1
Ἀγρίππας δὲ πρὸς τὸν Παῦλον ἔφη· Ἐπιτρέπεταί σοι ⸀ὑπὲρ σεαυτοῦ λέγειν. τότε ὁ Παῦλος ⸂ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα ἀπελογεῖτο⸃·
And Agrippa said to Paul, “You are allowed to speak for yourself.” Then Paul, stretching out his hand, made his defence:
2
Περὶ πάντων ὧν ἐγκαλοῦμαι ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων, βασιλεῦ Ἀγρίππα, ἥγημαι ἐμαυτὸν μακάριον ἐπὶ σοῦ μέλλων ⸂σήμερον ἀπολογεῖσθαι⸃,
“Concerning all the things of which I am charged by Jews, King Agrippa, I count myself blessed that I am about to make my defence before you today,
first here Jews Ἰουδαῖος Ioudaios
3
μάλιστα γνώστην ὄντα σε πάντων τῶν κατὰ Ἰουδαίους ⸀ἐθῶν τε καὶ ζητημάτων· διὸ ⸀δέομαι μακροθύμως ἀκοῦσαί μου.
especially because you are a knower of all the customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to hear me with patience.
4
Τὴν μὲν οὖν βίωσίν μου ⸀τὴν ἐκ νεότητος τὴν ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς γενομένην ἐν τῷ ἔθνει μου ἔν ⸀τε Ἱεροσολύμοις ἴσασι ⸀πάντες Ἰουδαῖοι,
My manner of life, then, from my youth, which from the beginning was among my nation and in Jerusalem, all Jews know,
5
προγινώσκοντές με ἄνωθεν, ἐὰν θέλωσι μαρτυρεῖν, ὅτι κατὰ τὴν ἀκριβεστάτην αἵρεσιν τῆς ἡμετέρας θρησκείας ἔζησα Φαρισαῖος.
knowing me beforehand from the beginning, if they are willing to bear witness, that according to the most exact sect of our religion I lived as a Pharisee.
first here Pharisee Φαρισαῖος Pharisaios
6
καὶ νῦν ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι τῆς ⸀εἰς τοὺς πατέρας ⸀ἡμῶν ἐπαγγελίας γενομένης ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἕστηκα κρινόμενος,
And now I stand being judged on the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers,
7
εἰς ἣν τὸ δωδεκάφυλον ἡμῶν ἐν ἐκτενείᾳ νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν λατρεῦον ἐλπίζει καταντῆσαι· περὶ ἧς ἐλπίδος ἐγκαλοῦμαι ⸂ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων, βασιλεῦ⸃·
to which our twelve tribes, serving God earnestly night and day, hope to attain; concerning this hope I am charged by Jews, O king.
8
τί ἄπιστον κρίνεται παρ’ ὑμῖν εἰ ὁ θεὸς νεκροὺς ἐγείρει;
Why is it judged incredible among you, if God raises the dead?
9
Ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ πρὸς τὸ ὄνομα Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναζωραίου δεῖν πολλὰ ἐναντία πρᾶξαι·
I myself, then, thought that I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus the Nazorean;
first here Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsous
first here Nazorean Ναζωραῖος Nazōraios
10
ὃ καὶ ἐποίησα ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις, καὶ πολλούς ⸀τε τῶν ἁγίων ἐγὼ ⸀ἐν φυλακαῖς κατέκλεισα τὴν παρὰ τῶν ἀρχιερέων ἐξουσίαν λαβών, ἀναιρουμένων τε αὐτῶν κατήνεγκα ψῆφον,
which I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the holy ones I shut up in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were being done away with I cast my vote against them.
11
καὶ κατὰ πάσας τὰς συναγωγὰς πολλάκις τιμωρῶν αὐτοὺς ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν, περισσῶς τε ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς ἐδίωκον ἕως καὶ εἰς τὰς ἔξω πόλεις.
And punishing them often in every synagogue, I was compelling them to blaspheme; and being all the more madly enraged at them, I was persecuting them even to the cities outside.
12
Ἐν ⸀οἷς πορευόμενος εἰς τὴν Δαμασκὸν μετ’ ἐξουσίας καὶ ἐπιτροπῆς ⸀τῆς τῶν ἀρχιερέων
In this, as I was going to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
13
ἡμέρας μέσης κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν εἶδον, βασιλεῦ, οὐρανόθεν ὑπὲρ τὴν λαμπρότητα τοῦ ἡλίου περιλάμψαν με φῶς καὶ τοὺς σὺν ἐμοὶ πορευομένους·
at midday on the road, O king, I saw a light from heaven, beyond the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those going with me.
14
πάντων ⸀τε καταπεσόντων ἡμῶν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἤκουσα φωνὴν ⸀λέγουσαν πρός ⸀με τῇ Ἑβραΐδι διαλέκτῳ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις; σκληρόν σοι πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν.
