1 A wise child accepts a parent’s discipline;
a mocker refuses to listen to correction.
2 Wise words will win you a good meal,
but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.
3 Those who control their tongue will have a long life;
opening your mouth can ruin everything.
4 Lazy people want much but get little,
but those who work hard will prosper.
5 The godly hate lies;
the wicked cause shame and disgrace.
6 Godliness guards the path of the blameless,
but the evil are misled by sin.
7 Some who are poor pretend to be rich;
others who are rich pretend to be poor.
8 The rich can pay a ransom for their lives,
but the poor won’t even get threatened.
9 The life of the godly is full of light and joy,
but the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.
10 Pride leads to conflict;
those who take advice are wise.
11 Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears;
wealth from hard work grows over time.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
13 People who despise advice are asking for trouble;
those who respect a command will succeed.
14 The instruction of the wise is like a life-giving fountain;
those who accept it avoid the snares of death.
15 A person with good sense is respected;
a treacherous person is headed for destruction.
16 Wise people think before they act;
fools don’t—and even brag about their foolishness.
17 An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble,
but a reliable messenger brings healing.
18 If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace;
if you accept correction, you will be honored.
19 It is pleasant to see dreams come true,
but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them.
20 Walk with the wise and become wise;
associate with fools and get in trouble.
21 Trouble chases sinners,
while blessings reward the righteous.
22 Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren,
but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.
23 A poor person’s farm may produce much food,
but injustice sweeps it all away.
24 Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children.
Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.
25 The godly eat to their hearts’ content,
but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.
1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak in your defense.”
So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense: 2 “I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders, 3 for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!
4 “As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion. 6 Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to our ancestors. 7 In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope! 8 Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?
9 “I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene. 10 Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death. 11 Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.
12 “One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. 13 About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. 14 We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.’
15 “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked.
“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. 16 Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future. 17 And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles 18 to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’
19 “And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven. 20 I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do. 21 Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me. 22 But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”
24 Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!”
25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth. 26 And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner! 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do—”
28 Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?”
29 Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”
30 Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others stood and left. 31 As they went out, they talked it over and agreed, “This man hasn’t done anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”
32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”
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