wmth - Acts:26-27

wmth@Acts:26:1 @ Then Agrippa said to Paul, »You have permission to speak about yourself.« So Paul, with outstretched arm, proceeded to make his defence.

wmth@Acts:26:2 @ »As regards all the accusations brought against me by the Jews,« he said, »I think myself fortunate, King Agrippa, in being about to defend myself to-day before you,

wmth@Acts:26:3 @ who are so familiar with all the customs and speculations that prevail among the Jews; and for this reason, I pray you, give me a patient hearing.

wmth@Acts:26:4 @ »The kind of life I have lived from my youth upwards, as exemplified in my early days among my nation and in Jerusalem, is known to all the Jews.«

wmth@Acts:26:5 @ For they all know me of old –if they would but testify to the fact– how, being an adherent of the strictest sect of our religion, my life was that of a Pharisee.

wmth@Acts:26:6 @ And now I stand here impeached because of my hope in the fulfilment of the promise made by God to our forefathers–

wmth@Acts:26:7 @ the promise which our twelve tribes, worshipping day and night with intense devotedness, hope to have made good to them. It is on the subject of this hope, Sir, that I am accused by the Jews.

wmth@Acts:26:8 @ Why is it deemed with all of you a thing past belief if God raises the dead to life?

wmth@Acts:26:9 @ »I myself, however, thought it a duty to do many things in hostility to the name of Jesus, the Nazarene.«

wmth@Acts:26:10 @ And that was how I acted in Jerusalem. Armed with authority received from the High Priests I shut up many of God's people in various prisons, and when they were about to be put to death I gave my vote against them.

wmth@Acts:26:11 @ In all the synagogues also I punished them many a time, and tried to make them blaspheme; and in my wild fury I chased them even to foreign towns.

wmth@Acts:26:12 @ »While thus engaged, I was travelling one day to Damascus armed with authority and a commission from the High Priests,

wmth@Acts:26:13 @ and on the journey, at noon, Sir, I saw a light from Heaven –brighter than the brightness of the sun– shining around me and around those who were travelling with me.«

wmth@Acts:26:14 @ We all fell to the ground; and I heard a voice which said to me in Hebrew, »`Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? You are finding it painful to kick against the ox-goad.'

wmth@Acts:26:15 @ »`Who art Thou, Lord?' I asked.« `I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied.

wmth@Acts:26:16 @ `But rise, and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for the very purpose of appointing you My servant and My witness both as to the things you have already seen and as to those in which I will appear to you.

wmth@Acts:26:17 @ I will save you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you to open their eyes,

wmth@Acts:26:18 @ that they may turn from darkness to light and from the obedience to Satan to God, in order to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified through faith in Me.'

wmth@Acts:26:19 @ »Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision;«

wmth@Acts:26:20 @ but I proceeded to preach first to the people in Damascus, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judaea, and to the Gentiles, that they must repent and turn to God, and live lives consistent with such repentance.

wmth@Acts:26:21 @ »It was on this account that the Jews seized me in the Temple and tried to kill me.«

wmth@Acts:26:22 @ Having, however, obtained the help which is from God, I have stood firm until now, and have solemnly exhorted rich and poor alike, saying nothing except what the Prophets and Moses predicted as soon to happen,

wmth@Acts:26:23 @ since the Christ was to be a suffering Christ, and by coming back from the dead was then to be the first to proclaim a message of light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.«

wmth@Acts:26:24 @ As Paul thus made his defence, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, »You are raving mad, Paul; and great learning is driving you mad.«

wmth@Acts:26:25 @ »I am not mad, most noble Festus,« replied Paul; »I am speaking words of sober truth.

wmth@Acts:26:26 @ For the King, to whom I speak freely, knows about these matters. I am not to be persuaded that any detail of them has escaped his notice; for these things have not been done in a corner.

wmth@Acts:26:27 @ King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you believe them.«

wmth@Acts:26:28 @ Agrippa answered, »In brief, you are doing your best to persuade me to become a Christian.«

wmth@Acts:26:29 @ »My prayer to God, whether briefly or at length,« replied Paul, »would be that not only you but all who are my hearers to-day, might become such as I am–except these chains.«

wmth@Acts:26:30 @ So the King rose, and the Governor, and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them;

wmth@Acts:26:31 @ and, having withdrawn, they talked to one another and said, »This man is doing nothing for which he deserves death or imprisonment.«

wmth@Acts:26:32 @ And Agrippa said to Festus, »He might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed to Caesar.«

wmth@Acts:27:1 @ Now when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they handed over Paul and a few other prisoners into the custody of Julius, a Captain of the Augustan battalion;

wmth@Acts:27:2 @ and going on board a ship of Adramyttium which was about to sail to the ports of the province of Asia, we put to sea; Aristarchus, the Macedonian, from Thessalonica, forming one of our party.

wmth@Acts:27:3 @ The next day we put in at Sidon. There Julius treated Paul with thoughtful kindness and allowed him to visit his friends and profit by their generous care.

wmth@Acts:27:4 @ Putting to sea again, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us;

wmth@Acts:27:5 @ and, sailing the whole length of the sea that lies off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia.

wmth@Acts:27:6 @ There Julius found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy, and put us on board of her.

