When the governor had motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: "Realizing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense.

But when two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

After he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought.

And when Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove.

Then when Festus had conferred with his council, he answered, "You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go."

Now when a few days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus.

When the accusers stood up, they did not charge him of such crimes as I had expected,

but they simply had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive.

But I found that he had done nothing deserving of death; and as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to send him.

And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen:

and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, "This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment."

And Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."

When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.

When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete, off Salmone.

As much time had been lost, and the voyage was now dangerous because the fast had already gone by, Paul advised them,

When a gentle south wind came up, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, close inshore.

After they had hoisted it up, they used supporting cables to undergird the ship; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and in this way let themselves be driven along.

When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss.

But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the lifeboat into the sea, on the pretense of laying out anchors from the bow,

When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea.

When we had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta.

The natives showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold.

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

They waited, expecting him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead; but after they had waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

It happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed sick with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him.

When this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.

After three months we set sail in a ship which had wintered in the island, an Alexandrian ship, with the Twin Brothers as figurehead.

After three days Paul called together the local leaders of the Jews; and when they had gathered, he said to them, "Brethren, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground for putting me to death.

But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesarnot that I had any charge to bring against my own nation.

When they had appointed a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in great numbers. And he explained the matter to them from morning till evening, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets.

When they disagreed among themselves, they began to leave, after Paul had made one final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have some harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

whom God put forward as an atoning sacrifice by his blood, to be received through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over sins committed beforehand;

How then was it reckoned to him? Was it after he had been circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.

And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be reckoned to them.

And he is also the father of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

In hope, he believed against hope, so that he became the father of many nations; as he had been told, "So shall your descendants be."

being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."

But it is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel,

And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our father Isaac,

though the twins were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might stand, not because of works but because of his call,

And as Isaiah said: "Unless the Lord of hosts had left us children, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah."

None of the rulers of this age understood it; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

For who regards you as different? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

You are already filled! You have already become rich! You have become kings without us! And indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you.

I mean, brethren, the appointed time has grown very short; so that from now on, those who have wives should live as though they had none,

and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I had confidence in all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all.

I still had no rest in my mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took my leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.

For even when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turnconflicts on the outside and fears within.

So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, he would also complete in you this work of grace.

As it is written, "He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack."

In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me,

But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, was pleased

I went up because of a revelation; and I set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who were of reputation, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.

But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.

but on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised

Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given which could impart life, then righteousness would indeed have come by the law.

But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave and one by the free woman.

(In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean except that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

for he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was ill.

Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you had no opportunity.

For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,

but after we had already suffered and been shamefully treated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in the face of great opposition.

Having so fond an affection for you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.

so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in wickedness.

He is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his being, and upholds all things by the word of his power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

For we also have had the good news preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had the good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later of another day.

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,

But this man whose genealogy is not derived from them received a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no place sought for a second.

Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary.

The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the holy place had not yet been disclosed as long as the outer tabernacle was still standing.

For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? If the worshipers had once been cleansed, they would no longer have any consciousness of sins.

But when he had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

For you had compassion on the prisoners, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him. For before he was taken he was attested as having pleased God.

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, because she considered him faithful who had promised.

And if they had been thinking of that country from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies.

because God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Besides this, we have had fathers of our flesh to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that it might be plain that none of them were of us.