Acts 20-28

New Life Version

Paul Goes to Greece and Macedonia

20 When the noise had come to an end, Paul called the followers to him. He spoke words of comfort and then said good-bye. He left to go to the country of Macedonia. ² As he went through those parts of the country, he spoke words of comfort and help to the Christians. Then he went on to the country of Greece. ³ He stayed there three months. As he was about to get on a ship for the country of Syria, he learned that the Jews had made a plan to take him. He changed his plans and went back through Macedonia. ⁴ Some men were going along with him. They were Sopater of the city of Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus of the city of Thessalonica, Gaius of the city of Derbe, and Timothy and Tychicus and Trophimus of the countries of Asia. ⁵ They went on to the city of Troas and waited there for us. ⁶ After the supper of bread without yeast we got on a ship in the city of Philippi. We met these men at Troas. It took five days to get there and we stayed one week.

Eutychus Falls from a Building While Paul Preaches

⁷ On the first day of the week we met together to eat the Lord’s supper. Paul talked to them. He thought he would leave the next day, so he kept on talking until twelve o’clock at night. ⁸ There were many lights in the room on the third floor where we had our meeting. ⁹ A young man named Eutychus sat in the window. As Paul kept on preaching, this man started to go to sleep. At last he went to sleep. He fell from the third floor to the ground and was picked up dead. ¹⁰ Paul went down and stood over him. Then he took him in his arms and said, “Do not be worried. He is alive!” ¹¹ Paul went up again to the meeting and ate with them. He talked with them until the sun came up. Then he left. ¹² They were happy they could take the young man home alive.

¹³ We went on ahead by ship to the city of Assos. There we were to pick up Paul. He had planned it that way. He wanted to walk by land that far. ¹⁴ We got to Assos and met him there. We picked him up and went on to the city of Mitylene. ¹⁵ The next day we went by ship to a place beside the island of Chios. The next day we crossed over to the island of Samos. Then the next day we came to the city of Miletus. ¹⁶ Paul planned to pass by the city of Ephesus so he would not lose more time in Asia. He wanted to be in Jerusalem if he could be on the day to remember how the Holy Spirit came on the church.

Paul Meets with the Leaders of the Church of Ephesus

¹⁷ From Miletus he sent word to Ephesus. He asked the leaders of the church to come to him. ¹⁸ When they got there, he said to them, “From the first day that I came to Asia you have seen what my life has been like. ¹⁹ I worked for the Lord without pride. Because of the trouble the Jews gave me, I have had many tears. ²⁰ I always told you everything that would be a help to you. I taught you in open meetings and from house to house. ²¹ I preached to the Jews and to the Greeks. I told them to turn from their sin to God and to put their trust in our Lord Jesus Christ.

²² “As you see, I am on my way to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit makes me go. I do not know what will happen to me there. ²³ But in every city I have been, the Holy Spirit tells me that trouble and chains will be waiting for me there. ²⁴ But I am not worried about this. I do not think of my life as worth much, but I do want to finish the work the Lord Jesus gave me to do. My work is to preach the Good News of God’s loving-favor.

²⁵ “All of you have heard me preach the Good News. I am sure that none of you will ever see my face again. ²⁶ I tell you this day that I am clean and free from the blood of all men. ²⁷ I told you all the truth about God. ²⁸ Keep a careful watch over yourselves and over the church. The Holy Spirit has made you its leaders. Feed and care for the church of God. He bought it with His own blood.

²⁹ “Yes, I know that when I am gone, hungry wolves will come in among you. They will try to destroy the church. ³⁰ Also men from your own group will begin to teach things that are not true. They will get men to follow them. ³¹ I say again, keep watching! Remember that for three years I taught everyone of you night and day, even with tears.

³² “And now, my brothers, I give you over to God and to the word of His love. It is able to make you strong and to give you what you are to have, along with all those who are set apart for God. ³³ I have not tried to get anyone’s money or clothes. ³⁴ You all know that these hands worked for what I needed and for what those with me needed. ³⁵ In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we can help those who are weak. We must remember what the Lord Jesus said, ‘We are more happy when we give than when we receive.’ ”

³⁶ As he finished talking, he got down on his knees and prayed with them all. ³⁷ They cried and put their arms around Paul and kissed him. ³⁸ What made them sad most of all was he said that they would never see his face again. Then they went with him to the ship.