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.’
Why this rendering
Acts.26.14 Observation
Syntactic observation
σκληρόν σοι πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν — it is hard for you to kick against the goads. A sentence found only in the third telling of the Damascus road (9:3-19; 22:6-16; 26:12-18) — absent from the first two. The third telling differs from the other two in more places: we had all fallen to the ground (πάντων καταπεσόντων — 9:7 stood), in the Hebrew language (τῇ Ἑβραΐδι διαλέκτῳ — absent before), a light beyond the brightness of the sun, no Ananias but the Lord himself appointing him an officer and a witness. The base text prints all three and does not align them — this edition renders each chapter as printed, and keeps the same sentence only where the words are the same (Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? — Who are you, Lord? — I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting). σκληρός, hard, is the word of Matt 25:24, you are a hard man. λακτίζω, kick, occurs in the corpus only here; κέντρον, goad, is the word of the ‘sting’ in 1 Corinthians 15:55-56.
Rendering options · 1
Adopted each telling as printed — the same sentence only where the words are the same
Basis What the base text does not align, the translation does not align.
15
ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπα· Τίς εἶ, κύριε; ὁ δὲ ⸀κύριος εἶπεν· Ἐγώ εἰμι Ἰησοῦς ὃν σὺ διώκεις·
And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
16
ἀλλὰ ἀνάστηθι καὶ στῆθι ἐπὶ τοὺς πόδας σου· εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ὤφθην σοι, προχειρίσασθαί σε ὑπηρέτην καὶ μάρτυρα ὧν τε εἶδές ⸀με ὧν τε ὀφθήσομαί σοι,
But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you an officer and a witness both of the things in which you have seen me and of those in which I will appear to you,
17
ἐξαιρούμενός σε ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ ⸀ἐκ τῶν ἐθνῶν, εἰς οὓς ἐγὼ ⸂ἀποστέλλω σε⸃
rescuing you from the people and from the nations, to whom I am sending you,
18
ἀνοῖξαι ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν, τοῦ ⸀ἐπιστρέψαι ἀπὸ σκότους εἰς φῶς καὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν, τοῦ λαβεῖν αὐτοὺς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν καὶ κλῆρον ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις πίστει τῇ εἰς ἐμέ.
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from the dark to light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those made holy by faith in me.’
first here Satan Σατανᾶς Satanas
Why this rendering
Acts.26.18 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἀνοῖξαι ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν, τοῦ ἐπιστρέψαι ἀπὸ σκότους εἰς φῶς καὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν — to open their eyes, so that they may turn from the dark to light and from the authority of Satan to God. σκότος, the dark, is the word of Luke 22:53, the authority of the dark (ἡ ἐξουσία τοῦ σκότους), and here stands beside the authority of Satan (ἡ ἐξουσία τοῦ Σατανᾶ) — two phrases of one shape. This edition renders σκότος as the dark, kept apart from σκοτία (darkness, John 1:5), as fixed. ἐπιστρέφω, turn, is the verb of 15:19, those turning to God. κλῆρος, share, is the word of 1:17, the share of this service, and 8:21, share in this word — one root with 20:32, the inheritance (κληρονομία) among all those made holy. V.16 ὑπηρέτης, officer, is the word of 13:5, John also as an officer — the name Paul receives for himself is the name Mark had. V.17 ἐξαιρούμενος, rescuing, is the verb of 12:11 and 23:27.
Rendering options · 1
Adopted “from the dark to light” — σκότος as fixed; “share” — κλῆρος
Basis A phrase that shares its shape with Luke 22:53, in the same words.
19
Ὅθεν, βασιλεῦ Ἀγρίππα, οὐκ ἐγενόμην ἀπειθὴς τῇ οὐρανίῳ ὀπτασίᾳ,
Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
20
ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἐν Δαμασκῷ πρῶτόν ⸀τε καὶ Ἱεροσολύμοις, ⸀πᾶσάν τε τὴν χώραν τῆς Ἰουδαίας, καὶ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ⸀ἀπήγγελλον μετανοεῖν καὶ ἐπιστρέφειν ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν, ἄξια τῆς μετανοίας ἔργα πράσσοντας.
but to those in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem, and all the region of Judea, and to the nations, I was reporting that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.
first here Judea Ἰουδαία Ioudaia
21
ἕνεκα τούτων ⸂με Ἰουδαῖοι⸃ ⸀συλλαβόμενοι ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἐπειρῶντο διαχειρίσασθαι.
Because of these things the Jews seized me in the temple and attempted to do away with me.
