Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: ACTS #43 - 25:23-26:23)
C. 25:23-26:32 PAUL DEFENDS HIMSELF BEFORE A KING
1. 25:23-26:23 PAUL'S DEFENSE BEFORE AGRIPPA: CONVERSION & COMMISSION
a. 25:23 THE POMP AT PAUL'S APPEARING
teoun ePAUri-on, elTHONtos tou A-GRIPpa kai tes BerNIkes meTA polLES phan-taSIas [5325],
On the morrow, therefore, when :Agrippa was come and :Bernice with great pomp,
kai ei-selTHONton eis to a-kro-aTEri-on [201]
and they were entered into the place of hearing
SUN te chi-liARchois [5506] kai anDRAsin tois kat' e-xoCHEN [1851]tes POle-os,
with the colonels and the principal men of the city,
kai keLEUsanTOS [2753] tou PHEstou ECHtheho PAUlos.
at the command of :Festus :Paul was brought in.
b. 25:24 FESTUS INTRODUCES PAUL TO FESTUS
KAI phe-sin ho PHEstos, A-GRIPpa ba-siLEU, kai PANtes
And :Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men
hoi sun-paRONtes heMIN ANdres, the-oREIte TOUton,
who are present with us, you behold this man,
peRI hou HApan to PLEthos ton IouDAIon eNEtuCHEN [1793]moi,
about whom all the multitude of the Jews made suit to me,
en te Ie-ro-soLUmois kai enTHAde, boONtes [1916]me dein [1163]zen [2198]auTON meKEti.
both at Jerusalem and here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.
c. 25:25 FESTUS' AGREEMENT TO SEND PAUL TO ROME
eGOde ka-te-laBOmen [2638]meDEN Axi-on [514]auTON thaNAtou pe-praCHEnai [4238]:
But I found he had committed nothing worthy of death:
auTOU de TOUtou e-pi-ka-le-saMEnou [1941] ton Se-baSTON Ekri-na [2919] PEMpein.
and as he himself appealed to the emperor I determined to send him.
d. 25:26a Of whom I have nothing certain to write unto the lord.
peRI hou as-phaLES ti GRApsai tokuRIoouk Echo.
e. 25:26b FESTUS TRUSTS AGRIPPA CAN HELP SUPPLY CHARGES AGAINST PAUL
di' HO proEga-gon [4254] auTON eph' huMON, kai MAli-sta [3122] ePI sou, ba-siLEU A-GRIPpa, HOpos,
Therefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before you, king Agrippa, that,
tes a-naKRIse-os [351] ge-noMEnes, scho ti GRApso.
after examination had, I may have something to write.
f. 25:27 For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, and not to signify the charges against him.
Alo-gon [249] GAR moi doKEI, PEMpon-ta DESmi-on, me kai tas kat' auTOU aiTIas [156] seMAnai [4591].
g. 26:1a And Agrippa said unto :Paul, You are permitted to speak for yourself.
A-GRIPpa de pros ton PAUlon Ephe, E-piTREpeTAI [2010] soi huPER se-auTOU LEgein.
h. 26:1b Then :Paul stretched forth his:hand, andmade his defense.
TOte ho PAUlos ekTEInas ten CHEIra, a-pe-loGEIto [626].
i. 26:2-3 PAUL HAPPY TO HAVE AGRIPPA HEAR HIS DEFENSE
PeRI PANton hon eg-kaLOUmai [1458] huPO IouDAIon,
I think myself happy, king Agrippa,
ba-siLEU A-GRIPpa, HEge-mai [2233] e-mauTON maKAri-on
that I am to make my defense before you today
ePI sou MELlon SEme-ron a-po-loGEISthai [626]:
touching all the thingsof which I am accused by theJews:
MAli-sta GNOsten [1109]ONta se PANton
3 specially because you are expert in all customs
ton kaTA IouDAIous eTHON te kai ze-teMAton [2213]:
and questions which are among theJews:
di' HO DEo-mai [1189] ma-kroTHUmos [3116] aKOU-SAI mou.
therefore I beseech youto hear me patiently.
j. 26:4-5 PAUL RELATES HIS PHARISAIC BACKGROUND
Ten men oun BIoSIN [981] mou ten ek neOte-tos [3503],
My :manner of life then from youth up,
ten ap' arCHES ge-noMEnen en to ETHnei mou en te Ie-ro-soLUmois, Isa-si PANtes IouDAIoi;
which was from the beginning among my :nation and at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;
pro-giNOskonTES [4267] me Ano-then, eAN THElo-si mar-tuREIN,
5having knowledge of me from the first, if they be willing to testify,
HOti kaTA ten a-kri-beSTAten [196] HAIre-sin [139] tes he-meTEras thre-skeiAS [2356] Eze-sa Phar-riSAIos.
