Acts 20-28

Easy-to-Read Version

Paul Goes to Macedonia and Greece

20 When the trouble stopped, Paul invited the Lord’s followers to come visit him. After encouraging them, he told them goodbye and left for Macedonia. ² On his way through Macedonia he had many words of encouragement for the followers in various places. Then he went to Greece ³ and stayed there three months.

Paul was ready to sail for Syria, but some Jews were planning something against him. So he decided to go back through Macedonia to Syria. ⁴ These men were traveling with him: Sopater, the son of Pyrrhus, from the city of Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus, from the city of Thessalonica; Gaius, from the city of Derbe; Timothy; and two men from Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. ⁵ These men went first, ahead of Paul. They waited for us in the city of Troas. ⁶ We sailed from the city of Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread. We met these men in Troas five days later and stayed there seven days.

Paul’s Last Visit to Troas

⁷ On Sunday^[a] we all met together to eat the Lord’s Supper.^[b] Paul talked to the group. Because he was planning to leave the next day, he continued talking until midnight. ⁸ We were all together in a room upstairs, and there were many lights in the room. ⁹ There was a young man named Eutychus sitting in the window. Paul continued talking, and Eutychus became very, very sleepy. Finally, he went to sleep and fell out of the window. He fell to the ground from the third floor. When the people went down and lifted him up, he was dead.

¹⁰ Paul went down to where Eutychus was, knelt down beside him, and put his arms around him. He said to the other believers, “Don’t worry. He is alive now.” ¹¹ Then Paul went upstairs again, broke off some pieces of bread and ate. He spoke to them a long time. It was early morning when he finished, and then he left. ¹² The Lord’s followers took Eutychus home alive, and they were all greatly comforted.

The Trip From Troas to Miletus

¹³ We went on ahead of Paul and sailed for the city of Assos, planning to meet him there. This is what he told us to do because he wanted to go by land. ¹⁴ When he caught up with us at Assos, we took him on board, and we all sailed to Mitylene. ¹⁵ The next day, we sailed away from there and came to a place near the island of Chios. Then the next day, we sailed to the island of Samos. A day later, we came to the city of Miletus. ¹⁶ Paul had already decided not to stop at Ephesus. He did not want to stay too long in Asia. He was hurrying because he wanted to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost if possible.

Paul Speaks to the Elders From Ephesus

¹⁷ In Miletus Paul sent a message back to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church in Ephesus to come to him.

¹⁸ When they came, Paul said to them, “You know about my life from the first day I came to Asia. You know the way I lived all the time I was with you. ¹⁹ The Jews planned things against me, and this gave me much trouble. But you know that I always served the Lord, sometimes with tears. I never thought about myself first. ²⁰ I always did what was best for you. I told you the Good News about Jesus in public before the people and also taught in your homes. ²¹ I told everyone—Jewish and non-Jewish people—to change and turn to God. I told them all to believe in our Lord Jesus.

²² “But now I must obey the Spirit and go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what will happen to me there. ²³ I know only that in every city the Holy Spirit tells me that troubles and even jail wait for me. ²⁴ I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I finish my work. I want to finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.

²⁵ “And now listen to me. I know that none of you will ever see me again. All the time I was with you, I told you the Good News about God’s kingdom. ²⁶ So today I can tell you one thing that I am sure of: God will not blame me if some of you are not saved. ²⁷ I can say this because I know that I told you everything that God wants you to know. ²⁸ Be careful for yourselves and for all the people God has given you. The Holy Spirit gave you the work of caring for^[c] this flock.^[d] You must be shepherds to the church of God,^[e] the people he bought with his own blood.^{[f] 29} I know that after I leave, some men will come into your group. They will be like wild wolves and will try to destroy the flock. ³⁰ Also, men from your own group will begin to teach things that are wrong. They will lead some of the Lord’s followers away from the truth to follow them. ³¹ So be careful! And always remember what I did during the three years I was with you. I never stopped reminding each one of you how you should live, counseling you day and night and crying over you.

³² “Now I am putting you in God’s care. I am depending on the message about his grace to make you strong. That message is able to give you the blessings that God gives to all his holy people. ³³ When I was with you, I never wanted anyone’s money or fine clothes. ³⁴ You know that I always worked to take care of my own needs and the needs of the people who were with me. ³⁵ I always showed you that you should work just as I did and help people who are weak. I taught you to remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘You will have a greater blessing when you give than when you receive.’”

