At the same time too, he was hoping that money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and converse with him.

and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.

But when Paul appealed to be held in custody for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.”

For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”

Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense:

since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion.

And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers;

the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews.

And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you;

For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death.

For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner.

And Paul said, “I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.”

And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius.

There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it.

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

and with difficulty sailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned.

Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,

Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.

Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak.

Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.”

And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach.

The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all.

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

However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.

At the end of three months we set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead.

After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days.

There we found some brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome.

And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

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

For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.”

But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.”

When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.

For the heart of this people has become dull,
And with their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes;
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.”’

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you,

For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;

I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,

Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;

There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek,

For there is no partiality with God.

For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;

for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves,

For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written.

For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.

May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?

What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;

There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.”

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified;

for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.

For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him,

but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

for he who has died is freed from sin.

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.