But I count my life of no value to myself, if only I may complete the course marked out for me, and the task that was allotted me by the Lord Jesus--which was to declare the Good News of the Love of God.

And now, I tell you, I know that none of you will ever see my face again--you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the Kingdom.

Therefore I declare to you this day, that my conscience is clear in regard to the fate of any of you,

I know that, after my departure, merciless wolves will get in among you, who will not spare the flock;

You, yourselves, know that these hands of mine provided not only for my own wants, but for my companions also.

I left nothing undone to show you that, laboring as I labored, you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said himself-- 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Grieving most of all over what he had said--that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.

When we heard that, we and the people of the place began to entreat Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

It was then that Paul made the reply: "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart like this? For my part, I am ready not only to be bound, but even to suffer death at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus."

After greeting them, Paul related in detail all that God had done among the Gentiles through his efforts;

And, when they had heard it, they began praising God, and said to Paul: "You see, Brother, that the Jews who have become believers in Christ may be numbered by tens of thousands, and they are all naturally earnest in upholding the Jewish Law.

Now they have heard it said about you, that you teach all Jews in foreign countries to forsake Moses, for you tell them not to circumcise their children or even to observe Jewish customs.

Join these men, share their purification, and bear their expenses, so that they may shave their heads; and then all will see that there is no truth in what they have been told about you, but that, on the contrary, you yourself rule your life in obedience to the Jewish Law.

As to the Gentiles who have become believers in Christ, we have sent our decision that they should avoid food offered to idols, and blood, and the flesh of strangled animals, and impurity."

(For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in Paul's company in the city, and were under the belief that Paul had taken him into the Temple.)

They were bent upon killing him, when it was reported to the Officer commanding the garrison, that all Jerusalem was in commotion.

When they heard that he was speaking to them in Hebrew, they were still more quiet; and Paul went on:

And to that the High Priest himself and all the Council can testify. For I had letters of introduction from them to our fellow Jews at Damascus, and I was on my way to that place, to bring those whom I might find there prisoners to Jerusalem for punishment.

Then I said 'What am I to do, Lord?' 'Get up and go into Damascus,' The Lord said to me, 'and there you shall be told all that you have been appointed to do.'

In consequence of that dazzling light I could not see, but my companions held me by the hand, till I reached Damascus.

'Lord,' I answered, 'these people know that I used to imprison and scourge, in Synagogue after Synagogue, those who believed in you;

The Commanding Officer ordered Paul to be taken into the Fort, and directed that he should be examined under the lash, that he might find out the reason for their outcry against him.

The men who were to have examined Paul immediately drew back, and the Officer, finding that Paul was a Roman citizen, was alarmed at having put him in chains.

The people standing near said to Paul: "Do you know that you are insulting God's High Priest?"

"I did not know, Brothers, that it was the High Priest," said Paul, "for Scripture says--'Of the Ruler of thy People thou shalt speak no ill'."

Noticing that some of those present were Sadducees and others Pharisees, Paul called out in the Council: "Brothers, I am a Pharisee and a son of Pharisees. It is on the question of hope for the dead and of their resurrection that I am on my trial."

(For Sadducees say there is no such thing as a resurrection, and that there is neither angel nor spirit, while Pharisees believe in both.)

The dispute was becoming so violent, that the Commanding Officer, fearing that Paul would be torn in pieces between them, ordered the Guard to go down and rescue him from them, and take him into the Fort.

That night the Lord came and stood by Paul, and said: "Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem and you must bear witness in Rome also."

In the morning the Jews combined together, and took an oath that they would not eat or drink till they had killed Paul.

There were more than forty in the plot;

So we want you now, with the consent of the Council, to suggest to the Commanding Officer that he should bring Paul down before you, as though you intended to go more fully into his case; but, before he comes here, we will be ready to make away with him."

But do not let them persuade you, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him, who have taken an oath that they will not eat or drink, till they have made away with him; and they are at this very moment in readiness, counting upon your promise."

The Commanding Officer then dismissed the lad, cautioning him not to mention to anybody that he had given him that information.

