Acts 20-28

Worldwide English (New Testament)

20 When everything was quiet, Paul called the disciples. He talked to them so they would not be afraid. Then he said goodbye and left. He went to Macedonia.

² He went through that country and talked to the people. He helped them to believe more strongly. Then he went to Greece.

³ He stayed there for three months. When he was ready to go to Syria by boat, he heard that the Jewish leaders were planning to catch him. So he said, `I will go back through Macedonia.'

⁴ Some men went with him as far as Asia Minor. They were Sopater from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, and also Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia Minor.

⁵ These went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.

⁶ After the days of the Passover Feast, we left Philippi by boat. Five days later we met them in Troas. We stayed there for seven days.

^7-8 n the first day of the week the disciples met together to break bread. Paul was ready to leave the next day. He talked a long time to the people at the meeting until long into the night. They were gathered in an upstairs room with many lights.

⁹ A young man named Eutychus sat in the window. He became very sleepy. When Paul kept talking so long, Eutychus was very deep in sleep and fell down from the third floor. When the people picked him up he was dead.

¹⁰ Paul went down stairs. He lay on him and put his arms around him. `Do not fear,' he said. `He is alive.'

¹¹ Then Paul went upstairs again. He broke bread and ate some food. He talked for a long time, until daybreak. After that, he left.

¹² The people took the young man. They were very glad because he was alive.

¹³ We went by boat to the town of Assos. We were going to meet Paul there and take him on the boat. He told us to do that because he wanted to walk.

¹⁴ We met him at Assos, took him on the boat, and went to Mitylene.

¹⁵ Then we went by boat the next day and came to Chios. The next day we passed the town of Samos. We reached Miletus on the third day.

¹⁶ Paul decided not to stop at Ephesus. He did not want to spend time in Asia Minor. He kept going as fast as he could, because he hoped to be at the feast in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷ He sent a message from Miletus to Ephesus to call the leaders of the church to come to him.

¹⁸ When they came, he said, `You know how I have lived all the time that I have been with you. I lived that way from the first day I came into Asia.

¹⁹ You know how I have served the Lord without being proud. And I have even cried for you. I served the Lord when I had troubles and when the leaders of the Jews tried to catch me.

²⁰ I have not feared to tell you everything that would help you. I have taught you in meetings and in your homes.

²¹ I have told both the Jews and the Greeks to stop doing wrong things. I have told them to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.

²² `And now I feel in my spirit that I must go to Jerusalem. I do not know what will happen to me there.

²³ But in every city the Holy Spirit tells me I will be put in prison. I will have much trouble.

²⁴ But none of these things trouble me. I do not try to save my life. All I want is to finish what I must do with joy. The work which the Lord Jesus gave me is to tell the good news that God is kind.

²⁵ I know that you all will never see me again. I have told you about God's kingdom.

²⁶ So I tell you today that if any one is lost, it is not my fault.

²⁷ I have not feared to tell you all that God wants you to know.

²⁸ `The Holy Spirit has made you leaders over his people. Watch yourselves. Like one who takes care of his sheep, so you must take care of the church people. They are the Lord's people. He gave his blood for them.

²⁹ I know this, that there are people as bad as wild animals. After I leave you, they will come to you. They will trouble God's people.

³⁰ Also, some men will come from among you. They will teach things that are not true. They want people to follow them.

³¹ So then, watch and remember this. For three years, through the night and in the day, I told every one of you to be careful. I even cried as I told you.

³² `And now, my brothers, I give you to God. I leave with you his word which brings blessing. That word is able to make you strong. It will give you your share in the good things of God promised by him. He gives these good things to people who are pure and holy.

³³ I did not want anyone to give me money or clothes.

³⁴ You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to pay for the things that I and my friends needed.

³⁵ I have always shown you that you must work hard, as I have. You must help those who cannot work. By so doing you are remembering the words of the Lord Jesus. He said, "It makes you more happy to give something than to get something." '

³⁶ When Paul had said this, he kneeled down and talked to God with them all.

³⁷ They all cried much. They put their arms around his neck and kissed him.

³⁸ They were sad most of all because he had said they would not see him again. And they went with him to the boat.

21 When we had said goodbye to them, we left them. We went straight across the water to the island of Cos. The next day we came to the island of Rhodes. Then we went to the city of Patara.

² There we found a boat going to the country of Phoenicia, so we went there.

³ When we saw the island of Cyprus, we went on the right side of it to Syria. We landed at Tyre because they unloaded the boat there.