³⁶ When Paul finished speaking, he knelt down, and they all prayed together. ^37-38 They cried and cried. They were especially sad because Paul had said they would never see him again. They hugged him and kissed him. Then they went with him to the ship to say goodbye.

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 After we said goodbye to the elders, we sailed away straight to Cos island. The next day we went to the island of Rhodes, and from there we went to Patara. ² There we found a ship that was going to the area of Phoenicia. We got on the ship and sailed away.

³ We sailed near the island of Cyprus. We could see it on the north side, but we did not stop. We sailed to the country of Syria. We stopped at Tyre because the ship needed to unload its cargo there. ⁴ We found the Lord’s followers there and stayed with them for seven days. They warned Paul not to go to Jerusalem because of what the Spirit had told them. ⁵ But when our time there was up, we returned to the ship to continue our trip. All the followers, even the women and children, came with us to the seashore. We all knelt down on the beach, prayed, ⁶ and said goodbye. Then we got on the ship, and the followers went home.

⁷ We continued our trip from Tyre and went to the city of Ptolemais. We greeted the believers there and stayed with them one day. ⁸ The next day we left Ptolemais and went to the city of Caesarea. We went into the home of Philip and stayed with him. He had the work of telling the Good News. He was one of the seven helpers.^{[g] 9} He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophesying.

¹⁰ After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came from Judea. ¹¹ He came to us and borrowed Paul’s belt. He used it to tie his own hands and feet. He said, “The Holy Spirit tells me, ‘This is how the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man who wears this belt.^[h] Then they will hand him over to people who don’t know God.’”

¹² When we heard this, we and the other followers there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. ¹³ But he said, “Why are you crying and making me feel so sad? I am willing to be put in jail in Jerusalem. I am even ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus!”

¹⁴ We could not persuade him to stay away from Jerusalem. So we stopped begging him and said, “We pray that what the Lord wants will be done.”

¹⁵ After this, we got ready and left for Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some of the followers of Jesus from Caesarea went with us. These followers took us to the home of Mnason, a man from Cyprus, who was one of the first people to be a follower of Jesus. They took us to his home so that we could stay with him.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ The brothers and sisters in Jerusalem were very happy to see us. ¹⁸ The next day Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were there. ¹⁹ After greeting them, Paul told them point by point all that God had used him to do among the non-Jewish people.

²⁰ When the leaders heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul, “Brother, you can see that thousands of Jews have become believers, but they think it is very important to obey the Law of Moses. ²¹ They have been told that you teach the Jews who live in non-Jewish regions to stop following the Law of Moses. They have heard that you tell them not to circumcise their sons or follow our other customs.

²² “What should we do? The Jewish believers here will learn that you have come. ²³ So we will tell you what to do: Four of our men have made a vow^[i] to God. ²⁴ Take these men with you and share in their cleansing ceremony.^[j] Pay their expenses so that they can shave their heads.^[k] This will prove to everyone that the things they have heard about you are not true. They will see that you obey the Law of Moses in your own life.

²⁵ “In regard to the non-Jewish believers, we have already sent a letter to them saying what we think they should do:

Paul Is Arrested

²⁶ So Paul took the four men with him. The next day he shared in their cleansing ceremony. Then he went to the Temple area and announced the time when the days of the cleansing ceremony would be finished. On the last day an offering would be given for each of the men.

²⁷ When the seven-day period was almost finished, some Jews from Asia saw Paul in the Temple area. They stirred up everyone into an angry mob. They grabbed Paul ²⁸ and shouted, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who is teaching things that are against the Law of Moses, against our people, and against this Temple of ours. This is what he teaches people everywhere. And now he has brought some Greeks into the Temple area and has made this holy place unclean!” ²⁹ (The Jews said this because they had seen Trophimus with Paul in Jerusalem. Trophimus was a man from Ephesus. The Jews thought that Paul had taken him into the holy area of the Temple.)

³⁰ An angry reaction spread throughout the city, and everyone came running to the Temple. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the holy area, and the gates were closed immediately. ³¹ While they were trying to kill Paul, the commander of the Roman army in Jerusalem got word that the whole city was in a state of riot. ³² Immediately the commander ran to where the crowd had gathered, taking with him some army officers and soldiers. When the people saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³ The commander went over to Paul and arrested him. He told his soldiers to tie him up with two chains. Then he asked, “Who is this man? What has he done wrong?” ³⁴ Some people there were shouting one thing, and others were shouting something else. Because of all this confusion and shouting, the commander could not learn the truth about what had happened. So he told the soldiers to take Paul to the army building. ^35-36 The whole crowd was following them. When the soldiers came to the steps, they had to carry Paul. They did this to protect him, because the people were ready to hurt him. The people were shouting, “Kill him!”