22
ἐπικουρίας οὖν τυχὼν τῆς ⸀ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄχρι τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης ἕστηκα μαρτυρόμενος μικρῷ τε καὶ μεγάλῳ, οὐδὲν ἐκτὸς λέγων ὧν τε οἱ προφῆται ἐλάλησαν μελλόντων γίνεσθαι καὶ Μωϋσῆς,
Having obtained, then, the help that is from God, to this day I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing outside of what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
first here Moses Μωϋσῆς Mōysēs
23
εἰ παθητὸς ὁ χριστός, εἰ πρῶτος ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν φῶς μέλλει καταγγέλλειν τῷ ⸀τε λαῷ καὶ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν.
that the Christ was to suffer, that as first from the resurrection of the dead he was to announce light both to the people and to the nations.”
first here Christ Χριστός Christos
24
Ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀπολογουμένου ὁ Φῆστος μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ ⸀φησιν· Μαίνῃ, Παῦλε· τὰ πολλά σε γράμματα εἰς μανίαν περιτρέπει.
And as he was making this defence, Festus says with a loud voice, “You are mad, Paul; your many writings are turning you to madness.”
Why this rendering
Acts.26.24 Observation
Syntactic observation
Μαίνῃ, Παῦλε· τὰ πολλά σε γράμματα εἰς μανίαν περιτρέπει — you are mad, Paul; your many writings are turning you to madness. μαίνομαι, be mad, is the verb of John 10:20, he has a demon and is mad, and Acts 12:15, you are mad (to Rhoda) — the same word comes to Jesus, to Rhoda, to Paul. μανία, madness, is unique in the New Testament and of the same root — this edition keeps the root (mad … madness). γράμματα, writings, is the word of John 7:15, how does this man know letters, never having learned? — this edition does not paraphrase it as learning. V.25 σωφροσύνη, sound mind, is the root of Mark 5:15 and Luke 8:35, the man who had had demons sitting in his right mind (σωφρονοῦντα) — madness and sound mind face each other. V.28 Ἐν ὀλίγῳ, with little, can be read as in a short time or with few words — the base text gives no noun; this edition leaves it open, and v.29 with little or with much (ἐν ὀλίγῳ καὶ ἐν μεγάλῳ) takes it up. Χριστιανός, Christian, is the word of Antioch at 11:26 — three New Testament places (11:26; 26:28; 1 Pet 4:16).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “with little” — no noun supplied
Basis What the base text leaves open is not filled — v.29’s reply uses that openness.
“in a short time”
Basis A common reading.
Rejected It does not pair with v.29’s with much — read as time it would have to be in a long time.
25
ὁ δὲ ⸀Παῦλος· Οὐ μαίνομαι, φησίν, κράτιστε Φῆστε, ἀλλὰ ἀληθείας καὶ σωφροσύνης ῥήματα ἀποφθέγγομαι.
But Paul says, “I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I am uttering words of truth and sound mind.
26
ἐπίσταται γὰρ περὶ τούτων ὁ βασιλεύς, πρὸς ὃν ⸀καὶ παρρησιαζόμενος λαλῶ· λανθάνειν γὰρ ⸀αὐτὸν τούτων οὐ πείθομαι ⸀οὐθέν, οὐ γάρ ⸀ἐστιν ἐν γωνίᾳ πεπραγμένον τοῦτο.
For the king knows about these things, to whom also I speak openly; for I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him, for this was not done in a corner.
27
πιστεύεις, βασιλεῦ Ἀγρίππα, τοῖς προφήταις; οἶδα ὅτι πιστεύεις.
Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know that you believe.”
28
ὁ δὲ Ἀγρίππας πρὸς τὸν ⸀Παῦλον· Ἐν ὀλίγῳ με πείθεις Χριστιανὸν ⸀ποιῆσαι.
And Agrippa to Paul: “With little you are persuading me to make me a Christian.”
29
ὁ δὲ ⸀Παῦλος· Εὐξαίμην ἂν τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐν ὀλίγῳ καὶ ἐν ⸀μεγάλῳ οὐ μόνον σὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀκούοντάς μου σήμερον γενέσθαι τοιούτους ὁποῖος καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι παρεκτὸς τῶν δεσμῶν τούτων.
And Paul: “I would pray to God that, with little or with much, not only you but also all who hear me today might become such as I also am, except for these bonds.”
30
⸀Ἀνέστη ⸀τε ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ὁ ἡγεμὼν ἥ τε Βερνίκη καὶ οἱ συγκαθήμενοι αὐτοῖς,
And the king rose, and the governor, and Bernice, and those sitting with them,
31
καὶ ἀναχωρήσαντες ἐλάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες ὅτι Οὐδὲν θανάτου ⸂ἢ δεσμῶν ἄξιον⸃ ⸀τι πράσσει ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος.
and withdrawing they were speaking to one another, saying, “This man is doing nothing worthy of death or of bonds.”
32
Ἀγρίππας δὲ τῷ Φήστῳ ἔφη· Ἀπολελύσθαι ἐδύνατο ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος εἰ μὴ ἐπεκέκλητο Καίσαρα.
And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not called upon Caesar.”
first here Caesar Καῖσαρ Kaisar