⁴ We found some Christians and stayed for seven days. The Holy Spirit spoke through them to Paul, `Do not go on to Jerusalem.'

⁵ When the seven days had passed, we left and went on our way. All of the men, women, and children went with us out of the city. There by the sea we kneeled down and talked to God.

⁶ We said goodbye to each other. Then we got on the boat and they went back to their homes.

⁷ From Tyre we went to Ptolemais. There we greeted the Christian brothers and stayed with them one day.

⁸ The next day we left and came to Caesarea. We went into the house of Philip. He was a man who went out telling the good news. He was one of the seven helpers in the church.

⁹ He had four daughters who spoke words from God. They were not married.

¹⁰ While we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came from Judea.

¹¹ When he came to us, he took Paul's belt. He tied his own hands and feet with it. Then he said, `The Holy Spirit has told me that in the same way the leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem will tie the man who owns this belt. They will give him over to the people who are not Jews.'

¹² When we heard this, both we and the people there talked to Paul and begged him not to go to Jerusalem.

¹³ Then Paul answered, `Why are you crying and making me sad like this? I am ready to be tied and also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.'

¹⁴ So when we saw that he would not change his mind, we stopped begging him. We said, `May the Lord do what he wants to be done.'

¹⁵ After that, we took our things and went to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ Some of the Christians from Caesarea went with us. One of them was Mnason, a man born in Cyprus. He was one of the first Christian believers. We stayed in his house.

¹⁷ When we reached Jerusalem, the Christian brothers were glad to see us.

¹⁸ The next day Paul went with us to see James. All the church leaders were there.

¹⁹ First, Paul greeted them. Then he told them one by one the things God had done as he worked among the people who were not Jews.

²⁰ When they heard it, they praised the Lord. They said to Paul, `Brother, there are many thousands of Jews who believe. They all say we must obey the law of Moses.

²¹ They have heard that you teach all the Jews who live in other lands. They heard that you tell them not to obey Moses' law: that they need not circumcise their children like the Jews do; and they can leave the Jewish ways of living.

²² What should we do about it? Many people will gather together because they will surely hear that you have come.

²³ Now then, do the thing we tell you. We have four men who have made a promise.

²⁴ Take them with you. Make yourself clean with them, the way the law says to do. Pay the cost for having their hair cut. Then all the people will know that all the things they heard about you are not true. They will know that you live the way the law says you should live.

²⁵ We sent a letter to those who are not Jews and have believed. Here is what we told them they must not do. They must not touch things that have been given to idols. They must not taste blood. They must not eat the meat of animals that were killed by choking. And they must not take part in any kind of wrong sexual behaviour between men and women.'

²⁶ Then Paul took the men with him. The next day he made himself clean with them the way the law says to do. Then he went into the temple. He told the priests which day they would finish making themselves clean. On that day a sacrifice would be made for each one of them.

²⁷ The seven days were almost over. The Jewish leaders from Asia Minor saw Paul in the temple. They got all the people there excited. They caught hold of him.

²⁸ They shouted, `All you men of Israel, come and help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere not to respect our people. He says we need not obey the law or respect this temple. And what is more, he has brought Greek people into the temple. He has made this holy place unclean.'

²⁹ They said this because they had seen a man from Ephesus named Trophimus. He was in the city with Paul. And they thought that Paul had brought him into the temple.

³⁰ So all the people in the city were excited. They came running. They caught Paul and took him out of the temple by force. Then the doors were shut behind them.

³¹ They were trying to kill him. The officer in charge of the soldiers heard that all the people of Jerusalem were making trouble.

³² Right away he took some soldiers and officers with him and ran down to the people. When the people saw them they stopped beating Paul.

³³ Then the officer came up and took Paul. He had him tied with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.

³⁴ Some of the crowd shouted one thing and some of them shouted something else. The captain could not find out what was true. The people were shouting too much. So he told his soldiers to take Paul into their army house.

³⁵ When Paul came to the steps, the soldiers carried him because the people were fighting to get him.

³⁶ They were all following, shouting, `Kill him!'

^37-38 ust as the soldiers were going to take Paul into their army house, he said to the officer, `May I tell you something?' `So, you speak the Greek language!' said the officer. `I thought you were the man from the country of Egypt who made trouble a while ago. I thought you were the one who led four thousand bad men into the desert.'

³⁹ Paul said, `I am a Jew. I was born in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia. I belong to a great city. Please let me talk to these people.'