Then he called two Captains, and ordered them to have two hundred men ready to go to Caesarea, as well as seventy troopers and two hundred lancers, by nine o'clock that night,

And to have horses ready for Paul to ride, so that they might take him safely to Felix, the Governor.

The man whom I send with this had been seized by the Jews, and was on the point of being killed by them, when I came upon them with the force under my command, and rescued him, as I learned that he was a Roman citizen.

When I found that their charges were connected with questions of their own Law, and that there was nothing alleged involving either death or imprisonment.

As soon as Felix had read the letter, he enquired to what province Paul belonged, and, learning that he came from Cilicia, he said:

"We owe it to your Excellency," he said, "that we are enjoying profound peace, and we owe it to your foresight that this nation is constantly securing reforms--advantages which we very gratefully accept at all times and places.

On a sign from the Governor, Paul made this reply: "Knowing, as I do, for how many years you have acted as Judge to this nation, it is with confidence that I undertake my own defense.

For you can easily ascertain that it is not more than twelve days ago that I went up to worship at Jerusalem,

This, however, I do acknowledge to you, that it is as a believer in the Cause which they call heretical, that I worship the God of my ancestors. At the same time, I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the prophets;

And I have a hope that rests in God--a hope which they also cherish--that there will one day be a resurrection of good and bad alike.

And it was while engaged in this that they found me in the Temple, after completing a period of purification, but not with any crowd or disorder.

There were, however, some Jews from Roman Asia who ought to have been here before you, and to have made any charge that they may have against me--

Except as to the one sentence that I shouted out as I stood among them--'It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on my trial before you to-day'."

Felix, however, adjourned the case--though he had a fairly accurate knowledge of all that concerned the Cause--with the promise: "When Lysias, the commanding Officer, comes down, I will give my decision in your case."

But Festus answered that Paul was in prison at Caesarea, and that he himself would be leaving for that place shortly.

Upon that, Festus, after conferring with his Council, answered: "You have appealed to the Emperor; to the Emperor you shall go."

My answer to them was, that it was not the practice of Romans to give up any man to his accusers till the accused had met them face to face, and had also had an opportunity of answering the charges brought against him.

But I found that there were certain questions in dispute between them about their own religion, and about some dead man called Jesus, whom Paul declared to be alive.

Then Festus said: "King Agrippa, and all here present, you see before you the man about whom the whole Jewish people have applied to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly asserting that he ought not to be allowed to live.

I found, however, that he had not done anything deserving death; so, as he had himself appealed to his August Majesty, I decided to send him.

But I have nothing definite to write about him to my Imperial Master; and for that reason I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, that, after examining him, I may have something to write.

"I have been congratulating myself, King Agrippa," he said, "that it is before you that I have to make my defense to-day, with regard to all the charges brought against me by Jews,

And they have always known--if they choose to give evidence- -that, in accordance with the very strictest form of our religion, I lived a true Pharisee.

Even now, it is because of my hope in the promise given by God to our ancestors that I stand here on my trial--

A promise which our Twelve Tribes, by earnest service night and day, hope to see fulfilled. It is for this hope, your Majesty, that I am accused--and by Jews themselves!

Why do you all hold it incredible that God should raise the dead?

Time after time, in every Synagogue, I tried by punishments to force them to blaspheme. So frantic was I against them, that I pursued them even to towns beyond our borders.

That at mid-day, your Majesty, I saw right in my path, coming from the heavens, a light brighter than the glare of the sun, which shone all round me and those traveling with me.

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God; so that they may receive pardon for their sins, and a place among those who have become God's People, by faith in me.'

After that, King Agrippa, I did not fail to obey the heavenly vision;

On the contrary, first to those at Damascus and Jerusalem, and then through the whole of Judea, and to the Gentiles as well, I began to preach repentance and conversion to God, and a life befitting that repentance.

That the Christ must suffer, and that, by rising from the dead, he was destined to be the first to bring news of Light, not only to our nation, but also to the Gentiles."

