 12:26 [2x]; Mark 1:13; 3:26; 4:15; Luke 10:18; 11:18; 13:16; 22:31; John 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:18; Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 7:5; 2 Corinthians 2:11; 11:14; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Timothy 1:20; 5:15; Revelation 2:9, 13 [2x], 24; 3:9; 12:9; 20:2, 7). Yet, it is found without the definite article where it is clearly speaking of the person Satan in Luke 22:3 (compare with John 13:27) and 2 Corinthians 12:7. Compare Mark 3:23 (without the definite article) with Matthew 12:26 (with the definite article). Σατανας (Satanas) is also found without the article in Matthew 4:10; 16:23; Mark 8:33 where all three are υπαγε οπισω μου, σατανα (hupage opisô mou, satana) "Get behind me, Satan" (or adversary). In Matthew 4:1 Joshua is speaking to Satan. In Matthew 16:23 & Mark 8:33 He is talking to Peter.
And when this sound happened, the multitude came together and was confused, because they heard, each one's own language spoken from them. -- διαλέκτῳ (dialektô) - “language” - found also in Acts 2:8; 21:40; 22:2; 26:14.