³⁷ When the soldiers were ready to take Paul into the army building, he asked the commander, “Can I say something to you?”

The commander said, “Oh, you speak Greek? ³⁸ Then you are not the man I thought you were. I thought you were the Egyptian who started some trouble against the government not long ago and led four thousand terrorists out to the desert.”

³⁹ Paul said, “No, I am a Jew from Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. I am a citizen of that important city. Please, let me speak to the people.”

⁴⁰ The commander told Paul he could speak. So he stood on the steps and waved his hand so that the people would be quiet. The people became quiet and Paul spoke to them in Aramaic.

Paul Speaks to the People

22 Paul said, “My brothers and fathers, listen to me! I will make my defense to you.”

² When the Jews heard Paul speaking Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said,

³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. I grew up in this city. I was a student of Gamaliel,^[l] who carefully taught me everything about the law of our fathers. I was very serious about serving God, the same as all of you here today. ⁴ I persecuted the people who followed the Way. Some of them were killed because of me. I arrested men and women and put them in jail.

⁵ “The high priest and the whole council of older Jewish leaders can tell you that this is true. One time these leaders gave me some letters. The letters were to the Jewish brothers in the city of Damascus. I was going there to arrest the followers of Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

Paul Tells About His Conversion

⁶ “But something happened to me on my way to Damascus. It was about noon when I came close to Damascus. Suddenly a bright light from heaven shined all around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

⁸ “I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The voice said, ‘I am Jesus from Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ ⁹ The men who were with me did not understand the voice, but they saw the light.

¹⁰ “I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that I have planned for you to do.’ ¹¹ I could not see, because the bright light had made me blind. So the men led me into Damascus.

¹² “In Damascus a man named Ananias^[m] came to me. He was a man who was devoted to God and obeyed the Law of Moses. All the Jews who lived there respected him. ¹³ He came to me and said, ‘Saul, my brother, look up and see again!’ Immediately I was able to see him.

¹⁴ “Ananias told me, ‘The God of our fathers chose you long ago to know his plan. He chose you to see the Righteous One and to hear words from him. ¹⁵ You will be his witness to all people. You will tell them what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ Now, don’t wait any longer. Get up, be baptized and wash away your sins, trusting in Jesus to save you.^[n]’

¹⁷ “Later, I came back to Jerusalem. I was praying in the Temple area, and I saw a vision. ¹⁸ I saw Jesus, and he said to me, ‘Hurry and leave Jerusalem now! The people here will not accept the truth you tell them about me.’

¹⁹ “I said, ‘But, Lord, the people know that I was the one who put the believers in jail and beat them. I went through all the synagogues to find and arrest the people who believe in you. ²⁰ The people also know that I was there when Stephen, your witness, was killed. I stood there and agreed that they should kill him. I even held the coats of the men who were killing him!’

²¹ “But Jesus said to me, ‘Leave now. I will send you far away to the non-Jewish people.’”

²² The people stopped listening when Paul said this last thing. They all shouted, “Get rid of this man! He doesn’t deserve to live.” ²³ They kept on shouting, ripping off their clothes and throwing dust into the air.^{[o] 24} Then the commander told the soldiers to take Paul into the army building and beat him. He wanted to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this. ²⁵ So the soldiers were tying Paul, preparing to beat him. But he said to an army officer there, “Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen^[p] who has not been proven guilty?”

²⁶ When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and told him about it. The officer said, “Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”

²⁷ The commander came to Paul and said, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?”

He answered, “Yes.”

²⁸ The commander said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”

But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.”

²⁹ The men who were preparing to question Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was afraid because he had already put Paul in chains, and he was a Roman citizen.

Paul Speaks to the Jewish Leaders

³⁰ The next day the commander decided to learn why the Jews were accusing Paul. So he ordered the leading priests and the whole high council to meet together. He had Paul’s chains taken off and had him brought in to face the council.

23 Paul looked at the council members and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life in a good way before God. I have always done what I thought was right.” ² Ananias,^[q] the high priest, was there. When he heard this, he told the men who were standing near Paul to hit him in the mouth. ³ Paul said to Ananias, “God will hit you too! You are like a dirty wall that has been painted white. You sit there and judge me, using the Law of Moses. But you are telling them to hit me, and that is against the law.”

⁴ The men standing near Paul said to him, “Are you sure you want to insult God’s high priest like that?”

