King James Version · Under Rome
Acts 26
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Then said unto , Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself: 2I think myself happy, king , because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the : Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the : wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at , know all the ; Which knew me , if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a . And now I stand and am judged for the of the promise made of unto our fathers: Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly day and night, to come. For which ’s sake, king , I am accused of the . Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that should raise ? I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of of . Which thing I also did in : and many of did I shut up in prison, having received from the ; and when they were put to , I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every , and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Whereupon as I went to with and commission from the , At midday, O king, I saw in a from , above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the , , , why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, ? And he said, I am whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the , unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from to , and from the of unto , that they may receive forgiveness of , and among them which are by that is in me. Whereupon, O king , I was not unto the : But shewed first unto them of , and at , and throughout all the coasts of , and then to the , that they should and turn to , and do works meet for . For these causes the caught me in , and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of , I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which and did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from , and should shew unto the people, and to the . And as he thus spake for himself, said with a loud voice, , thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble ; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. 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. King , believest thou ? I know that thou believest. Then said unto , Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And said, I would to , 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 thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and , and they that sat with them: And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of or of bonds. Then said unto , This man might have been , if he had not appealed unto Cesar.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.