⁴⁰ So the officer let him talk. Paul stood on the steps and put up his hand. Then all the people were very quiet. He talked to them in the Jews' language.

22 Paul said, `Men, brothers, and fathers, listen while I tell you my side of this matter.'

^2-3 hen the people heard him speak in the Jews' language, they were even more quiet. Then Paul said, `I am a Jew. I was born in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia. But I was raised here in this city. Gamaliel was my teacher. He taught me very well in the law of our fathers. I was trying hard to obey God, just as you all are today.

⁴ I troubled very much the people who believed this Way. I even killed them. I had men and women tied and put into prison.

⁵ The high priest and all the leaders know that this is true about me. They wrote letters for me to carry to the leaders of the Jews in the city of Damascus. I went to have the Christians there tied and brought to Jerusalem to be punished.'

⁶ `I was on my way and was near Damascus. It was about midday. All at once a very bright light from the sky shone all around me.

⁷ I fell to the ground and heard someone say to me, "Saul, Saul, why are you troubling me?"

⁸ I said, "Who are you, Lord?" He answered, "I am Jesus of Nazareth. You are troubling me."

⁹ The men who were with me saw the light. They were afraid. But they did not hear the one who spoke to me.

¹⁰ Then I said, "Lord, what shall I do?" And the Lord said to me, "Get up and go to Damascus. There someone will tell you all you must do."

¹¹ I could not see because the light was so bright. My friends led me by the hand to Damascus.

¹² `A man named Ananias was there. He obeyed the law of Moses, and all the Jews who lived there spoke well of him.

¹³ He came to see me. He stood by my side and said to me, "Brother Saul, you can see again!" And right then I was able to see him.

¹⁴ He said, "The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will. He chose you to see the One who is right and to hear him speak.

¹⁵ You will speak for him. You will tell all the people what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶ Now, why do you wait? Get up and be baptised. Wash away your wrong ways by calling on the name of the Lord!" '

¹⁷ `After I went back to Jerusalem, I was talking to God in the temple one day. Something like a dream came over me.

¹⁸ I heard the Lord say to me, "Leave Jerusalem quickly, right away. The people will not listen to the things you say about me."

¹⁹ And I said, "Lord, they know that I put in prison those who believed in you. I beat them in all the meeting houses.

²⁰ And I stood by and let people kill Stephen. He was one who talked for you. I looked after the clothes of the men who killed him."

²¹ But the Lord said to me, "Go! I will send you far away to the people who are not Jews." '

²² The people listened to Paul until he said that. Then they shouted, `Kill him and get him off the earth. A man like that should not live!'

²³ The people shouted. They waved their clothes about and threw dust in the air.

²⁴ The man in charge of the soldiers ordered Paul to be brought into the army house. He said that he should be beaten hard to make him tell why the people shouted so much at him.

²⁵ When they had tied him with ropes, Paul said to the captain who was standing by, `Is it right for you to beat a man who belongs to Rome without judging his case?'

²⁶ When the captain heard this, he told the commanding officer. He said, `What are you going to do? This man is a Roman!'

²⁷ Then the commanding officer came to Paul and said, `Tell me, are you a Roman?' `Yes, I am,' replied Paul.

²⁸ Then the officer said, `I paid much money to become a Roman.' Paul said, `I was born a Roman.'

²⁹ Then the men who were going to beat him left him. The officer was afraid when he knew Paul was a Roman, because he had tied him up.

³⁰ The officer wanted to know the real reason why the Jewish leaders were angry with Paul. So the next day he had Paul untied. He called the chief priests and the leaders to hold a court meeting. Then he took Paul down and brought him in before them.

23 Paul looked at the members of the court and said, `My brothers, I have done what I thought God wanted me to do, right up to this day.'

² Ananias, the high priest, said to those who were standing near Paul, `Hit his mouth!'

³ Paul said, `God will hit you down, you dirty wall painted white! You sit there to judge me by the law and you break the law by telling them to hit me.'

⁴ The people who stood near Paul said, `Do you say a wrong thing like that to God's high priest?'

⁵ Paul said, `I did not know that he is a high priest. The holy writings say, "You shall not say anything wrong about a ruler of your people." '

⁶ Paul knew that some of the men were from the Sadducee group and some of them were from the Pharisee group. So he called out in the court, `My brothers, I am a Pharisee. My fathers were Pharisees. I am being judged because I believe that the dead will be raised to life again.'

⁷ When he had said that, the Pharisees and the Sadducees began to talk back and forth. The men in the court were divided.

