He answered, "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to-morrow to the Sanhedrin, on the plea that they propose to examine his case in detail.

Horses were also to be provided, on which they were to mount Paul and carry him safe to Felix the governor.

The soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

They reached Caesarea, presented the letter to the governor, and also handed Paul over to him.

Five days later down came the high priest Ananias with some elders and a barrister called Tertullus. They laid information before the governor against Paul.

So Paul was summoned, and then Tertullus proceeded to accuse him. "Your excellency," he said to Felix, "as it is owing to you that we enjoy unbroken peace, and as it is owing to your wise care that the state of this nation has been improved in every way and everywhere,

Then at a nod from the governor Paul made his reply. "As I know you have administered justice in this nation for a number of years," he said, "I feel encouraged to make my defence,

As Felix had a pretty accurate knowledge of the Way, he remanded Paul, telling the Jews, "When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case."

He gave orders to the officer to have Paul kept in custody but to allow him some freedom and not to prevent any of his own people from rendering him any service.

Some days later Felix arrived with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and heard what he had to say about faith in Christ Jesus;

(though at the same time he hoped Paul would give him a bribe). So he did send for him pretty frequently and conversed with him.

But when two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and as Felix wanted to ingratiate himself with the Jews, he left Paul still in custody.

The high priests and the Jewish leaders laid information before him against Paul, and begged him,

Festus replied that Paul would be kept in custody at Caesarea, but that he himself meant to leave for Caesarea before long ??5 "when," he added, "your competent authorities can come down with me and charge the man with whatever crime he has committed."

After staying not more than eight or ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea. Next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought before him.

Paul's defence was, "I have committed no offence against the Law of the Jews, against the temple, or against Caesar."

As Festus wanted to ingratiate himself with the Jews, he asked Paul, "Will you go up to Jerusalem and be tried there by me upon these charges?"

Paul said, "I am standing before Caesar's tribunal; that is where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong whatever to the Jews ??you know that perfectly well.

As they were spending several days there, Festus laid Paul's case before the king. "There is a man," he said, "who was left in prison by Felix.

The questions at issue referred to their own religion and to a certain Jesus who had died. Paul said he was alive.

But Paul entered an appeal for his case to be reserved for the decision of the emperor; so I ordered him to be detained till I could remit him to Caesar."

So next day Agrippa and Bernice proceeded with great pomp to the hall of audience, accompanied by the military commanders and the prominent civilians of the town. Festus then ordered Paul to be brought in.

Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have our permission to speak upon your own behalf." At this Paul stretched out his hand and began his defence.

When he brought this forward in his defence, Festus called out, "Paul, you are quite mad! Your great learning is driving you insane."

"Your excellency," said Paul to Festus, "I am not mad, I am speaking the sober truth.

"Long or short," said Paul, "I would to God that not only you but all my hearers to-day could be what I am ??barring these chains!"

When it was decided we were to sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to an officer of the Imperial regiment called Julius.

Next day we put in at Sidon, where Julius very kindly allowed Paul to visit his friends and be looked after.

By this time it was far on in the season and sailing had become dangerous (for the autumn Fast was past), so Paul warned them thus:

However the officer let himself be persuaded by the captain and the owner rather than by anything Paul could say,

When they had gone without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and spared yourselves this hardship and loss by refusing to set sail from Crete.

saying, 'Have no fear, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And God has granted you the lives of all your fellow-voyagers.'

when Paul said to the officer and the soldiers, "You cannot be saved unless these men stay by the ship."

Just before daybreak Paul begged them all to take some food. "For fourteen days," he said, "you have been on the watch all the time, without a proper meal.

but as the officer wanted to save Paul, he put a stop to their plan, ordering those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,

Now Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, when a viper crawled out with the heat and fastened on his hand.

His father, it so happened, was laid up with fever and dysentery, but Paul went in to see him and after prayer laid his hands on him and cured him.

As the local brothers had heard about us, they came out to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Tres Tabernae, and when Paul saw them he thanked God and took courage.

When we did reach Rome, Paul got permission to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

As they could not agree among themselves, they were turning to go away, when Paul added this one word: "It was an apt word that the holy Spirit spoke by the prophet Isaiah to your fathers,

PAUL, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God

PAUL, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, with brother Sosthenes,

By 'quarrelling' I mean that each of you has his party-cry, "I belong to Paul," "And I to Apollos," "And I to Cephas," "And I to Christ."

Has Christ been parcelled out? Was it Paul who was crucified for you? Was it in Paul's name that you were baptized?

When one cries, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," what are you but men of the world?

Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are simply used by God to give you faith, each as the Lord assigns his task.

Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life, death, the present and the future ??all belongs to you;

I Paul write this salutation with my own hand.

PAUL an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and brother Timotheus, to the church of God at Corinth as well as to all the saints throughout the whole of Achaia:

I appeal to you myself by the gentleness and consideration of Christ ??the Paul who is 'humble enough to your face when he is with you, but outspoken enough when he gets away from you.'

My opponent says, 'Paul's letters are weighty and telling, but his personality is weak and his delivery is beneath contempt.'

PAUL an apostle ??not appointed by men nor commissioned by any man but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead, ??2 with all the brothers who are beside me, to the churches of Galatia;

Here, listen to Paul! I tell you, if you get circumcised, Christ will be no use to you.

PAUL, by the will of God an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the saints who are faithful in Jesus Christ:

For this reason I Paul, I whom Jesus has made a prisoner for the sake of you Gentiles ??2 for surely you have heard how the grace of God which was vouchsafed me in your interests has ordered it,

PAUL and Timotheus, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, as well as to the bishops and deacons:

Paul, by God's will an apostle of Christ Jesus, and brother Timotheus,

so as to set you consecrated and unblemished and irreproachable in his presence ??23 that is, if you adhere to the foundations and stability of the faith, instead of moving away from the hope you have learned in the gospel, that gospel which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I Paul was made a minister.

This salutation is in my own hand, from Paul. 'Remember I am in prison. Grace be with you.'

Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace and peace to you.

(We did want to reach you ??I did, I Paul, more than once ??but Satan stopped us.)

PAUL and Silvanus and Timotheus, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

The salutation is in my own hand, Paul's; that is a mark in every letter of mine. This is how I write.

Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Saviour and Christ Jesus our Hope,

Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God in the service of the Life he has promised in Christ Jesus ??2 to his beloved son Timotheus: grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and for their knowledge of the Truth that goes with a religious life,

Paul a prisoner of Christ Jesus and brother Timotheus, to our beloved fellow-worker Philemon,

I prefer to appeal to you on the ground of love. Well then, as Paul the old man, who now-a-days is a prisoner for Christ Jesus,

This is in my own handwriting: 'I Paul promise to refund it' ??not to mention that you owe me, over and above, your very soul.

And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord means salvation; as indeed our beloved brother Paul has written to you out of the wisdom vouchsafed to him,