Paul Goes from Miletus to Tyre

21 After we left them, we got on a ship and came straight down to the island of Cos. The next day we came to the island of Rhodes and from there to the city of Patara. ² There we found a ship that was going over to the country of Phoenicia. We got on it and went along. ³ We saw the island of Cyprus to our left but went on to the country of Syria. We came to land at the city of Tyre. The ship was to leave its load of freight there.

⁴ We looked for the Christians and stayed with them seven days. The Christians had been told by the Holy Spirit to tell Paul not to go to Jerusalem. ⁵ When our time was up, we left there and went on our way. All of them with their wives and children went with us out of town. They got down on their knees on the shore and prayed. ⁶ After we said good-bye, we got on the ship and they went back to their houses.

Paul Goes from Tyre to Jerusalem

⁷ The same ship took us from Tyre to the city of Ptolemais. We stayed with the Christians there one day. ⁸ The next day we left and came to the city of Caesarea. We went to the house of Philip and stayed with him. He was a preacher who goes from town to town and was one of the seven church leaders. ⁹ Philip had four daughters who were not married. They spoke the Word of God.

¹⁰ While we were there a few days, a man who speaks for God named Agabus came down from the country of Judea. ¹¹ He came to see us. Then he took Paul’s belt and used it to tie his own feet and hands. He said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says, ‘The Jews at Jerusalem will tie the man who owns this belt. Then they will hand him over to the people who are not Jews.’”

¹² When we heard this, we and all the people living there begged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul said, “What do you mean by crying and breaking my heart? I am ready to be put in chains in Jerusalem. I am also ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ Paul would not listen to us. So we stopped begging him and said, “May whatever God wants be done.”

Paul Is in Jerusalem

¹⁵ After this, we got ready and started up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some of the followers in Caesarea went with us. They took us to Mnason’s house. He was one of the first followers from Cyprus. We stayed with him.

¹⁷ When we got to Jerusalem, the Christians were glad to see us. ¹⁸ The next day we went with Paul to see James. All the church leaders came also. ¹⁹ After saying hello to them, Paul told of what God had done through his work for the people who were not Jews.

²⁰ When they heard this, they thanked the Lord. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Christians there are among the Jews. They all obey the Law of Moses. ²¹ They have heard about you. They have heard you teach the Jews who live among people who are not Jews. They have heard you teach them to break away from the Law of Moses. They say you are telling them not to do the religious act of becoming a Jew and not to follow old religious ways of worship. ²² What should we do about it? They will hear that you have come. ²³ You must do what we tell you. We have four men with us who have made a promise to God. ²⁴ Take these four men and go through the religious worship of washing with them. You pay to have their hair cut off. Then everybody will know what they have heard about you is not true. They will know you are careful to obey the Law of Moses. ²⁵ As for the people who are not Jews, we wrote to them. We said that they must keep away from everything that has been given to gods. They must not eat blood or meat from animals that have been killed in ways against the Law. They must keep away from sex sins.”

²⁶ The next day Paul took the men. He went through the religious worship of washing with them. They went into the house of God to tell when their religious worship of washing would be finished. Then the gift for each one of them would be given as an act of worship.

²⁷ The seven days were almost finished. Jews from the countries of Asia saw Paul in the house of God. They made the people turn against him. Then they took hold of him. ²⁸ They cried out, “You who are Jews, help us! This is the man who is teaching against our people and our Law and this house of God. Also he has brought Greek people into the house of God. This has made this holy place unclean.” ²⁹ They had seen him before in the city with Trophimus who was from the city of Ephesus. They thought Paul had brought him into the house of God also.

³⁰ All the people in the city were crying out with loud voices. The people pushed and moved together. They took Paul and dragged him out of the house of God. Then the doors were shut. ³¹ They were getting ready to kill him. The captain of the soldiers heard there was trouble over all Jerusalem. ³² At once the captain called his soldiers and they ran down to the people. When the people saw the captain and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

Paul Is Tied with Chains

³³ The captain came and took hold of Paul. He told his soldiers to tie Paul with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ Some of the people called out one thing and some another. The captain was not able to find out what had happened. He told his men to take Paul into the soldiers’ building. ³⁵ The people cried out so loud and pushed so hard that Paul had to be carried up the steps by the soldiers. ³⁶ All the people kept pushing and calling out, “Kill him!”