that after the straitest sect of our :religion I lived a Pharisee.
k. 26:6-7a PAUL: BEING JUDGED ON BASIS OF RESURRECTION
kai nun ep' elPIdi tes eis tous paTEras heMON e-pag-geLIas
And now I stand to be judged for the hope of the promise
ge-noMEnes huPO tou TheOU HEste-ka kriNOme-nos; eis hen to do-deKAphu-lon [1429] heMON,
made of :God unto our :fathers; 7aunto which our :twelve tribes,
en ek-teNEIa [1616] NUKta kai heMEran laTREUon [3000], elPIzei ka-tanTEsai [2658].
earnestly serving Godnight and day, hope to attain.
l. 26:7b Concerning which hope I am accused by theJews, OKing!
peRI hes elPIdos eg-kaLOUmai [1458]huPO IouDAIon, Ba-siLEU!
m. 26:8 Why is it judged incredible with you, if :God does raise thedead?
Ti Api-ston [571] KRIne-tai par' huMIN, ei ho TheOS neKROUS eGEIrei?
n. 26:9-10 PAUL RELATES HIS PERSECUTING BACKGROUND
eGO men oun Edo-xa e-mauTO pros to Ono-ma
I truly thought with myself that I ought to do many things
IeSOU tou Na-zoRAIou dein polLA e-nanTIa [1727] PRAxai [4238]; ho kai ePOIe-sa en Ie-ro-soLUmois:
contrary to the name of Jesus the Nazorean; 10 which also I did in Jerusalem:
kai polLOUS te ton haGIon [40] eGO en phu-laKAIS [5438] kaTEklei-sa [2683],
and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons,
ten paRA ton ar-chi-eREon e-xouSIan laBON,
having received authority from the chief priests,
a-nai-rouMEnon [337] te auTON kaTEneg-ka [2702] PSEphon [5586].
and when they were put to death I also gave myvote against them.
o. 26:11 PAUL DETAILS THE INTENSITY OF HIS PERSECUTIONS
kai kaTA PAsas tas su-na-goGAS polLAkis ti-moRON [5097] auTOUS,
And punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues,
eNAGka-zon [315]blas-pheMEIN [987]; pe-risSOS [4057]te em-maiNOme-nos [1693]auTOIS,
I would compel them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them,
eDIo-kon HEos kai eis tas Exo POleis.
I persecuted them even unto foreign :cities.
p. 26:12-13 HIS ARREST ON THE WAY TO DAMASCUS
en hois po-reuOme-nos eis ten Da-maSKON met' e-xouSIas kai e-pi-troPES [2011] tes ton ar-chi-eREon,
On which errand as I journeyed to :Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,
heMEras MEses kaTA ten hoDON EIdon, ba-siLEU, ou-raNOthen,
13at midday, Oking, I saw on the way a light from heaven,
huPER ten lamPROte-to [2987] tou heLIou [2246],
above the brightness of the sun,
pe-riLAMpsan [4034] me phos [5457] kai tous sun eMOI po-reu-oMEnous.
shining round about me and them that journeyed with me.
q. 26:14 HE HEARS JESUS AUDIBLY CHARGING HIM WITH PERSECUTION
PANton te ka-ta-peSONton [2667] heMON eis ten gen,
And when we were all fallen to the earth,
HEkou-sa phoNEN LEgou-san PROS me te He-braIdi di-aLEKto [1446],
I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language,
SaOUL, SaOUL, ti me diOkeis [1258]? skleRON [4549] soi pros KENtra [2759] lakTIzein [2979].
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? it is hard for you to kick against goads.
r. 26:15a And I said, Who are you, Lord? eGO de EIpa, Tis ei, KUri-e?
s. 26:15b And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you persecute.
ho de KUri-os EIpen, E-GO ei-mi IeSOUS hon su diOkeis.
t. 26:16-18 PAUL'S COMMISSION
alLA aNAste-thi, kai STEthi ePI tous POdas sou:
But arise, and stand upon your :feet:
eis TOUto gar OPHthen [3700] soi, pro-cheiRIsasTHAI [4400] se hu-peREten [5257] kai MARtu-ra [3144]
for to this end have I appeared unto you, to appoint you minister and witness
HON te EI-DES me, HON te ophTHEsoMAI [3700] soi;
both of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which I will appear to you;
e-xaiROUme-nos [1807] se ek tou laOU, kai ek ton ethNON, eis hous eGO a-poSTELlo [649] se,
17 delivering you from the people, and from the nations, unto whom I send you,
aNOIxai [458] oph-thalMOUS auTON tou e-piSTREpsai [1994] aPO SKOtous [4655]
18to open their eyes to turn themfrom darkness
eis phos kai tes e-xouSIas tou Sa-taNA ePI ton TheOU, tou laBEIN auTOUS Aphe-sin [859] ha-mar-tiON
to light and from the power of :Satan unto :God, that they may receive remission of sins
kai KLEron [2819] en tois he-gi-asMEnois ]37] PIstei te eis eME.
