So, the soldiers took charge of Paul and took him at night to Antipatris [Note: This was a town on the road between Jerusalem and Caesarea] as they were ordered.

Five days after this, Ananias the High Priest came down to Caesarea with a number of Elders and a pleader called Tertullus. They stated to the Governor the case against Paul.

And, when he was called, Tertullus began to make accusation, saying - Seeing that, great peace, we are obtaining through thee, and that, reforms, are being brought about for this nation through thy forethought,

Both in every [way] and everywhere we acknowledge [this], most excellent Felix, with all gratitude.

But, not wanting to prolong matters for you, I urge you to give consideration to this brief account [of the problem we face].

For, finding this man a pest, and moving sedition with all the Jews that are throughout the inhabited earth, a leader also of the sect of the Nazarenes, -

[This verse is not in the majority of the Greek manuscripts.]

You, however, by examining him, will yourself be able to learn the truth as to all this which we allege against him."

this the Jews confirm'd by declaring it was all fact.

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:

"Since I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I am pleased to present my defense. You can verify for yourself that I went up to worship in Jerusalem no more than twelve days ago.

Nor can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. But this I confess unto thee,

But I confess, this, unto thee, - That, according to the Way which they call a Sect, so, I am rendering divine service unto my father's God, believing in all the things which, throughout the law, and those which, in the prophets, are written:

and in this I do exercise myself, to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men always.

and while I was doing this, some Jews from Asia found me ritually purified in the temple, without a crowd and without any uproar.

unless concerning this one voice, wherewith I cried aloud among them, as I stood - Concerning the raising of the dead, am, I, to be judged, this day, by you.

Then Felix adjourn'd them, saying, I shall inform myself more particularly of this sect, and when general Lysias comes, I will give you a full hearing.

Not long after this, Felix came with Drusilla his wife, a Jewess, and sending for Paul, listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.

And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

At the same time he was also hoping that money would be given to him by Paul. For this reason he sent for him quite often and conversed with him.

“Therefore,” he said, “let the men of authority among you go down with me and accuse him, if there is any wrong in this man.”

to this he answer'd, "I have not been guilty of any misdemeanour, either against the law, or against the temple, or against Cesar."

upon this, Festus having deliberated with his council, answer'd, "since you have appeal'd to Cesar, to Cesar you shall go."

After a number of days King Agrippa [Note: This man was the great grandson of Herod the Great. See Matt. 2:1] and [his wife] Bernice arrived at Caesarea and came to greet Festus.

While they stayed there [with him] for many days, Festus discussed Paul's case with the king, saying, "There is this man [named Paul] who was left in custody by Felix.

Then they, having come together to this place, making no delay, immediately sitting on the judgment-seat, I commanded that the man should be led forth;

and I, doubting in regard to the question concerning this, said, If he would wish to go on to Jerusalem, and there to be judged concerning these things --

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."

And Festus saith - King Agrippa! and all ye men, here present with us: Ye observe this person, concerning whom, one and all the throng of the Jews, have interceded with me, both in Jerusalem and here, crying aloud that he ought not to be living any longer.

But, I, gathered, that, nothing worthy of death, had he committed; and, this man himself, having appealed unto the Emperor, I decided to send him: -

I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this examination is over, I may have something to write.

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.

Concerning all things of which I am accused by Jews, King Agrippa, I have been counting myself happy, that, before thee, am I about, this day, to be making my defence;

especially since you are an expert on all the customs and issues discussed among the Jews. So, for this reason I request that you hear [my response to them] patiently.

And this moment for the hope of the promise made of God to our fathers am I standing here to be judged:

the promise our 12 tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve Him night and day. King Agrippa, I am being accused by the Jews because of this hope.

I actually did this in Jerusalem, and I locked up many of the saints in prison, since I had received authority for that from the chief priests. When they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

In {this activity} I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and full power of the chief priests.

But rise and stand upon thy feet; for, to this end, have I appeared unto thee, - To appoint thee an attendant and a witness, both of the things as to which thou hast seen me, and of those as to which I will appear unto thee:

by delivering you from this people, and from the Gentiles to whom I now send thee, to open their eyes,

this heavenly vision, king Agrippa, I presently obey'd:

For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple complex and were trying to kill me.

So then, having met with, the help that is from God, until this day, do I stand, witnessing to both small and great, nothing else saying, than those things which both the prophets, and Moses, did say should certainly come to pass: -

As he was making his defense this way, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You’re out of your mind, Paul! Too much study is driving you mad!”

For well-knoweth, the king, concerning these things, unto whom, with boldness of utterance, am I speaking; for, that these things are not hidden from him, I am well persuaded, - for, not in a corner, hath this thing been done.

"At this rate," Agrippa remarked, "it won't be long before you believe you have made a Christian of me!"

And, Paul, answered - I could pray unto God that, both almost and altogether, not only thou but all they who are hearing me this day, might become such, - as even, I, am, excepting these bonds.

When he had said this, the king, the governour, Bernice, and all that were seated near them, rose up: and being retired,

And, retiring, they began conversing one with another, saying, Nothing worthy of death or of bonds, doth this man practise.

And, Agrippa, unto Festus, said - This man might have been released, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.

For many days we sailed slowly, and then arrived with difficulty over against Cnidus; from this point, as the wind did not further favor us, we ran under the lee of Crete, off Cape Salmone;

having lost a good deal of time, and sailing being now dangerous, for the fast was now over, Paul gave them this warning,

and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward damage and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.”