³⁷ Paul was brought into the soldiers’ building. He said to the captain, “May I say something to you?” The captain said, “Can you speak the Greek language? ³⁸ Are you not the man from the country of Egypt who made trouble against our country? That man led 4,000 fighting men into the desert.” ³⁹ Paul said, “No! I am a Jew and a citizen of a large city. I am from Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. I ask you to let me speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ The captain told Paul to speak. So Paul stood on the steps and held up his hand. When there was no more noise, he spoke to them in the language of the Jews.

Paul Tells of His Past Life

22 Paul said, “Brothers and fathers, listen to what I have to say to you.” ² When they heard him speak to them in their own language, they stopped making noise. Then he said,

³ “I am a Jew. I was born in the city of Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. When I was a young man, I lived here in Jerusalem. I went to Gamaliel’s school and learned all about the Law of our early fathers. I worked hard for God as you all do today.

⁴ “I worked hard and killed men and women who believed as I believe today. I put them in chains and sent them to prison. ⁵ The head religious leader and the leaders of the people can tell you this is true. I got letters from them to take to our Jewish brothers in the city of Damascus. I was going there to put the Christians in chains and bring them to Jerusalem where they would be beaten.

The Change in Paul’s Life on the Damascus Road

⁶ “I was near Damascus. All at once, about noon, I saw a bright light from heaven shining around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground. A voice said to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you work so hard against Me?’ ⁸ I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the One you are working against.’ ⁹ Those who were with me saw the light. But they did not hear Him speaking to me. ¹⁰ I asked, ‘Lord, what should I do?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up! Go to Damascus. You will be told what to do there.’

¹¹ “I could not see because of the bright light. Those who were with me had to lead me by the hand until we came to Damascus. ¹² Ananias lived there. He obeyed the Law and was respected by all the Jews. ¹³ He came and stood near me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ At once I was able to see him. ¹⁴ Then Ananias said, ‘The God of our fathers chose you to know what He wants done. He chose you to see Jesus Christ, the One Right with God, and to hear His voice. ¹⁵ You are to tell all men what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on His name.’

Paul Is Called to Work with the People Who Are Not Jews

¹⁷ “I came back to Jerusalem. When I was praying in the house of God, I had a dream. ¹⁸ I saw Him as He said to me, ‘Get out of Jerusalem! They will not listen to you when you tell them about Me!’ ¹⁹ I said, ‘Lord, they know I took Christians out of every Jewish place of worship. I had them beaten and put in prison. ²⁰ Also when Stephen was killed, I stood there and watched them throw stones at him. Those who threw the stones had me watch their coats.’ ²¹ The Lord said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the people who are not Jews.’ ” ²² They listened to him until he said that. Then they all cried out with loud voices, “Kill him! Take such a man from the earth! He should not live!” ²³ They kept on calling out. Then they pulled off their coats and threw dust in the air.

Paul Tells Who He Is

²⁴ The captain told them to bring Paul into the soldiers’ building. He told his soldiers to find out from Paul, by beating him, why the people were crying out against him. ²⁵ As they tied him up, Paul said to the soldier, “Does the law say that you can beat a Roman citizen when no one has said he is guilty?”

²⁶ When the soldier heard this, he told it to the captain. He said, “Listen! What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen.” ²⁷ The captain came and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” Paul said, “Yes!” ²⁸ The captain said, “I had to pay a lot of money to be a citizen.” Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.” ²⁹ Those who were going to beat him left him at once. The captain was also afraid when he heard that Paul was a Roman citizen because he had him tied.

Paul Stands in Front of the Religious Leaders’ Court

³⁰ The next day they took off the chains that were holding Paul. The captain wanted to know why the Jews wanted to kill him. So the captain told the head religious leaders to gather for their court. They brought Paul and put him in front of them.

Paul Speaks to the Religious Leaders’ Court

23 Paul looked straight at the court and said, “Brother Jews, I have lived for God with a heart that has said I am not guilty to this day.” ² Then Ananias, the head religious leader, told those standing near him to hit him on the mouth. ³ Paul said, “God will hit you, you white-washed wall! Do you sit there and say I am guilty by the Law when you break the Law by having me hit?”

⁴ Those standing near said, “Do you talk like that to God’s head religious leader?” ⁵ Paul said, “Brother Jews, I did not know that he was God’s head religious leader. I know the Holy Writings say, ‘You must not speak against the leader of your people.’” ^(A)

⁶ Paul saw that part of the court was made up of the religious group who believe no one is raised from the dead. The other part were proud religious law-keepers. Then he cried out, “Brother Jews, I am a proud religious law-keeper and from a family of proud religious law-keepers. I have been brought in front of this court because of the hope of being raised from the dead.”

