Festus therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

And the chief priests and leading men of the Jews gave their information to him against Paul; and they entreated him,

Asking for a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem, they themselves setting an ambush to do away with him on the way.

Festus therefore answered that Paul was being kept in custody in Caesarea, and that he himself was about to proceed there shortly.

Therefore, he said, let  ¹influential men from among you go down with me, and if there is anything  ²wrong in the man, let them accuse him.

And having stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; and on the next day he sat on the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought.

And when he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they were not able to prove,

While Paul said in his  ¹defense, Neither against the law of the Jews nor against the temple nor against Caesar have I sinned in anything.

But Festus, wanting to  ¹gain favor with the Jews, answered Paul and said, Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be judged there before me concerning these things?

And Paul said, I am standing before Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know.

If therefore I am doing wrong and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if there is nothing to the things which these accuse me of, no one can hand me over to them. I  ¹appeal to  ²Caesar.

Then when Festus had conferred with the  ¹council, he answered, To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.

Now when some days had passed,  ¹Agrippa the king and  ²Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.

And while they were staying some additional days there, Festus laid before the king the matters regarding Paul, saying, There is a certain man who has been left a prisoner by Felix,

Concerning whom, when I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews gave information and asked for a sentence against him.

To them I answered that it is not the custom with Romans to hand over any man before he who is accused meets the accusers face to face and has an opportunity for a defense concerning the charge.

So when they had come together here, I made no delay; on the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, I ordered the man to be brought.

Concerning him the accusers stood and brought no charge of the evil things I was suspecting.

But they had certain questions against him concerning their own  ¹religion and concerning a certain Jesus who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

And  ¹being at a loss as to how there should be an inquiry concerning these things, I asked him if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be judged there concerning these things.

But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of  ¹the Emperor, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I should send him up to Caesar.

And Agrippa said to Festus, I myself also would like to hear the man. Tomorrow, said Festus, you shall hear him.

Therefore on the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered into the hall of audience together with the  ¹commanders and prominent men of the city, and when Festus had given the order, Paul was brought.

And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all you men who are present with us, you behold this man, concerning whom all the multitude of Jews have petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

But I found that he had done nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I  ¹decided to send him.

Concerning him I have nothing definite to write to my lord; therefore I have brought him before  ¹you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that when the examination has taken place, I may have something to write.

For it seems unreasonable to me, in sending a prisoner, not to also signify the charges against him.

And Agrippa said to Paul, You are permitted to speak for yourself. Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:

Concerning all the things which I am accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself blessed that I am to make my  ¹defense before you today,

 ¹Especially since you are  ²familiar with all the customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

The manner of my life from youth, which from the beginning was among my own nation and in Jerusalem, all the Jews know,

Since they have previously known about me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our  ¹religion I lived as a Pharisee.

And now I stand here being judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers,

To which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, O king.

Why is it judged incredible among you if God raises the dead?

Well then, I thought to myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus the Nazarene,

Which also I did in Jerusalem; and I both shut up many of the saints in prison when I had received authority from the chief priests and cast a vote against them when they were being done away with.

And in all the synagogues I punished them often and tried to compel them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged at them, I persecuted them even as far as  ¹foreign cities.

Engaged in these things, I journeyed to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests.

At midday, on the way, I saw, O king, a light from heaven beyond the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.

And when we all fell to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting  ¹Me? It is hard for you to kick against the  ²goads.

And I said, Who are You,  ¹Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you persecute.

But rise up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a minister and a  ¹witness both of the things in which you have seen Me and of the things in which I will appear to you;

Delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,

To  ¹open their eyes, to turn them from  ²darkness to light and from the  ³authority of Satan  ⁴to God, that they may receive  ⁵forgiveness of sins and  ⁶an inheritance among those who have been  ⁷sanctified by faith in Me.

Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly  ¹vision,

But declared both to those in Damascus first and in Jerusalem and throughout all the country of Judea and to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.

Because of these things certain Jews seized me while I was in the temple and tried to slay me.

Having therefore obtained the  ¹help which is from God, I have stood unto this day, testifying both to small and great, saying nothing apart from the things which both the prophets and Moses have said would take place,

That the Christ would suffer and that He, being the first  ¹to rise from the dead, would announce  ²light both to the people and to the Gentiles.

And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, You are  ¹insane, Paul. Much learning is driving you  ¹insane.

But Paul said, I am not insane, most excellent Festus, but I am uttering words of truth and soberness.

For the king  ¹knows about these things, to whom also I speak  ²freely, for I am persuaded that none of these things have escaped his notice; for this has not been done in a corner.

King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.

And Agrippa replied to Paul, By so little are you trying to persuade me to become a Christian?

And Paul said, I would to God that both by little and by much, not only you, but also all those who hear me today might become even such as I am, except for these bonds.

And the king rose up, and the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them;

And when they had withdrawn, they spoke to one another, saying, This man is doing nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

And Agrippa said to Festus,  ¹This man could have been released, had he  ²not appealed to Caesar.

And when it was decided that  ¹we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius of the  ²Augustan  ³cohort.

And going on board an Adramyttian ship which was about to sail to places along the coast of Asia, we  ¹put out to sea, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.

And on the next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, treating Paul kindly, allowed him to go to his friends to receive care.

And from there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary.

And having sailed across the open sea which lies off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came down to Myra of Lycia.

And there the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us onto it.

And when we had sailed slowly for a considerable number of days and came with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to go on, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone.

And coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, and also because the  ¹Fast had already gone by, Paul advised them,

Saying to them,  ¹Men, I perceive that the voyage is to be with damage and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.

But the centurion was persuaded by the navigator and the ship's owner rather than by the things that were being said by Paul.

And as the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority gave counsel to put out to sea from there, if somehow they might be able to reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete  ¹facing northeast and southeast, and spend the winter there.

And when a south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete close inshore.

But not long afterward there beat down from  ¹the island a hurricane wind called  ²Euraquilo.

And when the ship was caught by it and was not able to face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.

And running under the shelter of a certain little island called Clauda, we were hardly able to  ¹get control of the small boat.

And when they had hoisted it up, they  ¹used supports to undergird the ship. And because they feared that they might run aground on  ²Syrtis, they  ³lowered the gear and so were driven along.

The next day, as we were being violently storm-tossed, they began to jettison the cargo;

And on the third day they threw the ship's  ¹gear overboard, even with their own hands.

And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and while no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope that we might be saved was being abandoned.

And when they had been a long time without food, Paul then stood in their midst and said, O  ¹men, you  ²should have listened to me and not set sail from Crete and gained this damage and loss.

And now I advise you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

For this very night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I  ¹serve stood by me,

Saying, Do not fear, Paul; you must  ¹stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.

Therefore, cheer up,  ¹men, for I believe God that it shall be so, even in the way in which it has been spoken to me.

But we must run aground on a certain island.

But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about the middle of the night the sailors suspected that some land was approaching them.

And they  ¹took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they sounded again and found it to be fifteen  ²fathoms.

And fearing that we might run aground somewhere on  ¹rocky places, they threw four anchors from the stern and wished for day to come.

And when the sailors sought to flee from the ship, having lowered the small boat into the sea under pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow,

Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, Unless these men remain in the ship, you cannot be saved.

Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the small boat and let it fall away.

And until day was about to come, Paul encouraged them all to take some food, saying, Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued watching without food, taking nothing.

Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your salvation; for not a hair from the head of any one of you shall perish.

And when he had said these things and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God before all; and he broke it and began to eat.

And all became cheerful, and they also took food.

Now we were in all two hundred and seventy-six souls in the ship.

And when they were satisfied with food, they began to lighten the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.

And when day came, they could not recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay, which had a beach, into which they took counsel to drive the ship, if they were able.

And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the bands of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the blowing of the wind, they held course for the beach.

But striking a sandbar with the sea on both sides, they ran the vessel aground; and the bow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was broken up by the violence of the waves.

And the counsel of the soldiers was that they should kill the prisoners, lest anyone swim away and escape;

But the centurion,  ¹intending to bring Paul safely through, prevented them from their intention and ordered those who were able to swim to throw themselves overboard first and get to the land,

And the rest to follow, some on planks, and others on some of the things from the ship. And so it happened that all were brought safely through onto the land.

And having been brought safely through, we recognized then that the island was called  ¹Malta.

And the  ¹natives showed us uncommon kindness, for they kindled a fire and took us all in because of the rain coming on and because of the cold.

But when Paul had collected a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened onto his hand.

And when the natives saw the  ¹snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, whom, though he has been brought safely out of the sea,  ²Justice has not allowed to live.

However he shook off the snake into the fire and suffered no harm;

And they expected that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited for a long time and beheld nothing unusual happening to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a  ¹god.

Now in the vicinity of that place were the lands of the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and gave us hospitality three days in a friendly way.

And the father of Publius was lying down sick with fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him, and having prayed and laid his hands on him, healed him.

And when this happened, the rest also in the island who had sicknesses came to him and were  ¹healed.

They also honored us with many honors; and as we put out to sea, they put on board the things for our needs.

And after it had been three months, we put out to sea in an Alexandrian ship which had wintered in the island, with the  ¹twin sons of Zeus for its figurehead.

And having landed at Syracuse, we remained three days.

From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind came on, and the second day we came to Puteoli,

Where, having found brothers, we were urged to remain with them seven days. And thus we came to Rome.

And from  ¹there the  ²brothers, having heard about the things concerning us, came as far as the  ³Market of Appius and  ⁴Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and  ⁵took courage.

And when we entered into Rome, Paul was permitted to remain by himself with the soldier who was guarding him.

And after three days he called together those who were the leading men of the Jews; and when they came together, he said to them,  ¹Men, brothers, though I have done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, I have been delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,

Who, having examined me, intended to release me, because there was not one cause of death in me.

But when the Jews spoke against this, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I have anything to accuse my nation of.

For this cause therefore, I have entreated you to see me and speak with me; for on account of the hope of Israel I have this chain around me.

And they said to him, We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brothers come and reported or spoken anything evil concerning you.

But we think it is fitting to hear from you what you think, for concerning this sect it is indeed known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.

And once they had appointed a day for him, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he expounded these matters, solemnly testifying of the  ¹kingdom of God and persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning until evening.

And some were persuaded by the things which were said, but others did not believe.

And when they disagreed with one another, they departed, Paul saying one word to them, Well has the Holy Spirit spoken through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers,

Saying,  ¹"Go to this people and say, In hearing you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing you will see and by no means perceive;

For the heart of this people has become  ¹fat, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and their eyes they have closed, lest they perceive with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and they turn around, and I will heal them.”

Let it be known to you therefore that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also hear it.

 ¹And when he had spoken these things, the Jews departed, having much dispute among themselves.

And he remained  ¹two whole years in his own rented dwelling and  ²welcomed all those who came to him,

 ¹Proclaiming the  ²kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered.