Acts 26 - New Testament in Braid Scots 1904 (William Wye Smith)

CHAPTIR TWENTY‐SAX. Paul tells hoo he becam a Christian. It affecks Agrippa a wee.

¹ Than Agrippa said, “It is permittit ye to speak anent yersel. And Paul waved his haun, and answerʼt for his sel.

² “I coont mysel happy, King Agrippa, for that I may mak my defence afore you this day anent the things Jews wyte me wiʼ.

³ “And the mair, as I ken ye are weel‐acquant wiʼ aʼ things belangin to the Jews, baith oʼ customs and oʼ quaistens. Thus I entreat ye to hear me patiently.

⁴ “The way oʼ my life, frae youth, whilk was at first amang my ain folk at Jerusalem, ken aʼ Jews.

⁵ “Inasmuckle as they war takin tent to me frae the first — gin aiblins they war able to testify — that, accordin to the straitest sect oʼ oor religion, I leeved a Pharisee.

⁶ “And nooʼ for a hope oʼ the promise God made to oor faithers, I am staunin to be judged.

⁷ “To whilk promise, oor nation oʼ twal tribes, wiʼ intensitie oʼ service, nicht and day, hope to attain: anent whilk promise, O King, I am wytit by Jews.

⁸ “What! is it no to be believʼd wiʼ you, that God raises the deid?

⁹ “I indeed thocht within mysel that I soud do unco mony things contrar to the name oʼ Jesus oʼ Nazareth.

¹⁰ “Whilk I did in Jerusalem; and mony oʼ the saunts barred I in dungeons, receivin authoritie frae the Heigh‐priests; and whan they war putten to deid, I gied my vote again them.

¹¹ “And, takin vengeance on them aften, in aʼ the kirks, I strave to mak them blaspheme; and bein uncolie enraged again them, I pursued them the lenth oʼ foreign cities.

¹² “And inasmuckle as I was gaun to Damascus, wiʼ authoritie and orders frae the Heigh‐priest,

¹³ “At middle‐day, on the road, I saw, O King, frae the lift, aboon the splendor oʼ the sun, a licht that lowed roond aboot me, and them that gaed wiʼ me;

¹⁴ “And whan we had aʼ faun to the yird, I heard a voice speakin to me iʼ the Hebrew tongue, ‘Saul! Saul! why are ye pursuin me? It is ill for ye to kick again the prods!’

¹⁵ “And I said, ‘Wha are you, my Lord!’ And he says, ‘I am Jesus, wham ye are pursuing!

¹⁶ “ ‘But rise ye, and staun on yere feet; for to this end hae I appearʼt to ye; to fit ye to be a helper and a witness, baith oʼ what ye hae seen, and iʼ thae things I sal appear tʼye:

¹⁷ “ ‘Deliverin ye frae amang the folk, and frae the nations, amang wham I am sendin ye forth.

¹⁸ “ ‘To unsteek their een, that they may turn them aboot frae the mirk intil the licht, and frae Sautanʼs rule to God; that they may hae their sins forgiʼen, and hae their lot amang them wha are sanctifyʼt by faith in me.’

¹⁹ “Wharfor, King Agrippa, I wasna dour anent the heevenlie vision:

²⁰ “But made kent to aʼ thae in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem, and to aʼ the pairts oʼ Judea as weel, and to aʼ the nations, that they soud repent and turn to God, doin warks wordie oʼ their repentance.

²¹ “On accoont oʼ thir things, Jews, grippin me iʼ the Temple, ettlʼt to slay me wiʼ their ain hauns.

²² “Sae than, haein help oʼ God, to this day I staun, bearin witness baith to smaʼ and great; sayin nae ither word than thae things that baith the prophets and Moses said soud come;

²³ “That the Christ bude suffer, gin he (foremaist oʼ thae that soud rise frae the deid!) wad declare licht baith to the folk and to the nations!”

²⁴ But while he was sayin thir thing in his defence, Festus, cryin oot, says, “Ye are wud, Paul! Yere lear is garrin ye be dementit!”

²⁵ But quoʼ Paul, “I am‐na wud, maist noble Festus! but declarations oʼ truth and oʼ a soond mind am I settin forth!

²⁶ “For weel kens the King aboot thir things; afore wham eʼen wiʼ aʼ freedom am I speakin: for I am no perswadit that ony oʼ thae things hae escapit him; for this wasna dune hidlins.

²⁷ “Hae ye faith, King Agrippa, in the prophets? I ken ye hae faith!”

²⁸ And Agrippa says to Paul, “Wiʼ a wee fleechin think ye to mak me a Christian?”

²⁹ And Paul: “I wad pray to God, that wiʼ little or muckle, no only yersel, but aʼ that hear me this day, micht come to be sic sort as I am — barrin thir shackles!”

³⁰ And the King raise, and the governor, and Bernice as weel, and they that sat wiʼ them.

³¹ And haein withdrawn, they spak among their sels, sayin, “This man dis naething wordie oʼ shackles or dungeon!”

³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man coud hae been set free, gin he hadna appealed to Cesar!”