⁸ The Sadducees say the dead will not be raised again. They say there is no angel or spirit. But the Pharisees believe in all these three things.

⁹ There was much shouting. Some of the clever men who were Pharisees got up. They said, `We do not think this man has done wrong. Perhaps some angel or spirit really did speak to him.'

¹⁰ The people started fighting. The commanding officer was afraid they would tear Paul into pieces. So he told the soldiers to take Paul and bring him into the army house.

¹¹ The next night the Lord stood beside Paul. He said, `Be glad, Paul. You have told people about me in Jerusalem. You must also talk about me in Rome.'

¹² In the morning, some of the Jewish leaders planned together. They made a promise that they would not eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³ There were more than forty Jews who made this secret plan together.

¹⁴ They came to the chief priests and leaders and said, `We have made a promise for ourselves. We will not eat anything until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵ So now, you and the members of the court send word to the commanding officer. Tell him to bring Paul down to you. Make him think you want to find out more about Paul. We will be ready to kill him before he gets there.'

¹⁶ The son of Paul's sister heard about their secret plan. So he went into the army house and told Paul.

¹⁷ Paul called one of the officers and said to him, `Take this young man to the commanding officer. He has something to tell him!'

¹⁸ So the officer took him to the commanding officer. He said, `Paul, the prisoner, called me. He asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.'

¹⁹ The officer took the young man by the arm. He went to one side so they could be alone. He asked, `What do you want to tell me?'

²⁰ The young man said, `The leaders of the Jews have made a plan. They will ask you to bring Paul down to court tomorrow. They will say that they wish to find out more about him.

²¹ But you must not do this. More than forty Jews are waiting for him. They have made a promise to themselves. They will not eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now and waiting for your agreement.'

²² So the commanding officer sent the young man away. He said, `You must not tell anyone that you have told me about these things.'

²³ The commanding officer called two officers to him. He said, `Get two hundred soldiers ready by nine o'clock tonight to go to Caesarea. Send seventy men with them who will ride on horses and two hundred men who will carry spears.

²⁴ Also have horses ready for Paul to ride. Take him safely to Felix, the ruler.'

²⁵ The officer wrote a letter to Felix like this:

²⁶ `Claudius Lysias sends greetings to you, great ruler Felix.

²⁷ This man was caught by the Jews. They were ready to kill him. But I came with my soldiers and took him away, because I found out that he is a Roman.

²⁸ I wanted to find out what complaint they had against him, so I brought him into their court.

²⁹ I found out that their complaints were to do with their law. But he had not done anything wrong enough to die or to be put into prison.

³⁰ When I heard that the Jewish leaders were planning to catch him, I sent him to you at once. I told those who are making complaints against him that they must bring the matter to you.'

³¹ So the soldiers took Paul as they had been told to do. They went with him that night as far as the town of Antipatris.

³² The next day the soldiers went back to the barracks. Only the men who were riding horses went with Paul.

³³ When they reached Caesarea, they gave the letter to the ruler and brought Paul to him.

^34-35 e read the letter. Then he asked Paul what country he came from. He heard that Paul was from Cilicia. Then he said, `I will hear all you have to say when the men who have made the complaint come here.' He ordered Paul to be kept in the house which is called Herod's palace.

24 Five days later, Ananias the high priest came from Jerusalem. He brought with him some of the leaders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They told the ruler their complaint against Paul.

² Paul was called in. Tertullus began to bring the complaints. `Great ruler Felix,' he said, `we have peace because of what you have done. These people have a better life because of you.

³ We are always very glad for this everywhere we go.

⁴ I do not want to take much of your time. But please be kind and listen to a few words from us.

⁵ We have found this man to be a real trouble-maker. He talks to the Jews all over the world and causes them to disobey the laws. He is the leading trouble-maker of the Nazarene group.

⁶ He even tried to make the temple unclean. But we caught him and were going to judge him by our law.

⁷ But Lysias the commanding officer came. He took Paul away from us by force.

⁸ He told those who have complaints against him to come to you. Ask him yourself and you will find out from him about all these complaints we have brought against him.'

⁹ The Jews agreed with what Tertullus the lawyer said. They said, `Yes, yes, he is telling the truth.'

¹⁰ The ruler made a sign for Paul to speak. So Paul said, `I know that for many years you have judged matters for this people.

¹¹ So I am happy to speak for myself. Not more than twelve days ago I went to Jerusalem to worship. If you ask the people, you will find this out.