⁷ When they heard this, both religious groups started to argue and the people of the court were divided in what they thought. ⁸ The one religious group believes that no one is raised from the dead. Also, they do not believe in angels or spirits. But the other religious group, the proud religious law-keepers, believe that people are raised from the dead and that there are angels and spirits. ⁹ The courtroom was filled with noise. Some of the teachers of the Law working with the proud religious law-keepers stood up and said, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if an angel or spirit has spoken to him?”

¹⁰ They argued all the more. Then the captain was afraid they would pull Paul to pieces. He told his men to get Paul out of there and take him back to the soldiers’ building. ¹¹ The next night the Lord came to Paul and said, “Paul, do not be afraid! You will tell about Me in the city of Rome the same as you have told about Me in Jerusalem.”

The Plan to Kill Paul

¹² In the morning some of the Jews gathered together and made a plan to kill Paul. They promised each other that they would not eat or drink until they had killed him. ¹³ There were more than forty of them who had made this promise. ¹⁴ These people came to the head religious leader and to the leaders of the people and said, “We have made a promise not to eat any food until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ We ask you and the court to have the captain bring Paul down to you tomorrow. It will look as if you want to ask him some things. Before he gets near you, we will be waiting to kill him.”

¹⁶ Paul’s nephew heard about the plan. He went to the soldiers’ building and told Paul. ¹⁷ Paul called one of the soldiers and said, “Take this young man to the captain. He has something to tell him.” ¹⁸ The soldiers brought the young man to the captain and said, “Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.” ¹⁹ The captain took him by the hand and they walked over where they could be alone. He said, “What is it that you have to tell me?” ²⁰ The young man said, “The Jews have made a plan to ask you to bring Paul to the courtroom tomorrow. It would look as if they were going to ask him some things. ²¹ Do not let them talk you into it. More than forty men are waiting in secret to kill him. They have promised each other not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are all waiting for you to say the word.” ²² The captain told the young man to go. He said, “Do not tell anyone you have told me this.”

Paul Is Sent to Felix in Caesarea

²³ Then the captain called two soldiers and said, “Get 200 men ready to go to the city of Caesarea by nine o’clock tonight. Also have seventy men ride on horses and 200 men carry spears. ²⁴ Get horses ready for Paul to ride. Take him to Felix, the leader of the people.”

²⁵ He wrote a letter which said, ²⁶ “Claudius Lysias greets Felix, the best leader of the people. ²⁷ This man Paul was taken by the Jews. He was about to be killed by them. But I came along with my soldiers and kept him from being killed. I did this when I learned that he was a Roman citizen. ²⁸ I wanted to know what they had against him. So I took him to the religious leaders’ court. ²⁹ I learned they were holding him because of something about their Law. There was no reason for him to be killed or to be put in prison. ³⁰ I was told that the Jews had a plan to kill this man. At once I sent him to you. I told the Jews who wanted to kill him to tell you what they have against him. Good-bye.”

³¹ The soldiers took Paul as they were told. They brought him during the night to Antipatris. ³² The next day they went back to their building in Jerusalem. The men riding horses went on with Paul. ³³ When they came to Caesarea, they gave the letter to the leader of the people. They also handed Paul over to him. ³⁴ After he read the letter, he asked what part of the country Paul was from. He was told that Paul was from the city of Cilicia. ³⁵ He said, “I will listen to all of this when the men come who want to kill you.” He had Paul kept in King Herod’s building.

Paul Stands in Front of Felix

24 Five days later Ananias came to the city of Caesarea. He was the head religious leader. Some other religious leaders and a man whose name was Tertullus came also. This man worked in courts and knew all about the laws. He told Felix what the Jews had against Paul. ² They brought in Paul. Then Tertullus started to tell what the Jews had against him, saying,

“Most respected Felix, because of you, we are living in peace. Wrong-doings have been made right in this nation. ³ In every way and in every place, we thank you for all of this. ⁴ We do not want to keep you here too long. I ask you to listen to our few words. You are known to be kind in this way. ⁵ We have found this man to be a trouble-maker among all the Jews in the world. He is a leader of a religious group called the Nazarenes. ⁶ He even tried to make the house of God unclean by taking people into it who were not Jews. But we took hold of him. (*We could have said he was guilty by our Law. ⁷ But Lysias, the captain, came and took him out of our hands. ⁸ He told those who wanted to kill him to tell you what they had against him.) When you ask him about these things, you will be able to learn everything we have against him.” ⁹ The Jews agreed to what he said against Paul.