wmth@Acts:27:7 @ It took several days of slow sailing for us to come with difficulty off Cnidus; from which point, as the wind did not allow us to get on in the direct course, we ran under the lee of Crete by Salmone.

wmth@Acts:27:8 @ Then, coasting along with difficulty, we reached a place called `Fair Havens,' near the town of Lasea.

wmth@Acts:27:9 @ Our voyage thus far had occupied a considerable time, and the navigation being now unsafe and the Fast also already over, Paul warned them.

wmth@Acts:27:10 @ »Sirs,« he said, »I perceive that before long the voyage will be attended with danger and heavy loss, not only to the cargo and the ship but to our own lives also.«

wmth@Acts:27:11 @ But Julius let himself be persuaded by the pilot and by the owner rather than by Paul's arguments;

wmth@Acts:27:12 @ and as the harbour was inconvenient for wintering in, the majority were in favour of putting out to sea, to try whether they could get to Phoenix –a harbour on the coast of Crete facing north-east and south-east– to winter there.

wmth@Acts:27:13 @ And a light breeze from the south sprang up, so that they supposed they were now sure of their purpose. So weighing anchor they ran along the coast of Crete, hugging the shore.

wmth@Acts:27:14 @ But it was not long before a furious north-east wind, coming down from the mountains, burst upon us and carried the ship out of her course.

wmth@Acts:27:15 @ She was unable to make headway against the gale; so we gave up and let her drive.

wmth@Acts:27:16 @ Then we ran under the lee of a little island called Cauda, where we managed with great difficulty to secure the boat;

wmth@Acts:27:17 @ and, after hoisting it on board, they used frapping-cables to undergird the ship, and, as they were afraid of being driven on the Syrtis quicksands, they lowered the gear and lay to.

wmth@Acts:27:18 @ But, as the storm was still violent, the next day they began to lighten the ship;

wmth@Acts:27:19 @ and, on the third day, with their own hands they threw the ship's spare gear overboard.

wmth@Acts:27:20 @ Then, when for several days neither sun nor stars were seen and the terrific gale still harassed us, the last ray of hope was now vanishing.

wmth@Acts:27:21 @ When for a long time they had taken but little food, Paul, standing up among them, said, »Sirs, you ought to have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete. You would then have escaped this suffering and loss.

wmth@Acts:27:22 @ But now take courage, for there will be no destruction of life among you, but of the ship only.

wmth@Acts:27:23 @ For there stood by my side, last night, an angel of the God to whom I belong, and whom also I worship,

wmth@Acts:27:24 @ and he said, »`Dismiss all fear, Paul, for you must stand before Caesar; and God has granted you the lives of all who are sailing with you.'

wmth@Acts:27:25 @ »Therefore, Sirs, take courage; for I believe God, and am convinced that things will happen exactly as I have been told.

wmth@Acts:27:26 @ But we are to be stranded on a certain island.«

wmth@Acts:27:27 @ It was now the fourteenth night, and we were drifting through the Sea of Adria, when, about midnight, the sailors suspected that land was close at hand.

wmth@Acts:27:28 @ So they hove the lead and found twenty fathoms of water; and after a short time they hove again and found fifteen fathoms.

wmth@Acts:27:29 @ Then for fear of possibly running on rocks, they threw out four anchors from the stern and waited impatiently for daylight.

wmth@Acts:27:30 @ The sailors, however, wanted to make their escape from the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow.

wmth@Acts:27:31 @ But Paul, addressing Julius and the soldiers, said, »Your lives will be sacrificed, unless these men remain on board.«

wmth@Acts:27:32 @ Then the soldiers cut the ropes of the ship's boat and let her fall off.

wmth@Acts:27:33 @ And continually, up till daybreak, Paul kept urging all on board to take some food. »This is the fourteenth day,« he said, »that you have been anxiously waiting for the storm to cease, and have fasted, eating little or nothing.

wmth@Acts:27:34 @ I therefore strongly advise you to take some food. This is essential for your safety. For not a hair will perish from the head of any one of you.«

wmth@Acts:27:35 @ Having said this he took some bread, and, after giving thanks to God for it before them all, he broke it in pieces and began to eat it.

wmth@Acts:27:36 @ This raised the spirits of all, and they too took food.

wmth@Acts:27:37 @ There were 276 of us, crew and passengers, all told.

wmth@Acts:27:38 @ After eating a hearty meal they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat overboard.

wmth@Acts:27:39 @ 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.

wmth@Acts:27:40 @ So they cut away the anchors and left them in the sea, unloosing at the same time the bands which secured the paddle-rudders. Then, hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach.

wmth@Acts:27:41 @ But coming to a place where two seas met, they stranded the ship, and her bow sticking fast remained immovable, while the stern began to go to pieces under the heavy hammering of the sea.

wmth@Acts:27:42 @ Now the soldiers recommended that the prisoners should be killed, for fear some one of them might swim ashore and effect his escape.

wmth@Acts:27:43 @ But their Captain, bent on securing Paul's safety, kept them from their purpose and gave orders that those who could swim should first jump overboard and get to land;

wmth@Acts:27:44 @ and that the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. In this way they all got safely to land.

wmth@Acts:28:1 @ Our lives having been thus preserved, we discovered that the island was called Malta.