17 And it came about after shloshah yamim, that Rav Sha'ul called together the chashuve Yehudim. And when they had assembled, Rav Sha'ul was saying to them, "Anashim, Achim, though I had done nothing keneged (against, in opposition to) our Jewish people or to the minhagei Avoteinu of Orthodox Judaism, I was arrested in Yerushalayim and delivered over into the hands of the Romans,
18 "Who, having examined me, were desiring to release me, because I had done nothing worthy of the death penalty.
19 "But when the Yehudim spoke keneged (in opposition to, against) this, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, but only to defend myself, not to bring accusation against Am Yisroel, my people.
20 "On account of this reason, therefore, I summoned you, to see you and to speak with you, since it is for the sake of the tikvat Yisroel that I am wearing these prison sharsherot (chains)."
21 And they said to Rav Sha'ul, "We neither received iggrot about you from Yehudah nor have any of the Achim arrived and reported or spoke any lashon hora about you.
22 "But we desire to hear from you what you think, for lichora (apparently) with regard to this kat of Judaism, we have da'as that it is spoken keneged (against) everywhere."
23 And they set a day for him, and they came to him in his lodgings, and there were many of them. And Rav Sha'ul was making a midrash, bearing solemn edut about the Malchut Hashem, and persuading them about Yehoshua from both the Torah of Moshe Rabbenu and from the Nevi'im, from haboker to haerev.