Paul Speaks for Himself the First Time

¹⁰ Then Felix, the leader of the people, told Paul to speak. Paul said, “I know that you have been a leader of this nation for many years. I am happy to be able to speak for myself. ¹¹ Not more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. You can find out about this yourself. ¹² I did not argue with anyone in the house of God or in the Jewish places of worship or in the city. I was not making trouble. ¹³ They cannot prove any of these things they say against me.

¹⁴ “I will say this, I worship the God of our fathers in the new Way. They say it is a false way. But I believe everything that has been written in the Law and by the early preachers. ¹⁵ I trust God for the same things they are looking for. I am looking for the dead to rise, both those right with God and the sinful. ¹⁶ I always try to live so my own heart tells me I am not guilty before God or man.

¹⁷ “After a few years I came to bring gifts of money to the people of my country (Jerusalem). ¹⁸ Some Jews from the countries of Asia found me in the house of God after I had gone through the worship of washing. There were no people around me and there was no noise or fighting. ¹⁹ They should be here if they have anything against me. ²⁰ Or let these men tell what wrong they found in me as I stood in front of their court, ²¹ unless it was the words I cried out as I stood in front of them. I said, ‘I have been brought in front of this court because of the hope of being raised from the dead.’”

Felix Waits for Lysias to Come

²² Felix knew about the Christian religion. He stopped the court, saying, “When Lysias the captain comes down, I will decide about this.” ²³ He told the soldier to watch Paul, but to let him come and go as much as he wanted to. Paul’s friends were to be able to come and care for him.

Paul Speaks for Himself the Second Time

²⁴ Some days later Felix came again. His Jewish wife Drusilla was with him. He sent for Paul and heard him talk about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ Paul spoke about being right with God. He spoke about being the boss over our own desires. He spoke about standing before One Who will tell us if we are guilty. When Felix heard this, he became afraid and said, “Go now. I will send for you when it is a better time.” ²⁶ He was hoping that Paul would give him money so he could go free. For that reason he kept sending for Paul and talking to him.

²⁷ After two years Porcius Festus became leader of the people instead of Felix. Felix wanted to please the Jews so he kept Paul in prison.

Paul Stands in Front of Festus

25 Three days after Festus had become leader in the country, he went from the city of Caesarea to Jerusalem. ² The head religious leaders and the leaders of the Jews told Festus what they had against Paul. ³ They asked Festus for a favor. They wanted Paul to be brought to Jerusalem because they had plans to kill him on the way. ⁴ Festus told them that Paul was to be kept in Caesarea and that he would be going there soon. ⁵ Festus said, “If Paul has done anything wrong, let your leaders go along with me and say what they have against him.”

⁶ After staying with them about ten days, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he sat in the courtroom and asked for Paul to be brought in. ⁷ Paul came into the courtroom. The Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They said many bad things against him. But they could not prove any of the things they said. ⁸ Paul spoke for himself, saying, “I have done nothing wrong against the Law of the Jews or against the house of God or against Caesar.”

⁹ Festus was hoping to get the respect of the Jews. He asked Paul, “Will you go to the court in Jerusalem and let me say if you are guilty or not about these things?” ¹⁰ Paul said, “I am standing in front of Caesar’s court where I should be told I am right or wrong. I have done no wrong to the Jews. You know that. ¹¹ If I have done wrong and should die, I am not trying to keep from dying. But if these things they say against me are not true, no one can give me over to them. I ask to be taken to Caesar.” ¹² Festus talked to the leaders of the court. Then he said to Paul, “You have asked to be taken to Caesar. You will go to him.”

