I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia by birth, but I had my education in this town at the feet of Gamaliel, being trained in the keeping of every detail of the law of our fathers; given up to the cause of God with all my heart, as you are today.

And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.

And they gave him a hearing as far as this word; then with loud voices they said, Away with this man from the earth; it is not right for him to be living.

And hearing this, the man went to the chief captain and gave him an account of it, saying, What are you about to do? for this man is a Roman.

And Paul, looking fixedly at the Sanhedrin, said, My brothers, my life has been upright before God till this day.

And when he had said this, there was an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and a division in the meeting.

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 more than forty of them took this oath.

And Paul sent for a captain and said, Take this young man to your chief, for he has news for him.

So he took him to the chief captain and said, Paul, the prisoner, made a request to me to take this young man to you, for he has something to say to you.

And he said, The Jews are in agreement together to make a request to you for Paul to be taken, on the day after this, into the Sanhedrin, to be questioned in greater detail.

This man was taken by the Jews, and was about to be put to death by them, when I came on them with the army and took him out of danger, having knowledge that he was a Roman.

And when he had been sent for, Tertullus, starting his statement, said, Because by you we are living in peace, and through your wisdom wrongs are put right for this nation,

For this man, in our opinion, is a cause of trouble, a maker of attacks on the government among Jews through all the empire, and a chief mover in the society of the Nazarenes:

Then when the ruler had given him a sign to make his answer, Paul said, Because I have knowledge that you have been a judge over this nation for a number of years, I am glad to make my answer:

But this I will say openly to you, that I do give worship to the God of our fathers after that Way, which to them is not the true religion: but I have belief in all the things which are in the law and in the books of the prophets:

And in this, I do my best at all times to have no reason for shame before God or men.

But only this one thing which I said among them in a loud voice, I am this day being judged on the question of the coming back from the dead.

And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all those who are present here with us, you see this man, about whom all the Jews have made protests to me, at Jerusalem and in this place, saying that it is not right for him to be living any longer.

For the effecting of which our twelve tribes have been working and waiting night and day with all their hearts. And in connection with this hope I am attacked by the Jews, O king!

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.

But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me;

For this reason, the Jews took me in the Temple, and made an attempt to put me to death.

For the king has knowledge of these things, to whom I am talking freely; being certain that all this is common knowledge to him; for it has not been done in secret.

And when they had gone away they said to one another, This man has done nothing which might give cause for death or prison.

And Agrippa said to Festus, This man might have been made free, if he had not put his cause before Caesar.

Saying, Friends, I see that this journey will be one of great damage and loss, not only to the goods and the ship, but to ourselves.

And when they had been without food for a long time, Paul got up among them and said, Friends, it would have been better if you had given attention to me and not gone sailing out from Crete, to undergo this damage and loss.

For this night there came to my side an angel of the God who is my Master and whose servant I am,

And when dawn was near, Paul gave them all orders to take food, saying, This is the fourteenth day you have been waiting and taking no food.

So I make request to you to take food; for this is for your salvation: not a hair from the head of any of you will come to destruction.

And when he had said this and had taken bread, he gave praise to God before them all, and took a meal of the broken bread.

And when the people saw it hanging on his hand, they said to one another, Without doubt this man has put someone to death, and though he has got safely away from the sea, God will not let him go on living.

And when this took place, all the others in the island who had diseases came and were made well.

But for this reason I sent for you, to see and have talk with you: for because of the hope of Israel I am in these chains.

But we have a desire to give hearing to your opinion: for as to this form of religion, we have knowledge that in all places it is attacked.

And they went away, for there was a division among them after Paul had said this one thing: Well did the Holy Spirit say by the prophet Isaiah to your fathers,

Go to this people and say, Though you give ear, you will not get knowledge; and seeing, you will see, but the sense will not be clear to you:

For the heart of this people has become fat and their ears are slow in hearing and their eyes are shut; for fear that they might see with their eyes and give hearing with their ears and become wise in their hearts and be turned again to me, so that I might make them well.

For this reason God gave them up to the evil desires of their hearts, working shame in their bodies with one another:

For this reason God gave them up to evil passions, and their women were changing the natural use into one which is unnatural:

For this reason, then, a man may get righteousness by faith without the works of the law.

Is this blessing, then, for the circumcision only, or in the same way for those who have not circumcision? for we say that the faith of Abraham was put to his account as righteousness.

For this reason it is of faith, so that it may be through grace; and so that the word of God may be certain to all the seed; not only to that which is of the law, but to that which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

Now, it was not because of him only that this was said,

Through whom, in the same way, we have been able by faith to come to this grace in which we now are; and let us have joy in hope of the glory of God.

For this reason, as through one man sin came into the world, and death because of sin, and so death came to all men, because all have done evil:

For this cause do not let sin be ruling in your body which is under the power of death, so that you give way to its desires;

How unhappy am I! who will make me free from the body of this death?

For this cause those who are in Christ Jesus will not be judged as sinners.

I am of the opinion that there is no comparison between the pain of this present time and the glory which we will see in the future.