¹² They did not find me quarrelling with anyone in the temple. I was not making trouble among the people in the meeting houses or in the city.

¹³ They cannot prove the things they have said against me here.

¹⁴ But I myself tell you this. I worship the God of my fathers in the Christian way. They say this is not the right way. I believe everything that the law teaches. I believe everything that the prophets have written.

¹⁵ I believe that God will raise from death both the good people and the bad people. These people here believe the same thing.

¹⁶ I always try to do what is right to God and to men.

¹⁷ `I was away for a few years and I had come to Jerusalem to bring gifts to my people, and to give offerings.

¹⁸ While I was doing this, they found me in the temple. I had made myself clean the way the law says to do. I did not have many people around me. I was not making trouble.

¹⁹ Some Jews were there from Asia Minor. They should be here before you and talk against me if they have anything to say.

²⁰ Or let these men here tell if they found anything wrong with me when I stood in their court.

²¹ I did this one thing. I shouted while I was standing among them, "I am being judged today because I believe that the dead will be raised again." '

²² Felix sent them away because he knew many things about the Christian way. He said, `When Lysias, the commanding officer, comes down, I will know everything about this matter.'

²³ He said to the officer, `Keep Paul in prison but let him have some freedom. Let his friends come to visit him and to do things for him.'

²⁴ Some days after that, Felix came with his wife Drusilla. She was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to what Paul said about believing in Christ Jesus.

²⁵ Paul talked about what is right, about living the right way, and about the time when all people will be judged. Felix was very much afraid when he heard these things. He said to Paul, `You may go now. When I have time, I will call you again.'

²⁶ He hoped that Paul would give him money to free him. And so he often sent for Paul and talked with him.

²⁷ After two years, a man named Porcius Festus came to rule in Felix's place. Felix had wanted to please the Jewish leaders, so he left Paul in prison.

25 Three days after Festus came to the country, he went to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

² Then the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews told him what they had against Paul.

³ `Please do something for us,' they begged. `Send for Paul to come to Jerusalem.' They had made a secret plan to kill him on the road.

⁴ Festus said, `Paul is being kept in prison in Caesarea. I myself am going there soon.

⁵ Let the men among you who are able come with me. If Paul has done anything wrong, then they can talk against him.'

⁶ Festus stayed only eight or ten days more among them. Then he went to Caesarea. The next day he sat on his chair in the court and had Paul brought in.

⁷ When Paul came in, the Jewish leaders who had come from Jerusalem stood around Paul. They talked much against him. But they could not prove that the things they said were true.

⁸ Paul spoke for himself. He said, `I have done no wrong to the law, or to the temple, or against Caesar the ruler of the Romans.'

⁹ Festus wanted to please the Jewish leaders, so he said to Paul, `Will you go to Jerusalem and let me judge you there about these things?'

¹⁰ Paul said, `I am standing in Caesar's court. That is where I should be judged. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews. You yourself know that well.

¹¹ If I have done wrong things, or any wrong thing for which I should die, then I do not ask to live. But if the things these people say are not true, then no one has power to give me up to the leaders of the Jews. I ask to go to Caesar.'

¹² So Festus talked the matter over with the court. Then he said to Paul, `You have asked to go to Caesar. All right, you will go to Caesar!'

¹³ Some time after that, king Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus.

¹⁴ They stayed for many days. Festus brought Paul's matter to the king. He said, `Felix left a man in prison here.

¹⁵ When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priest and leaders of the Jews came to me. They talked against him, and they asked me to punish him.

¹⁶ I told them that the Romans do not do it that way. They do not punish a man until he has met those who talk against him. Then he has a chance to speak for himself.

¹⁷ So they came here with me. I did not wait. The very next day I sat on my chair in the court and had the man brought in.

¹⁸ When they stood up, they did not say the wrong things against him that I thought they would.

¹⁹ But instead, they had a quarrel with him about the things they believe in. The quarrel is about a man named Jesus who died. Paul said he is alive.

²⁰ I did not know how to judge such things. So I asked if he would go to Jerusalem and be judged there about these matters.

²¹ But Paul asked to wait and let Caesar judge his case. So I had him put in prison to be kept there until I can send him to Caesar.'

²² Agrippa said to Festus, `I should like to hear the man myself.' Festus said, `Tomorrow you shall hear him.'

²³ So the next day Agrippa and Bernice came, making a big show of themselves. They went into the room to hear Paul talk. Officers and the leading men of the city also went in. When Festus called for Paul, he was brought in.