"I am not mad, your Excellency," he replied; "on the contrary, the statements that I am making are true and sober.

Indeed, the King knows about these matters, so I speak before him without constraint. I am sure that there is nothing whatever of what I have been telling him that has escaped his attention; for all this has not been done in a corner.

"Whether it is soon or late," answered Paul, "I would to God that not only you, but all who are listening to me, might to-day become just what I am myself--except for these chains!"

As it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were put in charge of a Captain of the Augustan Guard, named Julius.

For several days our progress was slow, and it was only with difficulty that we arrived off Cnidus. As the wind was still unfavorable when we came off Cape Salmone, we sailed under the lee of Crete,

"My friends," he said, "I see that this voyage will be attended with injury and much damage, not only to the cargo and the ship, but to our own lives also."

The Roman Officer, however, was more influenced by the captain and the owner than by what was said by Paul.

So, when a light wind sprang up from the south, thinking that they had found their opportunity, they weighed anchor and kept along the coast of Crete, close in shore.

So violently were we tossed about by the storm, that the next day they began throwing the cargo overboard,

It was then, when they had gone a long time without food, that Paul came forward, and said: "My friends, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and so incurred this injury and damage.

Therefore, courage, my friends! for I believe God, that everything will happen exactly as I have been told.

It was now the fourteenth night of the storm, and we were drifting about in the Adriatic Sea, when, about midnight, the sailors began to suspect that they were drawing near land.

Upon that the soldiers cut the ropes which held the boat, and let her drift away.

In the interval before daybreak Paul kept urging them all to take something to eat. "It is a fortnight to-day," he said, "that, owing to your anxiety, you have gone without food, taking nothing.

The advice of the soldiers was that the prisoners should be killed, for fear that any of them should swim away and make their escape.

But the Roman Officer, anxious to save Paul, prevented their carrying out their intention, and ordered that those who could swim should be the first to jump into the sea and try to reach the shore;

And that the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on different pieces of the ship. In these various ways every one managed to get safely ashore.

When we were all safe, we found that the island was called Malta.

The natives were expecting inflammation to set in, or that he would suddenly fall dead; but, after waiting for a long time, and seeing that there was nothing amiss with him, they changed their minds and said that he was a God.

In that neighborhood there was an estate belonging to the Governor of the island, whose name was Publius. He took us up to his house, and for three days entertained us most courteously.

It happened that the father of Publius was lying ill of fever and dysentery. So Paul went to see him; and, after praying, he placed his hands on him and cured him.

After three months, we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island. She was an Alexandrian vessel, and had the Twin Sons of Zeus for her figure-head.

But, as the Jews opposed my release, I was compelled to appeal to the Emperor--not, indeed, that I had any charge to make against my own nation.

This, then, is my reason for urging you to come to see me and talk with me; because it is for the sake of the Hope of Israel that I am here in chains."

But we shall be glad to hear from you what your views are, for, with regard to this sect, we are well aware that it is spoken against on all sides."

Understand, then, that this Salvation of God was sent for the Gentiles; and they will listen."

Asking that, if he be willing, I may some day at last find the way open to visit you.

Or rather that both you and I may find encouragement in each other's faith.

I want you to know, Brothers, that I have many times intended coming to see you-but until now I have been prevented-that I might find among you some fruit of my labors, as I have already among the other nations.

For ever since the creation of the universe God's invisible attributes-his everlasting power and divinity-are to be seen and studied in his works, so that men have no excuse;

For they had substituted a lie for the truth about God, and had reverenced and worshiped created things more than the Creator, who is to be praised for ever. Amen.

That, I say, is why God abandoned them to degrading passions. Even the women among them perverted the natural use of their bodies to the unnatural;

While the men, disregarding that for which women were intended by nature, were consumed with passion for one another. Men indulged in vile practices with men, and incurred in their own persons the inevitable penalty for their perverseness.

Then, as they would not keep God before their minds, God abandoned them to depraved thoughts, so that they did all kinds of shameful things.