24 “And as he thus made his defense, Festus saith with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning doth turn thee to madness. But Paul saith, I am not mad, most excellent Festus; but speak forth words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, unto whom also I speak freely; for I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him; for this hath not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. And Agrippa said unto Paul, With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that whether with little or with much, not thou only, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these bonds.
30 “And the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them; and when they had withdrawn, they spake one to another, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. And Agrippa said unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Cæsar.”
1 “And when it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan band. And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail unto the places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. And the next day we touched at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul kindly, and gave him leave to go unto his friends and refresh himself. And putting to sea from thence, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy; and he put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and were come with difficulty over against Cnidus, the wind not further suffering us, we sailed under the lee of Crete, over against Salmone; and with difficulty coasting along it we came unto a certain place called Fair Havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
9 “And when much time was spent, and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast was now already gone by, Paul admonished them, and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the lading and the ship, but also of our lives. But the centurion gave more heed to the master and to the owner of the ship, than to those things which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to put to sea from thence, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, and winter there; which is a haven of Crete, looking northeast and southeast. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close in shore. But after no long time there beat down from it a tempestuous wind, which is called Euraquilo; and when the ship was caught, and could not face the wind, we gave way to it, and were driven. And running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat; and when they had hoisted it up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should be cast upon the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and so were driven. And as we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw the freight overboard; and the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars shone upon us for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was now taken away.”
QUESTIONS
(1) Give a summary of Paul’s speech before King Agrippa. (2) What important, vital truths does it contain? (3) While he was speaking, by whom was he interrupted? What was the Roman governor’s idea of all that Paul had said? V. 24. (4) What was Paul’s reply? V. 25. (5) To whom did he refer to substantiate his statement that he was speaking sober truth? What did Paul say as to the openness of all these things? V. 26. (6) What personal appeal did he then make to Agrippa? V. 27. (7) How did Agrippa receive this personal turn to the address? V. 28. (8) Repeat Paul’s beautiful reply. V. 29. (9) How did the rulers signify that they did not care to hear any more? V. 30. (10) As they went out, what testimony did they give to Paul’s innocence? V. 31. (11) What was Agrippa’s verdict? V. 32. (12) To whom was Paul delivered for conveyance to Rome? Chapter 27:1. (13) Who accompanied him? V. 2. (14) What was their first stopping-place? How was Paul treated by this centurion? V. 3. (15) What was their course from Sidon? What trouble did they experience? Vs. 4, 5. (16) At what place did they change to another ship? V. 6. (17) What kind of passage did they have from this place? What was their course? V. 7. (18) To what place did they at last come? V. 8. (19) What is said of the sailing? Why? V. 9. What “fast” is referred to? What time of the year was it? (20) What warning did Paul give? V. 10. (21) Why was it not heeded? Verse 11. (22) What else induced the master of the ship to continue the voyage? To what place did they hope to come? V. 12. (23) By what were they deceived? Vs. 13. (24) What soon followed? V. 14. (25) What were they obliged to do? V. 15. (26) Of what did they take advantage to secure their small boat? V. 16. (27) Having secured it, what did they do? In what danger were they now? V. 17. (28) What did they do the next day? What else did they do the next day? Vs. 18, 19. (29) What was the state of the weather for many days? Under these circumstances, what was their hope of escape? V. 20.
NOTE.
In studying this lesson, no one should fail to avail himself of the advantage to be derived from the difference of expression in the Revised Version.