⁵ Paul said, “Brothers, I did not know this man was the high priest. The Scriptures say, ‘You must not say bad things about a leader of your people.’^[r]”

⁶ Paul knew that some of the men in the council meeting were Sadducees and some were Pharisees. So he shouted, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee and my father was a Pharisee! I am on trial here because I believe that people will rise from death.”

⁷ When Paul said this, a big argument started between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The group was divided. ⁸ (The Sadducees believe that after people die, they will not live again as an angel or as a spirit. But the Pharisees believe in both.) ⁹ All these Jews began shouting louder and louder. Some of the teachers of the law, who were Pharisees, stood up and argued, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Maybe an angel or a spirit really did speak to him.”

¹⁰ The argument turned into a fight, and the commander was afraid that the Jews would tear Paul to pieces. So he told the soldiers to go down and take Paul away from these Jews and put him in the army building.

¹¹ The next night the Lord Jesus came and stood by Paul. He said, “Be brave! You have told people in Jerusalem about me. You must do the same in Rome.”

Some Jews Plan to Kill Paul

¹² The next morning some of the Jews made a plan to kill Paul. They made a promise to themselves that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed him. ¹³ There were more than 40 of them who made this plan. ¹⁴ They went and talked to the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders. They said, “We have promised ourselves that we will not eat or drink until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ So this is what we want you to do: Send a message to the commander from you and the high council. Tell him you want him to bring Paul out to you. Say that you want to ask him more questions. We will be waiting to kill him while he is on the way here.”

¹⁶ But Paul’s nephew heard about this plan. He went to the army building and told Paul. ¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the army officers and said to him, “Take this young man to the commander. He has a message for him.” ¹⁸ So the army officer brought Paul’s nephew to the commander. The officer said, “The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”

¹⁹ The commander led the young man to a place where they could be alone. The commander asked, “What do you want to tell me?”

²⁰ The young man said, “Some Jews have decided to ask you to bring Paul down to their council meeting tomorrow. They want you to think that they plan to ask Paul more questions. ²¹ But don’t believe them! More than 40 of them are hiding and waiting to kill him. They have all promised not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are waiting for you to say yes.”

²² The commander sent the young man away, telling him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have told me about their plan.”

Paul Is Sent to Caesarea

²³ Then the commander called two army officers. He said to them, “I need some men to go to Caesarea. Get 200 soldiers ready. Also, get 70 soldiers on horses and 200 men to carry spears. Be ready to leave at nine o’clock tonight. ²⁴ Get some horses for Paul to ride so that he can be taken to Governor Felix safely.” ²⁵ The commander wrote a letter that said:

²⁶ From Claudius Lysias,

To the Most Honorable Governor Felix.

Greetings:

³¹ The soldiers did what they were told. They got Paul and took him to the city of Antipatris that night. ³² The next day the soldiers on horses went with Paul to Caesarea, but the other soldiers and the spearmen went back to the army building in Jerusalem. ³³ The soldiers on horses entered Caesarea, gave the letter to Governor Felix, and then turned Paul over to him.

³⁴ The governor read the letter and asked Paul, “What country are you from?” The governor learned that Paul was from Cilicia. ³⁵ The governor said, “I will hear your case when the Jews who are accusing you come here too.” Then the governor gave orders for Paul to be kept in the palace built by Herod.

Some Jews Accuse Paul

24 Five days later Ananias, the high priest, went to the city of Caesarea. He brought with him some of the older Jewish leaders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They went to Caesarea to make charges against Paul before the governor. ^2-3 Paul was called into the meeting, and Tertullus began to make his accusations.

Tertullus said, “Most Honorable Felix, our people enjoy much peace because of you, and many wrong things in our country are being made right through your wise help. For this we all continue to be very thankful. ⁴ But I don’t want to take any more of your time. So I will say only a few words. Please be patient. ⁵ This man is a troublemaker. He causes trouble with the Jews everywhere in the world. He is a leader of the Nazarene group. ^6-8 Also, he was trying to make the Temple unclean, but we stopped him.^[s] You can decide if all this is true. Ask him some questions yourself.” ⁹ The other Jews agreed and said it was all true.

Paul Defends Himself Before Felix

¹⁰ The governor made a sign for Paul to speak. So Paul answered, “Governor Felix, I know that you have been a judge over this nation for a long time. So I am happy to defend myself before you. ¹¹ I went to worship in Jerusalem only twelve days ago. You can learn for yourself that this is true. ¹² These Jews who are accusing me did not find me arguing with anyone at the Temple or making trouble with the people. And I was not making trouble or arguing in the synagogues or any other place in the city. ¹³ These men cannot prove the things they are saying against me now.