Festus Tells King Agrippa about Paul

¹³ After a few days, King Agrippa and his wife, Bernice, came down to Caesarea. They went to Festus to greet him. ¹⁴ They stayed there a few days. Festus told them about Paul. He said, “There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix. ¹⁵ When I was at Jerusalem, the head religious leaders and the leaders of the people told me about him and asked me to say that he is guilty. ¹⁶ I told them it was against the Roman law to hand over a man to be put to death before he stood face to face with those who had something against him and could speak for himself. ¹⁷ When they came here, I took my seat in the courtroom at once. I had the man brought in. ¹⁸ When the others spoke, they had nothing against him that I thought they had. ¹⁹ They did not agree with him about their own religion, and they argued about someone called Jesus. He had died but Paul kept saying He was alive. ²⁰ I did not know what to do. Then I asked him if he would go on trial about these things at Jerusalem. ²¹ But Paul asked to go on trial in front of Caesar. I said that he should be kept in prison until he could be sent to Caesar.” ²² Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man.” Festus said, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”

Paul Stands in Front of King Agrippa

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came into the courtroom. They were dressed to show their greatness as king and queen. Army leaders and leading men of the city came in with them. Festus had Paul brought in.

²⁴ Festus said, “King Agrippa and all of you who are here with us, you see this man. All of the Jews both here and at Jerusalem are saying that Paul should be put to death. ²⁵ I have heard nothing against him that would be reason to put him to death. But he asked for a trial in front of Caesar. I have agreed to send Paul to him. ²⁶ When I write to Caesar, I have nothing to say against him. For this reason, I brought him in front of you all and in front of you, King Agrippa. After we ask him questions, I may have something to write about. ²⁷ It is foolish for me to send a man up for trial without writing what is against him.”

Paul Speaks to King Agrippa

26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now speak for yourself.” Paul lifted his hand and started to talk, ² “King Agrippa, the Jews have said many things against me. I am happy to be able to tell you my side of the story. ³ You know all about the Jewish ways and problems. So I ask you to listen to me until I have finished.

⁴ “All the Jews know about my life from the time I was a boy until now. I lived among my own people in Jerusalem. ⁵ If they would tell what they know, they would say that I lived the life of a proud religious law-keeper. I was in the group of proud religious law-keepers who tried to obey every law.

⁶ “And now I am on trial here because I trust the promise God made to our fathers. ⁷ This promise is what our twelve family groups of the Jewish nation hope to see happen. They worship God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that they are saying things against me. ⁸ Why do you think it is hard to believe that God raises people from the dead?

⁹ “I used to think I should work hard against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ I did that in Jerusalem. I put many of the followers in prison. The head religious leaders gave me the right and the power to do it. Then when the followers were killed, I said it was all right. ¹¹ I beat them and tried to make them speak against God in all the Jewish places of worship. In my fight against them, I kept going after them even into cities in other countries.

¹² “When I was going to Damascus to do this, I had the right and the power from the head religious leaders to make it hard for the followers. ¹³ I was on the road at noon. King Agrippa, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun. It was shining around me and the men with me. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice speaking to me in the Jewish language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you working so hard against Me? You hurt yourself by trying to hurt Me.’ ¹⁵ I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, the One you are working against. ¹⁶ Get up. Stand on your feet. I have chosen you to work for Me. You will tell what you have seen and you will say what I want you to say. This is the reason I have allowed you to see Me. ¹⁷ I will keep you safe from the Jews and from the people who are not Jews. I am sending you to these people. ¹⁸ You are to open their eyes. You are to turn them from darkness to light. You are to turn them from the power of Satan to the power of God. In this way, they may have their sins forgiven. They may have what is given to them, along with all those who are set apart for God by having faith in Me.’

¹⁹ “King Agrippa, I obeyed what I saw from heaven. ²⁰ First I told what I saw to those in Damascus and then in Jerusalem. I told it through all the country of Judea. I even preached to the people who are not Jews that they should be sorry for their sins and turn from them to God. I told them they should do things to show they are sorry for their sins.

²¹ “That is why the Jews took hold of me in the house of God and tried to kill me. ²² God has helped me. To this day I have told these things to the people who are well-known and to those not known. I have told only what the early preachers and Moses said would happen. ²³ It was that Christ must suffer and be the first to rise from the dead. He would give light to the Jews and to the other nations.”

²⁴ As Paul was speaking for himself, Festus cried out in a loud voice, “Paul, you are crazy! All your learning keeps you from thinking right!” ²⁵ Paul said, “Most respected Festus, I am not crazy. I am speaking the truth! ²⁶ The king knows about all this. I am free to speak to him in plain words. Nothing I have said is new to him. These things happened where everyone saw them. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the writings of the early preachers? I know that you believe them.”

²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In this short time you have almost proven to me that I should become a Christian!” ²⁹ Paul said, “My prayer to God is that you and all who hear me today would be a Christian as I am, only not have these chains!” ³⁰ King Agrippa and Festus and Bernice and those who sat with them got up. ³¹ As they left the courtroom, they said to each other, “This man has done nothing for which he should be kept in prison or be put to death.” ³² Agrippa told Festus, “This man could go free if he had not asked to be sent to Caesar.”