²⁴ Then Festus said, `King Agrippa and all you men here with us, you see this man. All the Jewish leaders, both in Jerusalem and here, came together and talked about him. They shouted, "He must die!"

²⁵ But I found out that he had not done anything wrong for which he should die. He himself asked to go to Caesar, so I decided to send him.

²⁶ But I have no real complaint about him to write to my ruler. So I have brought this man before you all, and most of all before you, king Agrippa. When you have heard him, I hope I will have something to write about him.

²⁷ I think that it does not make sense to send a prisoner and not say what wrong he has done.'

26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, `You may speak for yourself.' So Paul put out his hand and began to speak.

² `King Agrippa, I am happy to speak for myself before you today. I will talk about all the things the leaders of the Jews have said against me.

³ You know all the ways of the Jews. You know what they believe. So please take time to listen to me.

⁴ `All the Jews know the way I lived from the time I was young. From the beginning I lived with my own people at Jerusalem.

⁵ They have known me for a long time. They know, if they would tell it, that I lived like the Pharisee group. They obey the law better than any others who worship God the way we do.

⁶ I believe that God will keep the promise that he made to our fathers long ago. That is why I am standing here being judged today.

⁷ All the people of our twelve tribes serve God faithfully day and night. They do this because they believe they will receive what he has promised. Because I believe this, king Agrippa, the Jewish leaders are talking against me.

⁸ Why is it so hard for any of you to believe that God should raise the dead?

⁹ `I used to think that I must do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

¹⁰ I did this in Jerusalem. The chief priests gave me power. I put many of God's people in prison. And when they were killed, I agreed to it.

¹¹ Often I punished them in all the meeting places. I tried to make them say wrong things about Christ. I was very, very angry. I even went to other cities to trouble them.'

¹² `And so I was on my way to the city of Damascus. The chief priests had given me power and a letter.

¹³ I was on the road at midday, king Agrippa, and I saw a bright light. It came from the sky and was brighter than the light of the sun. It shone all around me and the men who were travelling with me.

¹⁴ We all fell to the ground. I heard someone say to me in the Jews' language, "Saul, Saul, why are you troubling me? You hurt yourself when you kick against the sticks which guide you."

¹⁵ `I said, "Who are you, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus, the one you are troubling.

¹⁶ But get up. Stand on your feet. Here is why I have shown myself to you. I have chosen you to work for me. I have chosen you to tell people what you saw when you saw me today. You are to tell them also about the other times when I will show myself to you.

¹⁷ I will keep you safe from your own people, the Jews. And I will keep you safe from those who are not Jews. I am sending you to them.

¹⁸ I send you to them to open their eyes. Then they will turn from darkness to light. You are to take them out of Satan's power and turn them to God, to be forgiven of their wrong ways. Then they will be among those who are made clean and pure by believing in me." '

¹⁹ `So, king Agrippa, I obeyed what the one from heaven told me to do.

²⁰ I told the good news to the people of Damascus and Jerusalem. Then I told it all over Judea. I went to those who are not Jews. I told everyone that they must stop doing wrong things and turn to God. I told them they must show by the way they live that they have stopped doing wrong things.

²¹ That is why the leaders of the Jews caught me in the temple and tried to kill me.

²² God has always helped me up to today. I have stood and talked to both small people and great people. I have said nothing more than what the prophets and Moses said would happen.

²³ They said Christ must suffer. They said he would be the first person to rise from death. He would be the first person to bring news of light to the Jews and those who are not Jews.'

²⁴ While Paul was saying these things Festus shouted, `Paul, you are crazy! All your book learning is making you crazy.'

²⁵ Paul said, `No, great ruler Festus, I am not crazy. But what I say is true. It makes good sense.

²⁶ The king knows about these things. I am not afraid to talk to him about them. I am sure that not one of these things happened without his knowing about it. This did not happen in secret.

²⁷ King Agrippa do you believe the prophets? I know you believe them.'

²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, `You are trying to make me a Christian right away.'

²⁹ `Right away or later,' said Paul. `I wish that all who hear me today might be what I am. That is, what I am without these chains.'

³⁰ Then king Agrippa stood up. Festus and Bernice and those who were sitting there with them stood up also.

³¹ They left the room and talked the matter over. They said, `This man is not doing anything wrong for which he ought to be in prison or die.'

³² Agrippa said to Festus, `We could let this man go free if he had not asked to go to Caesar.'

27 It was planned that we would go by boat to Italy. An officer named Julius was put in charge of Paul and some other prisoners. Julius was an army captain in the Augustan group.

