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 forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence,

"Your Excellency Felix, since we are enjoying lasting peace because of you, and since reforms for this nation are being brought about through your foresight, we always and everywhere acknowledge it with profound 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 we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader 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 this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

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.

Except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day.

But Felix put them off, saying, Having learned more accurately of this way, when Lysias the chiliarch comes down I will decide concerning your matters,

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 also he hoped that money would be given him by Paul; and on this account sent for him the oftener, and conversed with him.

Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him.

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

Then Festus, [after] discussing [this] with [his] council, replied, "You have appealed to Caesar--to Caesar you will go!"

A short time after this King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to pay their respects to 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 --

"I should like to hear this man myself," Agrippa said to Festus. "You shall hear him to-morrow," Festus answered.

And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.

But I understood [that] he had done nothing deserving death himself, and [when] this man appealed to His Majesty the Emperor, I decided to send [him].

I do not have anything definite to write to [my] lord about {him}. Therefore I have brought him before you [all]--and especially before you, King Agrippa--so that [after] this preliminary hearing has taken place, 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.

I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews:

especially, since you are acquainted with all the customs and questions that are among the Jews. For this reason, I beseech you to hear me patiently.

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

which promise our twelve tribes, by devotedly worshiping day and night, hope to see fulfilled for them. It is for this hope, your Majesty, that I am accused by some Jews.

And this I also did in Jerusalem: and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them.

While in this business I once was on my way to Damascus with authority based on a commission from the high priests,

But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

[choosing you for Myself and] rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you,

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

For this reason the Jewish leaders grabbed me in the Temple and kept trying to kill me.

Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:

As he said this in his defense, Festus called out, "You are raving, Paul! Your great learning is driving you mad!"

For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.

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

And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.

And when he had said this, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and those that sat with them.

And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, 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;

By this time the season was far advanced, and sailing had become dangerous (for the Autumn Fast was past); so Paul began to warn them.

And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and 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 after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.

For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will be like this--according to {the} way it was told to me.

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

And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.

Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.

After saying this he took some bread and thanked God for it before them all; then he broke it in pieces and began to eat it.

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 others on various pieces of the ship. In this way everyone got to shore safely.

And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not 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.

So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:

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].

There we found some brothers, and they begged us to spend a week with them. In this way we finally reached 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 you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.

They disagreed with one another as they were leaving, so Paul added this statement: "The Holy Spirit was so right when he spoke to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah!

Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:

For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

"So you must understand that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen; and they will listen to it!"

And he having said this, the Jews went away, having great reasoning among themselves.

After this Paul lived for two whole years in his own rented house, and used to receive all who came to see 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.

This gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,

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.

And this is to be comforted together with you by our mutual faith, both yours and mine.

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.

For this reason, God delivered them to sexual impurity as they followed the lusts of their hearts and dishonored their bodies with one another.

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change 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].