and an inheritance among those sanctified by :faith in me.
u. 26:19-20 THE EXTENT OF PAUL'S OBEDIENCE TO THE HEAVENLY VISION
Othen, ba-siLEU A-GRIPpa, ouk e-geNOmen a-peiTHES [545] te ou-raNIo op-taSIa:
Wherefore, king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision:
alLA tois en Da-maSKO PRO-TON,
20 but declared both to them of Damascus first,
te kai Ie-ro-soLUmois, PA-SAN te ten CHOran tes IouDAIas,
and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of :Judea,
kai tous ETHne-sin aPEGgel-lon [518], me-ta-noEIN [3340] kai e-piSTREphein [1998] ePI ton TheON,
and also to the nations, that they should repent and turn to :God,
Axi-a [514]tes me-taNOIas ERga [2041]PRASson-tas [4238]. doing works worthy of :repentance.
v. 26:21 Because of these thingsthe Jews seized me in the temple, andattempted to kill me.
HEne-ka TOUton me IouDAIoi sul-laBOme-noi en to hi-eRO, e-pei-RONto [3987] di-a-cheiRIsas-thai [1315].
w. 26:22-23 PAUL'S TESTIMONY
e-pi-kouRIas [1947] oun tuCHON [5177] tes aPO tou TheOU,
Having therefore obtained the help that is from :God,
Achri tes heMEras TAUtes HEste-ka mar-tuROme-nos [3140] miKRO te kai meGAlo,
I stand unto this :day testifying both to small and great,
ouDEN ekTOS LEgon HON te hoi proPHEtai [4396] eLAle-san melLONton GInes-thai kai Mu-oSES;
saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come;
ei pa-theTOS [3805] ho ChrisTOS, ei PROtos ex a-naSTAse-os [386] neKRON
23whether the Christ must suffer, whether he first by a resurrection of thedead
phos [5457] MELlei ka-tagGELlein [2605] TO te laO kai tois ETHne-sin.
should proclaim light both to the people and to the nations.
NOTE: Paul in this section is giving his third testimony in the Book of Acts. This is amazing! Each account differs somewhat from the others because of the particular details he includes. Yet in none of the 3 accounts are there contradictions. This is true also in the 4 accounts of the Gospels. When individuals are looking for contradictions, they will doubtlessly find what appeals to them as such. But for those who adhere to the insights of 2 Peter 1:21; 1 Corinthians 14:37 and 2 Timothy 3:16, all the Bible from Genesis to Revelation has a wonderful symmetry. The last verse mentioned has been obviously and dishonestly translated in some versions as - “Every scripture that isGod breathed, is profitable;” - instead of “Every scripture isGod breathed, and is profitable”...The first translation is so patently dishonest, that we can see Satan behind this deception. The Greek syntax in this verse is correctly handled by translators in every other occurrence; - but here - they insert doubt in the veracity or truthfulness of Scripture. I would hate to stand before Christ at His Judgment-Seat, and answer for such evident deception. Check various translations - those that correctly translate this construction, will have the smile of God upon them.
25:26a - Paul wouldn't haveappealed to Caesar had not Festus attempted to turn him over to the Jews in Jerusalem as a “favor”. Here Festus was notbeing transparent.
26:14 - Note that Jesus spoke to Paul on the Damascus' road in the “Hebrew” dialect - not Aramaic. The Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost had Galileans speak to fellow Jews from the Diaspora in the languages of the lands of their sojourning. It is true that before the Tower of Babel, all mankind was of one tongue. So the God who scattered mankind and gave them diverse languages - can certainly speak in any one of these languages as it suits Him. We should not think it strange that God Sovereignly makes choice of which language in which He would speak.
In a previous section there is a note on Acts 22 that corresponds with 26:15b. When one persecutes a believer, he is actually persecuting Christ! What a shock this was to Paul! What a shock it will be to all likewise persecutors of Jesus - who have persecuted members of Christ's body!
26:16-18 in brief is a compilation of the Gospel benefits that we all could memorize to enable us to share as opportunity arises. Paul did.
Then see 26:19-20, and Paul's commitment to be faithful and obedient to the vision he received from Jesus on the Road to Damascus. Though Paul is not numbered with the 12, yet like them, he hadseen the Resurrected Christ.
- J.A.W.
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