¹⁴ “But I will tell you this: I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which these Jews say is not the right way, and I believe everything that is taught in the Law of Moses and all that is written in the books of the prophets. ¹⁵ I have the same hope in God that these Jews have—the hope that all people, good and bad, will be raised from death. ¹⁶ This is why I always try to do what I believe is right before God and before everyone.

^17-18 “I was away from Jerusalem for many years. I went back there to take money to help my people. I also had some gifts to offer at the Temple. I was doing this when some Jews saw me there. I had finished the cleansing ceremony.^[t] I had not made any trouble, and no one was gathering around me. ¹⁹ But some Jews from Asia were there. They should be here, standing before you. If I have really done anything wrong, they are the ones who should accuse me. They were there! ²⁰ Ask these men here if they found any wrong in me when I stood before the high council meeting in Jerusalem. ²¹ I did say one thing when I stood before them and shouted, ‘You are judging me today because I believe that people will rise from death!’”

²² Felix already understood a lot about the Way. He stopped the trial and said, “When commander Lysias comes here, I will decide what to do with you.” ²³ Felix told the army officer to keep Paul guarded but to give him some freedom and to let his friends bring whatever he needed.

Paul Speaks to Felix and His Wife

²⁴ After a few days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jew. Felix asked for Paul to be brought to him. He listened to Paul talk about believing in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ But Felix became afraid when Paul spoke about things like doing right, self-control, and the judgment that will come in the future. He said, “Go away now. When I have more time, I will call for you.” ²⁶ But Felix had another reason for talking with Paul. He hoped Paul would pay him a bribe, so he sent for Paul often and talked with him.

²⁷ But after two years, Porcius Festus became governor. So Felix was no longer governor. But he left Paul in prison to please the Jews.

Paul Asks to See Caesar

25 Festus became governor, and three days later he went from Caesarea to Jerusalem. ² The leading priests and the important Jewish leaders made charges against Paul before Festus. ³ They asked Festus to do them a favor. They wanted him to send Paul back to Jerusalem because they had a plan to kill Paul on the way. ⁴ But Festus answered, “No, Paul will be kept in Caesarea. I will be going there soon myself, ⁵ and your leaders can go with me. If this man has really done anything wrong, they can accuse him there.”

⁶ Festus stayed in Jerusalem another eight or ten days and then went back to Caesarea. The next day Festus told the soldiers to bring Paul before him. Festus was seated on the judgment seat. ⁷ Paul came into the room, and the Jews who had come from Jerusalem stood around him. They made many serious charges against him, but they could not prove anything. ⁸ Paul defended himself, saying, “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law, against the Temple, or against Caesar.”

⁹ But Festus wanted to please the Jews. So he asked Paul, “Do you want to go to Jerusalem for me to judge you there on these charges?”

¹⁰ Paul said, “I am standing at Caesar’s judgment seat now. This is where I should be judged. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, and you know it. ¹¹ If I have done something wrong and the law says I must die, then I agree that I should die. I don’t ask to be saved from death. But if these charges are not true, then no one can hand me over to these people. No, I want Caesar to hear my case!”

¹² Festus talked about this with his advisors. Then he said, “You have asked to see Caesar, so you will go to Caesar!”

Festus Asks King Agrippa About Paul

¹³ A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to visit Festus. ¹⁴ They stayed there many days, and Festus told the king about Paul’s case. Festus said, “There is a man that Felix left in prison. ¹⁵ When I went to Jerusalem, the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders there made charges against him. They wanted me to order his death. ¹⁶ But I told them, ‘When a man is accused of doing something wrong, Romans don’t hand him over for others to judge. First, he must face the people accusing him. And then he must be allowed to defend himself against their charges.’

¹⁷ “So when these Jews came here for the trial, I did not waste time. The next day I sat on the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought in. ¹⁸ The Jews stood up and accused him. But they did not accuse him of the kind of crimes I thought they would. ¹⁹ Their charges were all about their own religion and about a man named Jesus. Jesus died, but Paul said that he is still alive. ²⁰ I did not have any idea about how to judge these matters. So I asked Paul, ‘Do you want to go to Jerusalem and be judged there?’ ²¹ But Paul asked to be kept in Caesarea. He wants a decision from the emperor. So I ordered that he be held until I could send him to Caesar in Rome.”

²² Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man too.”

Festus said, “Tomorrow you can hear him.”

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came to the meeting with great show, acting like very important people. They entered the room with military leaders and important men of the city. Festus ordered the soldiers to bring Paul in.

²⁴ Festus said, “King Agrippa and all of you gathered here with us, you see this man. All the Jewish people, here and in Jerusalem, have complained to me about him. When they complain about him, they shout that he should be killed. ²⁵ When I judged him, I did not find him guilty of any crime worthy of death. But he asked to be judged by Caesar, so I decided to send him to Rome. ²⁶ However, I don’t really know what to tell Caesar that this man has done wrong. So I have brought him before all of you—especially you, King Agrippa. I hope that you can question him and give me something to write to Caesar. ²⁷ I think it is foolish to send a prisoner to Caesar without making some charges against him.”

Paul Before King Agrippa

26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now speak to defend yourself.” Paul raised his hand to get their attention and began to speak. ² He said, “King Agrippa, I feel fortunate that I can stand here before you today and answer all the charges these Jews have made against me. ³ I am very happy to talk to you, because you know so much about all the Jewish customs and the things the Jews argue about. Please listen to me patiently.

⁴ “All the Jews know about my whole life. They know the way I lived from the beginning in my own country and later in Jerusalem. ⁵ These Jews have known me for a long time. If they want to, they can tell you that I was a good Pharisee. And the Pharisees obey the laws of the Jewish religion more carefully than any other group. ⁶ Now I am on trial because I hope for the promise that God made to our fathers. ⁷ This is the promise that all the twelve tribes of our people hope to receive. For this hope the Jews serve God day and night. My king, the Jews have accused me because I hope for this same promise. ⁸ Why do you people think it is impossible for God to raise people from death?

⁹ “I used to think that I should do everything I could against Jesus from Nazareth. ¹⁰ And that’s what I did, beginning in Jerusalem. The leading priests gave me the authority to put many of God’s people in jail. And when they were being killed, I agreed that it was a good thing. ¹¹ I visited all the synagogues and punished them, trying to make them curse^[u] Jesus. My anger against these people was so strong that I went to other cities to find them and punish them.

Paul Tells About Seeing Jesus

¹² “One time the leading priests gave me permission and the authority to go to the city of Damascus. ¹³ On the way there, at noon, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun. It shined all around me and those traveling with me. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice talking to me in Aramaic. The voice said, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are only hurting yourself by fighting me.’

¹⁵ “I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“The Lord said, ‘I am Jesus. I am the one you are persecuting. ¹⁶ Stand up! I have chosen you to be my servant. You will tell people about me—what you have seen today and what I will show you. This is why I have come to you. ¹⁷ I will keep you safe from your own people and from the non-Jewish people, the ones I am sending you to. ¹⁸ You will make them able to understand the truth. They will turn away from darkness to the light. They will turn away from the power of Satan, and they will turn to God. Then their sins can be forgiven, and they can be given a place among God’s people—those who have been made holy by believing in me.’”

Paul Tells About His Work

¹⁹ Paul continued speaking: “King Agrippa, after I had this vision from heaven, I obeyed it. ²⁰ I began telling people to change their hearts and lives and turn back to God. And I told them to do what would show that they had really changed. I went first to people in Damascus. Then I went to Jerusalem and to every part of Judea and told the people there. I also went to the non-Jewish people.

²¹ “This is why the Jews grabbed me and were trying to kill me at the Temple. ²² But God helped me, and he is still helping me today. With God’s help I am standing here today and telling all people what I have seen. But I am saying nothing new. I am saying only what Moses and the prophets said would happen. ²³ They said that the Messiah would die and be the first to rise from death. They said that he would bring the light of God’s saving truth^[v] to the Jewish people and to the non-Jewish people.”

Paul Tries to Persuade Agrippa

²⁴ While Paul was still defending himself, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Too much study has made you crazy.”

²⁵ Paul said, “Most Honorable Festus, I am not crazy. What I am saying is true. It all makes perfect sense. ²⁶ King Agrippa knows about all this, and I can speak freely to him. I know that he has heard about these things, because they happened where everyone could see them. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe what the prophets wrote? I know you believe!”

²⁸ King Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think you can persuade me to become a ‘Christ-follower’ so easily?”

²⁹ Paul said, “It is not important if it is easy or if it is hard. I pray to God that not only you but that everyone listening to me today could be saved and be just like me—except for these chains I have!”

