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Atos 26

BLIVRE · Chapter 26/28

1E Agripa disse a Paulo: É permitido a ti falar por ti mesmo.Então Paulo, estendendo a mão, respondeu em sua defesa:

2Eu me considero feliz, rei Agripa, de que diante de ti eu esteja hoje fazendo minha defesa de todas as coisas de que sou acusado pelos judeus;

3Principalmente [por] eu saber que tu sabes de todos os costumes e questões que há entre os judeus; por isso eu te rogo que tu me ouças com paciência.

4Ora, a minha vida é conhecida por todos os judeus, desde a [minha] juventude, que desde o princípio tem sido entre [os de] minha nação em Jerusalém;

5Eles me conhecem desde o começo, se quiserem testemunhar, de que conforme a mais rigorosa divisão de nossa religião, eu vivi [como] fariseu.

6E agora, pela esperança da promessa que por Deus foi dada aos nossos pais, eu estou [aqui] sendo julgado.

7À qual nossas doze tribos, servindo continuamente [a Deus] de dia e de noite, esperam chegar; pela qual esperança, rei Agripa, eu sou acusado pelos judeus.

8Por que se julga como incrível entre vós que Deus ressuscite aos mortos?

9Eu realmente tinha pensado comigo mesmo, que contra o nome de Jesus eu tinha que fazer muitas oposições.

10O que eu também fiz em Jerusalém; e tendo recebido autoridade dos chefes dos sacerdotes, eu pus em prisões a muitos dos santos; e quando eles eram mortos, eu [também] dava meu voto contra [eles] .

11E tendo lhes dado punição muitas vezes por todas as sinagogas, eu os forcei a blasfemarem. E estando extremamente enfurecido contra eles, até nas cidades estrangeiras eu os persegui;

12Nas quais, indo eu até Damasco, com autoridade e comissão dos chefes dos sacerdotes;

13Ao meio dia, vi no caminho, rei, uma luz do céu, que brilhava muito mais que o sol, e que encheu de claridade ao redor de mim e dos que iam comigo.

14E todos nós, tendo caído ao chão, eu ouvi uma voz que falava a mim, e dizia em língua hebraica: Saulo, Saulo, por que me persegues? Duro é para ti dar coices contra os aguilhões.

15E eu disse: Quem és, Senhor? E ele disse: Eu sou Jesus, a quem tu persegues.

16Mas levanta-te, e fica de pé, porque para isto eu apareci a ti, para te predeterminar como trabalhador e testemunha, tanto das coisas que [já] tens visto, como das coisas que eu [ainda] aparecerei a ti;

17Livrando-te d [este] povo, e [dos] gentios, aos quais agora eu te envio.

18Para abrir os olhos deles, e das trevas converterem à luz, e do poder de Satanás [converterem] a Deus; para que recebam perdão dos pecados, e herança entre os santificados pela fé em mim.

19Portanto, rei Agripa, eu não fui desobediente à visão celestial.

20Mas sim, primeiramente aos [que estavam] em Damasco e Jerusalém, e por toda a terra da Judeia, e aos gentios anunciei que se arrependessem, e se convertessem a Deus, fazendo obras dignas de arrependimento.

21Por causa disto os judeus me pegaram no Templo, e procuravam [me] matar.

22Porém tendo eu obtido socorro de Deus, permaneço até o dia de hoje, dando testemunho tanto a pequenos como a grandes; não dizendo nada além dos que as [coisas] que os profetas e Moisés tinham dito que estavam para acontecer;

23[Isto é] , que o Cristo sofreria, e sendo o primeiro da ressurreição dos mortos, ia anunciar a luz a este povo e aos gentios.

24E tendo [Paulo] dito isto em [sua] defesa, Festo disse em alta voz: Tu estás louco, Paulo; as muitas escrituras te fizeram enlouquecer!

25Mas ele [respondeu] : Eu não estou louco, excelentíssimo Festo; mas eu declaro palavras de verdade e de um são juízo;

26Porque o rei, a quem eu estou falando livremente, ele sabe [muito bem] destas coisas; porque eu não creio que nenhuma disto lhe seja oculto; por que isto não foi feito num canto.

27Rei Agripa, tu crês nos profetas? Eu sei que tu crês.

28E Agripa disse a Paulo: Por pouco tu me convences a me tornar cristão.

29E Paulo disse: Meu desejo a Deus é que, por pouco ou por muito, não somente tu, mas todos os que estão me ouvindo hoje, tais vos tornásseis assim como eu sou, a não ser por estas correntes.

30E tendo ele dito isto, o rei se levantou, e [também] o governador, Berenice, e os que estavam sentados com eles.

31E reunindo-se à parte, falavam uns aos outros, dizendo: Este homem nada faz [que seja] digno de morte ou de prisões.

32E Agripa disse a Festo: Este homem podia ser solto, se ele não tivesse apelado a César.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul presents his defense before King Agrippa, recounting his conversion and his calling to preach to the Gentiles. Festus interrupts him, saying he has gone mad, but Agrippa acknowledges that Paul has done nothing worthy of imprisonment.

Explanation

This is Paul's fullest and most eloquent defense speech in Acts, weaving his personal biography together with the central message of the gospel: that the Messiah's suffering and resurrection fulfill the Jewish Scriptures. Festus's reaction, calling him mad because of so much learning, and Paul's calm response show maturity in the face of public mockery. Agrippa's line — 'Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian' — captures the tension of someone close to faith who nonetheless draws back before the personal cost of following it.