Paul Is Sent to Rome

27 It was decided that we should go to the country of Italy by ship. Then they put Paul and some other men in chains. Julius, a captain of Caesar’s army, was to watch them. ² We went on a ship that was from the city of Adramyttian. It was going to stop at the towns along the sea-shore of Asia. Aristarchus was with us. He was a man from the city of Thessalonica in the country of Macedonia. ³ The next day we stopped in the city of Sidon. Julius was kind to Paul. He let him visit friends who cared for him.

⁴ After leaving Sidon we were blown by the wind along the south side of the island of Cyprus. The wind was against us. ⁵ We crossed the sea along the countries of Cilicia and Pamphylia and got to the city of Myra in the country of Lycia. ⁶ The captain found a ship from the city of Alexandria that was going to the country of Italy. He put us on it. ⁷ For many days the ship did not move fast. It was hard to get to the city of Cnidus. The wind would not let us go on. So we went along the south shore of the island of Crete and passed the end of the island called Salome. ⁸ The wind was against us, and we did not sail very fast. Then we came to a place called Fair Havens. It was near the city of Lasea.

⁹ Much time had been lost. To keep going that late in the year would mean danger. Paul spoke with strong words, ¹⁰ “Sirs, it looks to me as if this ship and its freight will be lost. We are in danger of being lost also.”

¹¹ The captain of the soldiers listened to what the captain of the ship said and not to what Paul said. ¹² It was not a good place to spend the winter. Most of those on the ship wanted to go on and try to get to Phoenix. Crete was a good place to tie up the ship. They wanted to spend the winter there. ¹³ When a south wind started to blow, they thought their plan was right. They pulled up the anchor and went close to the shore of Crete.

¹⁴ Later a bad wind storm came down from the land. It was called a northeaster. ¹⁵ The ship was stopped by the wind. After awhile we gave up and let it go with the wind. ¹⁶ We went behind a small island called Claudia. It was hard work but we were able to make the ship’s boat safe. ¹⁷ They pulled it up and tied ropes around it and the ship. They were afraid of going on the Syrtis sands. So they took the sail down and let the ship go with the wind.

¹⁸ The storm was so bad the high waves were beating against the ship. The next day the men threw some of the freight over into the sea. ¹⁹ On the third day, with their own hands, they threw part of the sails and ropes into the sea. ²⁰ We did not see the sun or stars for many days. A very bad storm kept beating against us. We lost all hope of being saved.

Paul Shows His Faith

²¹ No one had eaten for a long time. Then Paul stood up and said to them, “Men, you should have listened to me and not left Crete. You would not have had this trouble and loss. ²² But now I want you to take hope. No one will lose his life. Only the ship will be lost. ²³ I belong to God and I work for Him. Last night an angel of God stood by me ²⁴ and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand in front of Caesar. God has given you the lives of all the men on this ship.’ ²⁵ So take hope, men. I believe my God will do what He has told me. ²⁶ But the ship will be lost on some island.”

²⁷ It was now the fourteenth night. We were going with the wind on the Adriatic Sea. At midnight the sailors thought land was near. ²⁸ They let down the lead weight and found the water was not very deep. After they had gone a little farther, they found there was not as much water. ²⁹ They were afraid we might be thrown against the rocks on the shore. So they put out four anchors from the back of the ship. Then they waited for morning to come.

³⁰ The sailors were thinking of leaving the ship. They let down a boat as if they were going to put out anchors from the front of the ship. ³¹ But Paul said to the captain and the soldiers, “These men must stay on the ship or you cannot be safe!” ³² Then the soldiers cut the ropes and let the boat fall into the sea.

³³ Just before the light of day came, Paul told all of them to eat. He said, “Today is the fourteenth day you have not eaten. ³⁴ You must eat. It will give you strength. Not one of you will lose a hair from your head.”

³⁵ After he said this, he took some bread. He gave thanks to God in front of them all. He broke it in pieces and started to eat. ³⁶ They all were comforted. Each one ate some food. ³⁷ All together there were 276 of us on the ship. ³⁸ After they had eaten, they threw the wheat into the sea so the ship would not be as heavy.