² We got on a boat which was from the city of Adramyttium. This boat was going along the coast of Asia Minor. And so we went out to sea. A man named Aristarchus from the city of Thessalonica in Macedonia came with us also.

³ The next day we stopped at the city of Sidon. Julius was kind to Paul. He allowed him to go to see his friends so they could care for him.

⁴ Then we started out to sea again. We went near the island of Cyprus, because the wind was blowing against us.

⁵ We crossed the sea by the countries of Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we reached the city of Myra in Lycia.

⁶ There the officer found a boat from the city of Alexandria going to the country of Italy. So he put us on that boat.

⁷ We went slowly for many days. And after much trouble, we reached the city of Cnidus. The wind was blowing hard against us. We could not go on. So we went around the south side of the island of Crete, past Cape Salmone.

⁸ We had trouble going along near the coast, but at last we came to a place called Fair Havens. This was near the town of Lasea.

⁹ It was now so late in the year that it was a bad time to go by boat. So Paul spoke to them about it.

¹⁰ He said, `Sirs, I see that if we go on by boat, we will have much trouble. Something bad will happen to the things on the boat and to the boat itself, and also to us.'

¹¹ The officer did not listen to what Paul said. But he listened to the captain and the owner of the boat.

¹² This place was not a good place for the boat to stay through the winter months of the year. So most of the men wanted to go on. They thought they might be able to reach Phoenicia and stay there for the winter. Phoenicia is a good place on the island of Crete. Boats can stay there. The winds do not blow against them.

¹³ When the south wind began to blow a little, they thought they had what they wanted. So they started off. They went along very close to the land of Crete.

¹⁴ But soon a very strong north-east wind blew from Crete.

¹⁵ The wind blew against the boat and it could not go into the wind. So they let the boat go where the wind took it.

¹⁶ We came close to a small island called Clauda. There we had a hard time to pull up the small boat.

¹⁷ However, at last they got it up. Then they put ropes around the boat to make it strong. They were also afraid they would get stuck in a bad place in the sand. So they took down the big sail cloth that was up to catch the wind. Then they let the boat go where the wind took it.

¹⁸ The next day the storm was very bad. They threw out the things that were in the boat.

¹⁹ And the third day they threw off the things they used on the boat, with their own hands.

²⁰ For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The bad storm kept on. We did not think that we would be saved.

²¹ The men of the boat had not eaten anything for a long time. Then Paul stood up and said, `Sirs, you should have listened to me and not left Crete. But you did leave. So you have had much trouble and have lost all these things.

²² Now I tell you to be glad. Not one of you will die. Only the boat will break and be lost.

²³ I belong to God and worship him. Last night his angel stood before me.

²⁴ He said, "Paul, do not be afraid. You must stand before Caesar. And see, God has given you the lives of all these men who are travelling with you."

²⁵ So be glad, sirs. I believe God. It will be just the way he told me.

²⁶ However, we will have to go on an island.'

²⁷ On the fourteenth night we were being blown across the Adrian Sea. About midnight the boatmen thought that we must be near some land.

²⁸ So they tested how deep the water was there. They found that the line went down twenty arm lengths. A little later they tested and found that it was only fifteen arm lengths deep.

²⁹ Then they were afraid that we would hit the rocks. There were four heavy iron hooks called anchors. They let them down into the water at the back end of the boat. Then they wished that morning would come.

³⁰ The boatmen wanted to get off and leave the boat. They even put down the small boat into the water. They said they were going to put more anchors out from the front of the big boat.

³¹ But Paul said to the officer and soldiers, `If these men do not stay on the boat, you cannot be saved.'

³² Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the small boat and let the water carry it away.

³³ When it was almost morning, Paul begged them all to eat. He said, `Today is the fourteenth day that you have been watching and have not eaten anything.

³⁴ So now, I beg you, eat something. You need it to make you strong so you can save yourselves. Not one of you will lose even one hair from your head.'

³⁵ When he had said this, he stood in front of them all. He took some bread and thanked God for it. Then he broke it and began to eat it.

³⁶ Then they all were glad and ate some food themselves.

³⁷ In all, we were 276 people on the boat.

³⁸ They ate all they wanted. Then they threw the grain into the water, so that the boat would not be so heavy.

³⁹ In the morning they saw land. But they did not know what country it was. They saw a sandy place. So they talked it over and thought they would try to get the boat on it.

