⁵ If they are willing to speak, they themselves will tell you something they have long known—that I was a member of the strictest sect of our religion and lived for many years as a Pharisee. ⁶ But now I am on trial here for this simple reason: I have hope. I have hope rooted in a promise God made to our ancestors. ⁷ All our twelve tribes have hope in this promise—they express their hope as they worship day and night. How strange it is, then, Your Excellency, that I am accused by the Jews of having hope!