³⁹ In the morning they could not see what land they were near. Later they could see a river. Near its mouth there was a shore of sand. They planned to run the ship onto the sand if they could. ⁴⁰ The anchors were cut loose and left in the sea. Then they took the ropes off that were holding the rudder. When they put up the sail, the wind took the ship toward shore. ⁴¹ But the ship hit a place where the water was low. It was made from where two seas meet. The front of the ship did not move but the back part broke in pieces by the high waves.

⁴² The soldiers planned to kill the men in chains. They were afraid they would swim to shore and get away, ⁴³ but the captain wanted to save Paul. He kept them from their plan. Calling out to those who could swim, he told them to jump into the sea and swim to shore. ⁴⁴ The others should use wood or anything from the ship. In this way, they all got to shore without getting hurt.

The Powerful Work of Paul

28 After we were safe on the island, we knew that it was Malta. ² The people on the island were very kind to us. It was raining and cold. They made a fire so we could get warm. ³ Paul had gathered some wood. As he laid it on the fire, a snake came out because of the heat. It held fast to Paul’s hand. ⁴ When the people of the island saw the snake holding to his hand, they said to each other, “This man is a killer. He was saved from the sea and yet it is not right for him to live.” ⁵ Paul shook off the snake into the fire. He was not hurt in any way. ⁶ The people waited. They thought his hand would get large and he would fall over dead. After watching for a long time, they saw nothing happen to him. Then they changed their minds and said that Paul was a god.

The Father of Publius Is Healed

⁷ Publius was the head man of the island. He owned land around there. For three days he took us in and gave us everything we needed. ⁸ The father of Publius was sick with a stomach sickness. Paul went to see him. He prayed and laid his hands on him and the man was healed. ⁹ Because of this, other people of the island who were sick came to Paul and were healed. ¹⁰ They had great respect for us. When we got into a ship to leave, they gave us everything we needed.

¹¹ We had stayed on the island three months. Then we left on a ship that had stayed there during the winter. It was from the city of Alexandria. This ship was called the Twin Brothers. ¹² We came to Syracuse and stayed there three days. ¹³ From there we went by ship around to the city of Rhegium. After a day a south wind started to blow. On the second day we came to the city of Puteoli. ¹⁴ We found some Christians there, and they asked us to stay with them. We were there seven days and then went on to the city of Rome.

¹⁵ When the Christians heard of our coming, they came to meet us. They came as far as the town of Appius and to a place to stay called the Three Stores. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

Paul Tells Why and How He Has Come

¹⁶ When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live where he wanted to. But a soldier was always by his side to watch him. ¹⁷ Three days later Paul asked the leaders of the Jews to come to him. When they had gathered together, he said, “Brothers, I have done nothing against our people or the way our early fathers lived. And yet, I was tied with chains in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. ¹⁸ I was put on trial, but they found no reason to put me to death. They would have let me go free. ¹⁹ But the Jews did not like this. So I had to ask to be sent to Caesar. It was not because I had anything against my people. ²⁰ The reason I have asked you to come is to tell you this. It is because of the hope of the Jewish nation that I am tied in these chains.”

²¹ They said to Paul, “We have had no letters from Judea about you. No Jew who has come here has ever said anything bad about you. ²² We would like to hear from you what you believe. As for this new religion, all we know is that everyone is talking against it.”

²³ They planned to meet him on a certain day. Many people came to the place where he stayed. He preached to them about the holy nation of God. He tried to get them to put their trust in Jesus Christ by preaching from the Law of Moses and from the writings of the early preachers. From morning until night he spoke to them. ²⁴ Some of them believed his teaching. Others did not believe.

²⁵ As they left, they did not agree with each other. Then Paul said, “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your early fathers through the early preacher Isaiah. ²⁶ He said, ‘Go to these people and say, “You will hear and never understand, you will look and never see, ²⁷ because these people have hearts that have become fat. They do not hear well with their ears. They have closed their eyes so their eyes do not see and their ears do not hear and their minds do not understand and they do not turn to Me and let Me heal them.”’ ^(B)

²⁸ “I want you to know that the Good News of God of knowing how to be saved from the punishment of sin has been sent to the people who are not Jews. And they will listen to it!” ²⁹ *After he had said these things, the Jews went away and argued with each other.

³⁰ Paul paid money to live in a house by himself for two years. He was happy for all who came to see him. ³¹ He kept on preaching about the holy nation of God. He taught about the Lord Jesus Christ without fear. No one stopped him.