⁴⁰ They cut off the anchors and left them in the water. At the same time, they untied the wood that guided the boat. They put up the big sail to catch the wind and tried to get the boat onto that sandy place.

⁴¹ But they came to a place where there was sand under the water. The boat stuck in it. The front end stuck so badly that they could not make it go. The back end began to break up because the water beat it so hard.

⁴² The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners so that none of them would swim to land and run away.

⁴³ But the officer wanted to save Paul, so he stopped the soldiers. He told the people, `Those of you who can swim, jump into the water first and get to the land.

⁴⁴ Then the rest of you jump in and go on planks and other pieces of the boat.' So in this way they all got to the land safely.

28 When we were safe on land, we found that the island we were on was called Malta.

² The people there were very kind to us. They made a fire for us and took care of us. It was cold and raining.

³ Paul gathered some sticks of wood. He put them on the fire. A bad snake came out of the heat and hung onto his hand.

⁴ The people of Malta saw the snake hanging on his hand. `Oh,' they said to each other. `This man has no doubt killed someone. He did not die in the water, but it is not right for him to live.'

⁵ Paul shook the snake off into the fire. It did not hurt him.

⁶ The people thought surely he would swell up or would drop down dead at once. They waited a long time and saw that nothing bad happened to him. Then they said, `We were wrong. He must be a god.'

⁷ The ruler of the island was a man named Publius. He owned some of the land there. He took us to his house for three days and was very kind to us.

⁸ The father of Publius was sick with fever, and blood was coming from his body. Paul went to see him. He talked to God and put his hands on the man. He healed him.

⁹ After this, other sick people on the island came to Paul. And they too were healed.

¹⁰ They gave us many things. When we went away, they put on the boat for us the things that we would need.

¹¹ A boat from the town of Alexandria was at the island all through the winter time. It was marked with a sign of the Twin Brothers. After we had been on the island for three months, we went on that boat.

¹² Then we went to the city of Syracuse and stayed for three days.

¹³ After that we turned the boat along the coast. We reached the town of Rhegium. When we had been there for a day, a south wind began to blow. On the second day we came to the city of Puteoli.

^14-15 here we found some Christian brothers. They asked us to stay with them for seven days. Then we went to Rome. Some of the Christians at Rome had heard about us. They came to places called the Market Place of Appius and the Three Hotels. There they met us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God. It made him strong and glad to see these brothers.

¹⁶ When we came to Rome, Paul was allowed to stay in a house by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

¹⁷ After three days, Paul called for the leaders of the Jews at Rome. When they had come, he said to them, `My brothers, I have done nothing against our people. I have obeyed the laws of our fathers. And yet I was made a prisoner at Jerusalem and was given over to the Romans.

¹⁸ When the Romans judged my case in court, they wanted to let me go free. They said there was no reason to kill me.

¹⁹ But the Jewish leaders did not agree to let me go free, so I had to ask to be brought before Caesar. I did not have anything to say against my people.

²⁰ Now, here is why I have asked to see you and to talk to you. I am a prisoner tied with chains because I believe the same promise the Jews believe.'

²¹ They said to him, `The people of Judea have not written us any letter about you. When our brother Jews have come here, not one of them has told or said anything wrong about you.

²² But we want to hear from you what you think. We know that people everywhere are talking against this Christian group.'

²³ So they chose a certain day. On that day many of them came to the house where Paul was staying. He told them about God's kingdom. He tried to make them understand about Jesus by the things that were written in the law of Moses and in the books of the prophets. He talked from morning until evening.

²⁴ Some of the people were ready to believe what he said, but others did not believe.

²⁵ They did not agree among themselves. So they started to go away. But before they left, Paul said one more thing. `What the Holy Spirit said was right. He spoke to your fathers long ago through Isaiah, the prophet of God.

²⁶ He said, "Go to these people and say, `You will hear but never understand. You will look but never see.

²⁷ The hearts of these people have become hard. They do not hear with their ears. They have shut their eyes. They do not want to see with their eyes. They do not want to hear with their ears. They do not want to understand with their hearts. If they did, they would turn back to me and I would forgive them.' " '

²⁸ Paul said, `Therefore know this. The message that God will save them has been sent to those who were not Jews. They will listen to it.'

²⁹ When Paul had said these words, the Jewish leaders went away. They were talking amongst themselves about these things.

³⁰ Paul stayed in Rome for two whole years in a house he paid money to live in. He was glad to see all who came to him.

³¹ He told them about God's kingdom and taught them about the Lord Jesus Christ. He did this freely without fear. No one stopped him.