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At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. So he sent for Paul frequently and talked with him.

But when Paul appealed to be held over for the decision of the Emperor, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar."

For it seems unreasonable to me to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him."

Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:

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.

We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

'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.

For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.

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.

"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."

When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Augustan Regiment.

We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.

After sailing slowly for many days, we arrived off Cnidus. When the wind impeded us, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.

When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the great storm continued to batter us, we abandoned all hope of being saved.

So take courage, men, for I believe God that it will happen just as He told me.

Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.

So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost."

Cutting away the anchors, they left them in the sea as they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.

Nearby stood an estate belonging to the Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days.