Acts 25

VIN^{(i) 1} Three days after his arrival in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, ² and the high priests and Jewish leaders presented their charges against Paul, ³ as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. ⁴ But Festus replied, “Paul is being held in Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. ⁵ "So have your principal men go down with me," he said, "and present charges against the man, if there is anything wrong with him." ⁶ After spending no more than eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he sat on the judgment seat and ordered that Paul be brought in. ⁷ And when Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove. ⁸ Then Paul made his defense: “I have committed no offense against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” ⁹ But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?" ¹⁰ But Paul said, "I am standing before Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also know very well. ¹¹ "If I am a wrongdoer, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if charges brought against me by the Jews are not true no man has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar." ¹² Then Festus conferred with his council and replied, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!” ¹³ Some days after, king Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus, ¹⁴ While they were there Festus declared Paul's cause to the king. He said, "There is a man that Felix left a prisoner. ¹⁵ and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him, asking for sentence against him. ¹⁶ I told them it was not the Roman custom to hand a man over before he has an opportunity to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges. ¹⁷ So when they came here with me, I did not delay. The next day I sat on the judgment seat and ordered that the man be brought in. ¹⁸ But when his accusers rose to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. ¹⁹ but they simply had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive. ²⁰ Since I was at a loss as to how to investigate these matters, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges. ²¹ But when Paul appealed to be held over for the decision of the Emperor, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.” ²² Then A-gripÆpa said to Festus, I would like to hear this man myself; and Festus replied, Tomorrow, you shall hear him. ²³ So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high ranking officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him, both here and in Jerusalem, crying out that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ But I found that he had done nothing deserving of death; and as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to send him. ²⁶ I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign one about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this inquiry I may have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, without specifying the charges against him.