And as the harbor was not fit to winter in, the majority favored the plan to set sail from there and see if they could reach Phoenix and winter there, this being a harbor in Crete facing west-southwest and west-north-west.

When the south wind began to blow gently, they raised anchor, thinking this was the opportunity they had hoped for, [then] sailed close to the coastline of [southern] Crete.

Not long after this, a hurricane-force wind called the northeaster blew down from the island.

After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Then, fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along.

On the third day, they handed [the rest of] the ship's gear to each other, and threw it overboard [Note: This was perhaps furniture, rigging, sails, baggage, etc.].

But, when they had been, long without food, then, Paul, standing in the midst of them, said - Ye ought, indeed, Sir! yielding to me, not to have sailed away from Crete, to get this damage and loss. --

For there stood by me this night, belonging unto the God whose I am, unto whom also I am doing divine service, a messenger,

take courage then, my friends, for I have this confidence in God, that what has been told me, shall be effected,

upon this Paul said to the centurion and his men, "except the crew stay aboard, you can't be safe:"

And, until day was about to dawn, Paul continued to beseech one and all to take some food, saying - This day is, the fourteenth day, that, suspense, fasting, ye are completing, - having helped yourselves, to nothing.

Wherefore, I beseech you to take some food, - for, this, lays a foundation for your safety; for, of no one of you, shall a hair of the head perish.

having said this, he took bread, and gave thanks to God, the whole company present: then he broke it and began to eat,

This raised the spirits of all of them, and they took something to eat.

When daylight came, they tried in vain to recognise the coast. But an inlet with a sandy beach attracted their attention, and now their object was, if possible, to run the ship aground in this inlet.

but the colonel wanted to save Paul, and so he prevented them from carrying out this plan, and ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest to follow,

The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone safely reached the shore.

And, when the natives saw the brute hanging out from his hand, they began to say, one to another - Doubtless, this man is, a murderer, whom, though brought safely through out of the sea, Justice, hath not suffered, to live.

But the natives expected him to swell up [from snake bite] or fall dead suddenly, but after expecting this for a long time and not seeing any harm come to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

Now in the parts adjacent to this place was the seat of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius, who took us into his house, and entertained us three days courteously.

And, when this happened, the rest also, even they in the island who were sick, were coming in and getting cured;

After three months we set sail on a ship that had spent the winter on the island [of Melita]. This ship had originated from Alexandria and was designated as "Twin Brothers" [Note: The ship may have been named this because of its prow containing the figures of the mythical twin gods of sailors, Castor and Pollux].

where we found brothers, [and] were implored to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome.

And from this place, the brethren, having heard of us, came out as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns, to meet us. When Paul saw the brethren, he thanked God, and took courage.

But when the Jews objected to this, I was compelled to appeal [my case] to Caesar, even though I had done nothing against my country.

For this cause, therefore, have I called for you, to see and to speak with you; for, on account of the hope of Israel, this chain, have I about me!

But we deem it well, that, from thee, we should hear what are thine opinions; for, indeed, concerning this sect, it is, known to us, that, everywhere, is it spoken against.

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,

saying - Go thy way unto this people, and say - Ye shall, surely hear, and yet will in nowise understand. And, surely see, and yet will in nowise perceive;

For the heart of this people, hath become dense, and, with their ears, heavily, have they heard, and, their eyes, have they closed, - lest once they should see with their eyes, and, with their ears, should hear, and, with their hearts, should understand, and return, - when I would certainly heal them.

Be it, known unto you, therefore, that, unto the nations, hath been sent forth this salvation of God: they, will also hear.

[ having said this, the Jews went out, warmly debating it among themselves.]

After this, Paul staid two whole years in a house he had hired, and gave access to all that visited him,

[This letter is from] Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, [who was] called to be an apostle, [and] set apart for [preaching] the Gospel of God.

God had promised this good news a long time ago through His prophets [and had it written] in the holy Scriptures [i.e., the Old Testament].

this gospel is concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of David's posterity in respect of his bodily nature,

He was appointed to be the Son of God with power through the Spirit of holiness [Note: This could refer to the Holy Spirit] when He was raised from the dead.

and you also are among those who are called of Jesus Christ to belong to Him;

to all the beloved of God, the saints by this vocation, who are in Rome, grace to you, and peace from God our father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

but this is the consolation among you through faith in one another, both of you and me.

And I would not ye should be ignorant, brethren, that many times I proposed to come to you, (and I was hindered till this time,) that I might have some fruit also in you, and in the rest of the nations.

For in this is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

because what can be known of God is clear to their inner moral sense; for in this way God Himself has shown it to them.

And for this reason God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, to degrade their bodies among themselves,

For this cause, God gave them up unto dishonourable passions; for, even their females, exchanged away the natural use into that which is against nature, -

And men did the same thing, leaving the natural function [i.e., of sex] with women, and burning in their desire for each other. Men committed indecent [sexual] acts with other men [i.e., homosexuality], and [so] brought on themselves the penalty they deserved for this perversion.

They know God's decree that those who act in this way deserve to die, yet they not only do it, but applaud any who do.

So, whoever you are, you people do not have any excuse for judging people [Note: At this point Paul begins addressing the Jews. See verse 17]. For in a matter where you judge someone else [to be wrong] you [actually] condemn yourselves, because you are practicing the same things [you condemn them for doing].