Fun facts

  • Bernice, mentioned alongside Agrippa, was his sister, and rumors from the period (recorded even by the Roman historian Tacitus) suggested an incestuous relationship between the two, making the scene even more charged with social tension for the original readers.
  • The expression 'to kick against the pricks,' used by Jesus when he appeared to Paul, was a common Greek proverb about the futility of an ox fighting against the farmer's goad — a cultural image, not a literal Hebrew phrase.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Atos 26:1Agrippa formally gives Paul the floor, and he begins his defense with a hand gesture — a common way to call for attention before an important speech in that era.
  2. Atos 26:2Paul calls himself fortunate to defend himself before Agrippa, since the king, unlike Festus, actually understood the Jewish customs involved in the case.
  3. Atos 26:3Paul reinforces his praise of the king, asking for patience to hear a more detailed explanation, since Agrippa understood Jewish religious controversies better than any ordinary Roman.
  4. Atos 26:4Paul begins recounting his life from his youth, noting that it was well known among the Jews themselves, both in his childhood and later in Jerusalem.
  5. Atos 26:5Paul describes the Pharisees as the strictest group in observing Jewish law at the time, underscoring that his life before believing in Jesus was already one of serious religious observance, not carelessness.
  6. Atos 26:6Paul argues that he is being judged precisely because of his hope in the ancient promise God made to the Jewish ancestors — the messianic promise.
  7. Atos 26:7That same hope, Paul says, was shared by the twelve tribes of Israel through their constant religious devotion — ironic that he should be accused for believing exactly that.
  8. Atos 26:8Paul poses a rhetorical question to the audience: why should it seem so hard to believe that God could raise the dead?
  9. Atos 26:9Paul openly admits that he once was convinced he ought to act aggressively against the name of Jesus, without any doubt at the time.
  10. Atos 26:10He details that violent past: he imprisoned many Christians with official authorization from the priests, and voted in favor of their death when they were condemned.
  11. Atos 26:11Paul confesses that he forced Christians to blaspheme through punishment in synagogues, even pursuing people into foreign cities outside Jewish territory.
  12. Atos 26:12It was on exactly one of these persecution missions, on the road to Damascus with official authorization, that the encounter that would change everything took place.
  13. Atos 26:13This time Paul describes the scene in more detail: a light from heaven brighter than the sun itself, surrounding both him and his traveling companions.
  14. Atos 26:14He adds a new detail not mentioned in the earlier accounts of the story: the voice spoke in Hebrew and included the phrase “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks,” a reference to the goad used to drive oxen, symbolizing useless resistance.
  15. Atos 26:15Paul repeats the central dialogue: he asks who is speaking, and receives the answer that it is Jesus, the very person he was persecuting through the Christians.
  16. Atos 26:16This time Jesus explains right there in the scene the purpose of the encounter: to make Paul a servant and witness, both of what he had already seen and of what He would still reveal to him in the future.
  17. Atos 26:17Jesus promises to deliver Paul from both his own Jewish people and the Gentiles — precisely the group to whom he was being sent to preach.
  18. Atos 26:18The detailed mission includes opening people’s eyes, turning them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, offering forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus.
  19. Atos 26:19Paul declares that, faced with such a clear vision from heaven, he had no way to disobey the call he received.
  20. Atos 26:20He sums up his preaching from then on: calling people to repentance and to turn to God, first in Damascus and Jerusalem, then throughout Judea and among the Gentiles.
  21. Atos 26:21Paul points out that it was precisely because of this preaching that the Jews seized him in the temple and tried to kill him — the episode that set the whole legal process in motion.
  22. Atos 26:22Paul credits his survival up to that moment to God’s help, and insists that his message never contradicted what Moses and the prophets had already announced.
  23. Atos 26:23He sums up the central message: that the Messiah had to suffer and, being the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to both the Jewish people and the Gentiles.
  24. Atos 26:24Festus interrupts Paul’s speech, thinking that all his learning had driven him “mad.” It is a common reaction from educated Romans faced with Jewish ideas about resurrection, which sounded bizarre outside that religious context.
  25. Atos 26:25Faced with Festus’s interruption calling him mad, Paul calmly replies that he was not raving, but speaking words of truth and soberness.
  26. Atos 26:26Paul stakes his credibility on Agrippa as a witness, arguing that the facts about Jesus were public and well known, not something done “in a corner.”
  27. Atos 26:27Paul directly presses the king with a personal question about his faith in the prophets, trying to lead him to publicly admit a position on the matter.
  28. Atos 26:28King Agrippa’s reply is an ambiguous line that can be read as sarcasm, polite irony, or even a genuine reaction of being almost persuaded. Translators and scholars still disagree on its exact tone today.
  29. Atos 26:29Paul replies, wishing that everyone present would become like him, “except these bonds” — a remark that blends seriousness with a touch of humor, pointing literally to the chains binding him as he spoke.
  30. Atos 26:30The formal hearing ends with the king, the governor, Bernice, and the others present standing up, closing the session in proper protocol.
  31. Atos 26:31As they withdraw, they talk among themselves and unanimously conclude that Paul had done nothing deserving death or imprisonment.
  32. Atos 26:32Even recognizing Paul’s innocence, neither Agrippa nor Festus has the power to release him anymore, because the appeal to Caesar was already underway and had to run its full course.

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