³⁰ King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Bernice, and all the people sitting with them stood up ³¹ and left the room. They were talking to each other. They said, “This man has done nothing worthy of being put to death or even put in jail.” ³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “We could let him go free, but he has asked to see Caesar.”

Paul Sails for Rome

27 It was decided that we would sail for Italy. An army officer named Julius, who served in the emperor’s special army, was put in charge of guarding Paul and some other prisoners on the trip. ² We got on a ship from the city of Adramyttium that was ready to sail to different places in Asia. Aristarchus, a man from Thessalonica in Macedonia, went with us.

³ The next day we came to the city of Sidon. Julius was very good to Paul and gave him freedom to go visit his friends there, who gave him whatever he needed. ⁴ We left that city and sailed close to the island of Cyprus because the wind was blowing against us. ⁵ We went across the sea by Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we came to the city of Myra in Lycia. ⁶ There the army officer found a ship from the city of Alexandria that was going to Italy. So he put us on it.

⁷ We sailed slowly for many days. It was hard for us to reach the city of Cnidus because the wind was blowing against us. We could not go any farther that way, so we sailed by the south side of the island of Crete near Salmone. ⁸ We sailed along the coast, but the sailing was hard. Then we came to a place called Safe Harbors, near the city of Lasea.

⁹ We had lost much time, and it was now dangerous to sail, because it was already after the Jewish day of fasting.^[w] So Paul warned them, ¹⁰ “Men, I can see that there will be a lot of trouble on this trip. The ship, everything in it, and even our lives may be lost!” ¹¹ But the captain and the owner of the ship did not agree with Paul. So the army officer accepted what they said instead of believing Paul. ¹² Also, that harbor was not a good place for the ship to stay for the winter, so most of the men decided that we should leave there. They hoped we could reach Phoenix, where the ship could stay for the winter. Phoenix was a city on the island of Crete. It had a harbor that faced southwest and northwest.

The Storm

¹³ Then a good wind began to blow from the south. The men on the ship thought, “This is the wind we wanted, and now we have it!” So they pulled up the anchor. We sailed very close to the island of Crete. ¹⁴ But then a very strong wind called the “Northeaster” came from across the island. ¹⁵ This wind took the ship and carried it away. The ship could not sail against the wind, so we stopped trying and let the wind blow us.

¹⁶ We went below a small island named Cauda. With the island protecting us from the wind, we were able to bring in the lifeboat, but it was very hard to do. ¹⁷ After the men brought the lifeboat in, they tied ropes around the ship to hold it together. The men were afraid that the ship would hit the sandbanks of Syrtis. So they lowered the sail and let the wind carry the ship.

¹⁸ The next day the storm was blowing against us so hard that the men threw some things out of the ship.^{[x] 19} A day later they threw out the ship’s equipment. ²⁰ For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The storm was very bad. We lost all hope of staying alive—we thought we would die.

²¹ The men did not eat for a long time. Then one day Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, I told you not to leave Crete. You should have listened to me. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss. ²² But now I tell you to be happy. None of you will die, but the ship will be lost. ²³ Last night an angel came to me from God—the God I worship and belong to. ²⁴ The angel said, ‘Paul, don’t be afraid! You must stand before Caesar. And God has given you this promise: He will save the lives of all those sailing with you.’ ²⁵ So men, there is nothing to worry about. I trust God, and I am sure everything will happen just as his angel told me. ²⁶ But we will crash on an island.”

²⁷ On the fourteenth night we were still being blown around in the Adriatic Sea. The sailors thought we were close to land. ²⁸ They threw a rope into the water with a weight on the end of it. They found that the water was 120 feet^[y] deep. They went a little farther and threw the rope in again. It was 90 feet^[z] deep. ²⁹ The sailors were afraid that we would hit the rocks, so they threw four anchors into the water. Then they prayed for daylight to come. ³⁰ Some of the sailors wanted to leave the ship, and they lowered the lifeboat to the water. They wanted the other men to think that they were throwing more anchors from the front of the ship. ³¹ But Paul told the army officer and the other soldiers, “If these men do not stay in the ship, you will lose all hope of survival.” ³² So the soldiers cut the ropes and let the lifeboat fall into the water.

³³ Just before dawn Paul began persuading all the people to eat something. He said, “For the past two weeks you have been waiting and watching. You have not eaten for 14 days. ³⁴ Now I beg you to eat something. You need it to stay alive. None of you will lose even one hair off your heads.” ³⁵ After he said this, Paul took some bread and thanked God for it before all of them. He broke off a piece and began eating. ³⁶ All the men felt better and started eating too. ³⁷ (There were 276 people on the ship.) ³⁸ We ate all we wanted. Then we began making the ship lighter by throwing the grain into the sea.

