Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:
I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I am to make my defense before you today concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews,
especially because you are an expert in all customs and controversies among the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own people and at Jerusalem, is well known to all the Jews.
They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived as a Pharisee.
And now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our ancestors.
To this promise our twelve tribes, eagerly serving God day and night, hope to attain. For this hope, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.
Why is it considered incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposition to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
And that is what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death,
I cast my vote against them.
By punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and in my fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
“About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who were traveling with me.
When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
“Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you,
delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you
to open their eyes so that they may turn 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.’
“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and perform deeds consistent with repentance.
That is why the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
But with the help of God I have stood to this day, witnessing to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place:
that the Messiah must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
As he made his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you mad.”
But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth.
The king is familiar with these things, and to him I speak boldly; for I am convinced that none of this has escaped his attention, because it was not done in a corner.
King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do.”
Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?”
Paul said, “Whether short or long, I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become such as I am—except for these chains.”
Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them,
and when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.”
Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
This is the Patristics text that appears when you select Patristics.