For this is the word of God's undertaking, At this time will I come, and Sarah will have a son.

For the holy Writings say to Pharaoh, For this same purpose did I put you on high, so that I might make my power seen in you, and that there might be knowledge of my name through all the earth.

In the same way, there are at this present time some who are marked out by the selection of grace.

As it was said in the holy Writings, God gave them a spirit of sleep, eyes which might not see, and ears which have no hearing, to this day.

For it is my desire, brothers, that this secret may be clear to you, so that you may not have pride in your knowledge, that Israel has been made hard in part, till all the Gentiles have come in;

And this is my agreement with them, when I will take away their sins.

For this reason I make request to you, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you will give your bodies as a living offering, holy, pleasing to God, which is the worship it is right for you to give him.

And let not your behaviour be like that of this world, but be changed and made new in mind, so that by experience you may have knowledge of the good and pleasing and complete purpose of God.

And this, Do not be untrue in married life, Do not put to death, Do not take what is another's, Do not have desire for what is another's, and if there is any other order, it is covered by this word, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself.

This man puts one day before another: to that man they are the same. Let every man be certain in his mind.

And for this purpose Christ went into death and came back again, that he might be the Lord of the dead and of the living.

Then let us not be judges of one another any longer: but keep this in mind, that no man is to make it hard for his brother, or give him cause for doubting.

I am conscious of this, and am certain in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself; but for the man in whose opinion it is unclean, for him it is unclean.

And so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercy; as it is said, For this reason I will give praise to you among the Gentiles, and I will make a song to your name.

So when I have done this, and have given them this fruit of love, I will go on by you into Spain.

For all have knowledge of how you do what you are ordered. For this reason I have joy in you, but it is my desire that you may be wise in what is good, and without knowledge of evil.

I, Tertius, who have done the writing of this letter, send love in the Lord.

Where is the wise? where is he who has knowledge of the law? where is the man of this world who has a love of discussion? has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

But God made selection of the foolish things of this world so that he might put the wise to shame; and the feeble things that he might put to shame the strong;

But still we have wisdom for those who are complete in knowledge, though not the wisdom of this world, and not of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing:

Of which not one of the rulers of this world had knowledge: for if they had, they would not have put the Lord of glory on the cross:

For the wisdom of this world is foolish before God. As it is said in the holy Writings, He who takes the wise in their secret designs:

For I am not conscious of any wrong in myself; but this does not make me clear, for it is the Lord who is my judge.

For this reason let there be no judging before the time, till the Lord comes, who will make clear the secret things of the dark, and the designs of the heart; and then will every man have his praise from God.

Even to this hour we are without food, drink, and clothing, we are given blows and have no certain resting-place;

For this cause I have sent Timothy to you, who is my dear and true child in the Lord; he will make clear to you my ways in Christ, even as I am teaching everywhere in every church.

And in place of feeling sorrow, you are pleased with yourselves, so that he who has done this thing has not been sent away from among you.

For I myself, being present in spirit though not in body, have come to a decision about him who has done this thing;

That this man is to be handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may have forgiveness in the day of the Lord Jesus.

This pride of yours is not good. Do you not see that a little leaven makes a change in all the mass?

Is it not certain that we are to be the judges of angels? how much more then of the things of this life?

If then there are questions to be judged in connection with the things of this life, why do you put them in the hands of those who have no position in the church?

I say this to put you to shame. Is there not among you one wise man who may be able to give a decision between his brothers?

More than this, it is not to your credit to have causes at law with one another at all. Why not put up with wrong? why not undergo loss?

So far from doing this, you yourselves do wrong and take your brothers' property.

Have you not knowledge that evil-doers will have no part in the kingdom of God? Have no false ideas about this: no one who goes after the desires of the flesh, or gives worship to images, or is untrue when married, or is less than a man, or makes a wrong use of men,

But this I say as my opinion, and not as an order of the Lord.

It is my desire that all men might be even as I am. But every man has the power of his special way of life given him by God, one in this way and one in that.

But I say this, my brothers, the time is short; and from now it will be wise for those who have wives to be as if they had them not;

And for those who make use of the world, not to be using it fully; for this world's way of life will quickly come to an end.

But the married man gives his attention to the things of this world, how he may give pleasure to his wife.

Now I say this for your profit; not to make things hard for you, but because of what is right, and so that you may be able to give all your attention to the things of the Lord.

But take care that this power of yours does not give cause for trouble to the feeble.

And in this way, doing evil to the brothers, and causing trouble to those whose faith is feeble, you are sinning against Christ.

For this reason, if food is a cause of trouble to my brother, I will give up taking meat for ever, so that I may not be a cause of trouble to my brother.

My answer to those who are judging me is this.

If we have been planting the things of the Spirit for you, does it seem a great thing for you to give us a part in your things of this world?

If others have a part in this right over you, have we not even more? But we did not make use of our right, so that we might put nothing in the way of the good news of Christ.

But I have not made use of any of these things: and I am not writing this in the hope that it may be so for me: for it would be better for me to undergo death, than for any man to make this pride of mine of no effect.