The Ship Is Destroyed

³⁹ When daylight came, the sailors saw land, but they did not know what land it was. They saw a bay with a beach and wanted to sail the ship to the beach if they could. ⁴⁰ So they cut the ropes to the anchors and left the anchors in the sea. At the same time, they untied the ropes that were holding the rudders. Then they raised the front sail into the wind and sailed toward the beach. ⁴¹ But the ship hit a sandbank. The front of the ship stuck there and could not move. Then the big waves began to break the back of the ship to pieces.

⁴² The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners so that none of the prisoners could swim away and escape. ⁴³ But Julius the army officer wanted to let Paul live. So he did not allow the soldiers to kill the prisoners. He told the people who could swim to jump into the water and swim to land. ⁴⁴ The others used wooden boards or pieces of the ship. And this is how all the people went safely to land.

Paul on the Island of Malta

28 When we were safe on land, we learned that the island was called Malta. ² The people who lived there were very good to us. It was raining and very cold, so they built a fire and welcomed all of us. ³ Paul gathered a pile of sticks for the fire. He was putting the sticks on the fire, and a poisonous snake came out because of the heat and bit him on the hand. ⁴ When the people living on the island saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said, “This man must be a murderer! He did not die in the sea, but Justice^[aa] does not want him to live.”

⁵ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and was not hurt. ⁶ The people thought he would swell up or fall down dead. They waited and watched him for a long time, but nothing bad happened to him. So they changed their opinion. They said, “He is a god!”

⁷ There were some fields around that same area. They were owned by a man named Publius, the most important Roman official on the island. He welcomed us into his home and was very good to us. We stayed in his house for three days. ⁸ Publius’ father was very sick. He had a fever and dysentery, but Paul went to him and prayed for him. He laid his hands on the man and healed him. ⁹ After this happened, all the other sick people on the island came to Paul, and he healed them too.

^10-11 The people on the island gave us many honors. And after we had been there three months and were ready to leave, they provided us everything we needed for our trip.

Paul Goes to Rome

We got on a ship from Alexandria that had stayed on the island of Malta during the winter. On the front of the ship was the sign for the twin gods.^{[ab] 12} We stopped at the city of Syracuse. We stayed there three days and then left. ¹³ We came to the city of Rhegium. The next day a wind began to blow from the southwest, so we were able to leave. A day later we came to the city of Puteoli. ¹⁴ We found some believers there, who asked us to stay with them a week. Finally, we came to Rome. ¹⁵ The brothers and sisters in Rome heard about us and came out to meet us at the Market of Appius^[ac] and at the Three Inns.^[ad] When Paul saw these believers, he thanked God and felt encouraged.

Paul in Rome

¹⁶ When we came to Rome, Paul was allowed to live alone. But a soldier stayed with him to guard him.

¹⁷ Three days later Paul sent for some of the most important Jews. When they came together, he said, “My brothers, I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our fathers. But I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. ¹⁸ They asked me many questions, but they could not find any reason why I should be put to death. So they wanted to let me go free. ¹⁹ But the Jews there did not want that. So I had to ask to come to Rome to have my trial before Caesar. That doesn’t mean I am accusing my people of doing anything wrong. ²⁰ That is why I wanted to see you and talk with you. I am bound with this chain because I believe in the hope of Israel.”

²¹ The Jews answered Paul, “We have received no letters from Judea about you. None of our Jewish brothers who have traveled from there brought news about you or told us anything bad about you. ²² We want to hear your ideas. We know that people everywhere are speaking against this new group.”

²³ Paul and the Jews chose a day for a meeting. On that day many more of these Jews met with Paul at his house. He spoke to them all day long, explaining God’s kingdom to them. He used the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to persuade them to believe in Jesus. ²⁴ Some of the Jews believed what he said, but others did not believe. ²⁵ They had an argument among themselves and were ready to leave. But Paul said one more thing to them: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet. He said,

²⁸ “I want you Jews to know that God has sent his salvation to the non-Jewish people. They will listen!” ^29 [ae]

³⁰ Paul stayed two full years in his own rented house. He welcomed all the people who came and visited him. ³¹ He told them about God’s kingdom and taught them about the Lord Jesus Christ. He was very bold, and no one tried to stop him from speaking.