And I persecuted this 'Way' [even to the point of] putting people to death. [I had] both men and women bound [in chains] and locked up in prisons.

as the high priest and the whole council will bear me witness. Indeed, I had received letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on the way there to bind those who were there and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.

And when I was on the way and had come nigh to Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me,

but as I had lost the use of my eyes by the splendor of that light, I was led by the hand to Damascus, by those who were with me.

And one Ananias, a devout observer of the law, who had a good character from all the Jews that dwelt there,

After I had come back to Jerusalem, one day while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance,

And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you:

Till that word, the Jews had given their attention, but then they broke out into a full cry, "out of the world with such a fellow: for it is not fit he should live."

But when they had tied him for the flogging, Paul asked the captain who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman, and one who is uncondemned at that?"

And the chief captain said, I got Roman rights for myself at a great price. And Paul said, But I had them by birth.

Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

The next day, as he wished to learn the exact reason why the Jews accused him, he had him unbound, and ordered the high priest and the whole council to assemble, and took Paul down and brought him before them.

And Paul said, I had not observed, brethren, that he was high-priest: for it is written, "Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people."

And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.

And there was a great outcry: and some of the scribes on the side of the Pharisees got up and took part in the discussion, saying, We see no evil in this man: what if he has had a revelation from an angel or a spirit?

And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.

But Paul's sister's son had word of their design, and he came into the army building and gave news of it to Paul.

Paul called one of the Captains of the garrison and asked him to take the lad to the Commanding Officer, as he had something to tell him.

then the tribune taking him by the hand, retir'd with him in private, and ask'd, what he had to say.

So the colonel sent the young man away, with strict directions not to tell anybody that he had notified him of this plot.

{He wrote} a letter that had this form:

This man had been seized by the Jews and they were on the point of killing him when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, because I had learned that he was a Roman citizen.

I wanted to know the exact charge they were making against him, so I had him brought before their Council.

and I found he was accused about questions of their law, but had no charge against him deserving death or bonds.

And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.

So the soldiers took Paul, as they had been ordered to do, and brought him by night as far as Antipatris.

And when they came to Caesarea, and had delivered the letter to the procurator, they also presented Paul to him.

And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia;

When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus opened the prosecution by saying:

who also attempted to profane the temple; whom we also had seized, and would have judged according to our law;

Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:

After some years' absence I had come to bring charitable gifts to my nation, and to make offerings;

While I was performing these duties they found me just as I had completed the rites of my purification in the temple; however, there was no crowd with me and no disturbance at all.

Who ought to have been here before thee, and object, if they had ought against me.

Then Felix, who had a fairly clear conception of the principles involved in The Way, adjourned the trial, saying to the Jews, "When Lysias, the colonel, comes down here, I will carefully look into your case."

And he gave orders to the captain to keep Paul under his control, and to let him have everything he had need of; and not to keep his friends from coming to see him.

Some days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was herself a Jewess, and, sending for Paul, listened to what he had to say about faith in Christ Jesus.

And while he was talking about righteousness and self-control and the judging which was to come, Felix had great fear and said, Go away for the present, and when the right time comes I will send for you.

Indeed he had also entertained hope that money would be given him by Paul, in order to release him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and conversed with him.

After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. Since Felix wanted to do the Jews a favor, he left Paul in prison.

Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.

And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought.

When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him, and continued to bring a number of serious charges against him, none of which they could prove.

as long as he answered for himself, that he had neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar offended anything at all.

Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go.

After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to welcome Festus.

And when they had been there many days, Festus declared Paul's cause unto the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by Felix:

I answered them that it was not the Roman custom to give up anyone for punishment until the accused met his accusers face to face and had an opportunity to defend himself against their accusations.

Therefore, [when] they had assembled here, made no delay; on the next [day] I sat down on the judgment seat [and] gave orders [for] the man to be brought.

But when his accusers appeared before me, they did not charge him with the crimes of which I had been suspecting him.

But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

And as I had not enough knowledge for the discussion of these things, I made the suggestion to him to go to Jerusalem and be judged there.

But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I might send him to Caesar.

Agrippa said to Festus, "I had been wanting to hear this man's testimony myself." [Festus replied], "Tomorrow you will [have the opportunity to] hear him."

So on the day after, when Agrippa and Bernice in great glory had come into the public place of hearing, with the chief of the army and the chief men of the town, at the order of Festus, Paul was sent for.

But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.

Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write.

"Now all the Jews know my manner of life from [my] youth, that had taken place from the beginning among my [own] people and in Jerusalem,

They had previously known me for quite some time, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I lived as a Pharisee.

“So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

And this I did in Jerusalem: and numbers of the saints I put in prison, having had authority given to me from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my decision against them.

I had them punished and tried to force them to use abusive language; in my extreme fury against them I continued to pursue them even into distant towns.

and when we had all fallen on the earth, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? it is hard for you to kick against the goads.

But get up and stand upright; for I have appeared to you in order to appoint you a servant and a witness of those revelations of me which you have already had, and of those in which I shall yet appear to you,

I've had help from God to this day, and so I stand here to testify to both the powerful and the lowly alike, stating only what the prophets and Moses said would happen

And when Paul had said these words, Festus said with a loud voice, You are mad, Paul; much learning has driven you to madness.

And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:

and when they had withdrawn, they spake one to another, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.

And when the decision had been made that we were to go by sea to Italy, they gave Paul and certain other prisoners into the care of a captain named Julius, of the Augustan band.

We went on board an Adramyttian ship bound for the ports of Asia, and put to sea. We had a Macedonian from Thessalonica, named Aristarchus, with us.

And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.

And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.

And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone;

After considerable time had gone by, and navigation had become dangerous, and the fast was now over, Paul began to warn them

But the officer was more influenced by the pilot and the captain than by what Paul had to say,

And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.

The ship was caught by it and was unable to keep her head to the wind, so we had to give way and let her drive before it.

And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat:

Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.

As we were being terribly battered by the storm, they had to jettison the cargo next day,

So when neither sun nor stars had appeared for many days, and no small tempest beating on us, all hope of our being preserved was entirely taken from us.

After they had gone a long time without any food, then Paul got up among them and said: "Men, you ought to have listened to me and not to have sailed from Crete, and you would have escaped this disaster and loss.

And when the fourteenth night had come, [as] we were being driven in the Adriatic Sea about the middle of the night, the sailors suspected {they were approaching some land}.

And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.

And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship,

And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

Everyone was encouraged and had something to eat.

And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.

When day broke, they could not recognize the land, but they spied a bay that had a beach, and determined, if possible, to run the ship ashore.

And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore.

But they chanced on a place, which had the sea on both the sides, and thrust in the ship. And the fore part stuck fast, and moved not, but the hinder part brake with the violence of the waves.

The soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners: lest any of them, when he had swum out, should flee away.

But the captain, desiring to keep Paul safe, kept them from their purpose, and gave orders that those who had knowledge of swimming were to go off the ship and get first to land:

After we had been rescued, we learned that the island was called Malta.

The people who lived there were unusually kind to us. It had started to rain and was cold, so they started a bonfire and invited us to join them around it.

And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

In the same quarters, the chief man of the isle whose name was Publius, had a lordship: the same received us, and lodged us three days courteously.