1 WYC And Agrippa seide to Poul, It is suffrid to thee, to speke for thi silf. Thanne Poul helde forth the hoond, and bigan to yelde resoun. BSB BSB: Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:
2 WYC Of alle thingis, in whiche Y am accusid of the Jewis, thou king Agrippa, Y gesse me blessid at thee, whanne Y schal defende me this dai; BSB BSB: “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews,
3 WYC moost for thou knowist alle thingis that ben among Jewis, customes and questiouns. For which thing, Y biseche, here me pacientli. BSB BSB: especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently.
4 WYC For alle Jewis that bifor knewen me fro the bigynnyng, knewen my lijf fro yongthe; that fro the bigynnyng was in my folc in Jerusalem, BSB BSB: Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from my earliest childhood among my own people, and also in Jerusalem.
5 WYC if thei wolen bere witnessing, that bi the moost certeyn sect of oure religioun, Y lyuede a Farisee. BSB BSB: They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.
6 WYC And now for the hope of repromyssioun, that is maad to oure fadris of God, Y stonde suget in dom; BSB BSB: And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers,
7 WYC in which hope oure twelue lynagis seruynge niyt and dai hopen to come; of which hope, sir king, Y am accusid of the Jewis. BSB BSB: the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews.
8 WYC What vnbileueful thing is demed at you, if God reisith deed men? BSB BSB: Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
9 WYC And sotheli Y gesside, that Y ouyte do many contrarie thingis ayens the name of Jhesu Nazarene. BSB BSB: So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 WYC Which thing also Y dide in Jerusalem, and Y encloside manye of the seyntis in prisoun, whanne Y hadde take powere of the princis of preestis. And whanne thei weren slayn, Y brouyte the sentence. BSB BSB: And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them.
11 WYC And bi alle synagogis ofte Y punyschide hem, and constreynede to blasfeme; and more Y wex wood ayens hem, and pursuede in to alien citees. BSB BSB: I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
12 WYC In whiche, the while Y wente to Damask, with power and suffring of princis of preestis, BSB BSB: In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.
13 WYC at myddai, in the weie Y say, sir king, that fro heuene liyt schynede aboute me, passing the schynyng of the sunne, and aboute hem that weren togidir with me. BSB BSB: About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.
14 WYC And whanne we alle hadden falle doun in to the erthe, Y herde a vois seiynge to me in Ebrew tunge, Saul, Saul, what pursuest thou me? it is hard to thee, to kicke ayens the pricke. BSB BSB: We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15 WYC And Y seide, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord seide, Y am Jhesus, whom thou pursuest. BSB BSB: ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.
16 WYC But rise vp, and stoond on thi feet. For whi to this thing Y apperide to thee, that Y ordeyne thee mynystre and witnesse of tho thingis that thou hast seyn, and of tho in whiche Y schal schewe to thee. BSB BSB: ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you.
17 WYC And Y schal delyuere thee fro puplis and folkis, to whiche now Y sende thee, BSB BSB: I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
18 WYC to opene the iyen of hem, that thei ben conuertid fro derknesse to liyt, and fro power of Sathnas to God, that thei take remyssioun of synnes, and part among seyntis, bi feith that is in me. BSB BSB: to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’
19 WYC Wherfor, sir kyng Agrippa, Y was not vnbileueful to the heuenli visioun; BSB BSB: So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
20 WYC but Y tolde to hem that been at Damask first, and at Jerusalem, and bi al the cuntre of Judee, and to hethene men, that thei schulden do penaunce, and be conuertid to God, and do worthi werkis of penaunce. BSB BSB: First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.
21 WYC For this cause Jewis token me, whanne Y was in the temple, to sle me. BSB BSB: For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
22 WYC But Y was holpun bi the helpe of God in to this dai, and stonde, witnessinge to lesse and to more. And Y seye no thing ellis than whiche thingis the prophetis and Moises spaken that schulen come, BSB BSB: But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
23 WYC if Crist is to suffre, if he is the firste of the ayenrising of deed men, that schal schewe liyt to the puple and to hethene men. BSB BSB: that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”
26 WYC For also the king, to whom Y speke stidfastli, woot of these thingis; for Y deme, that no thing of these is hid fro hym; for nether in a cornere was ouyt of these thingis don. BSB BSB: For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak freely to him. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.
27 WYC Bileuest thou, king Agrippa, `to prophetis? Y woot that thou bileuest. BSB BSB: King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
28 WYC And Agrippa seide to Poul, In litil thing thou counseilist me to be maad a cristen man. BSB BSB: Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?”
29 WYC And Poul seide, Y desire anentis God, bothe in litil and in greet, not oneli thee, but alle these that heren to dai, to be maad sich as Y am, outakun these boondis. BSB BSB: “Short time or long,” Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.”
30 WYC And the kyng roos vp, and the president, and Beronyce, and thei that saten niy to hem. BSB BSB: Then the king and the governor rose, along with Bernice and those seated with them.
31 WYC And whanne thei wenten awei, thei spaken togider, and seiden, That this man hath not don ony thing worthi deth, nether boondis. BSB BSB: On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”
32 WYC And Agrippa seide to Festus, This man miyt be delyuerid, if he hadde not appelid to the emperour. BSB BSB: And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.