Acts 25 Cross References - BSB

¹ Three days after his arrival in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, ² where the chief priests and Jewish leaders presented their case against Paul. They urged Festus ³ to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because 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 if this man has done anything wrong, let some of your leaders come down with me and accuse him there.” 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 When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that 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 to stand trial before me on these charges?” ¹⁰ Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹ If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one 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 After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. ¹⁴ Since they were staying several days, Festus laid out Paul’s case before the king: “There is a certain man whom Felix left in prison. ¹⁵ While I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews presented their case and requested a judgment against him. ¹⁶ I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand a man over before he has had 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 They only had some contentions with him regarding their own religion and a certain Jesus who had died, but whom Paul affirmed 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 that he be held until I could send him to Caesar.” ²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.” “Tomorrow you will hear him,” Festus declared. ²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the auditorium, along with the commanders and leading men of the city. And Festus ordered that Paul be 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 he had done nothing worthy of death, and since he has now 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 unreasonable to me to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.”

⁴⁰ But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

²² When Paul had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem. Then he went down to Antioch.

¹⁵ After these days, we packed up and went on to Jerusalem.

³⁴ The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,

⁵ So if this man has done anything wrong, let some of your leaders come down with me and accuse him there.”

³¹ if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—

¹⁶ For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.

¹ Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, who presented to the governor their case against Paul.

¹⁵ While I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews presented their case and requested a judgment against him.

¹² All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” ¹³ “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.” ¹⁴ “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” ¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ¹⁶ ruin and misery lie in their wake, ¹⁷ and the way of peace they have not known.” ¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” ¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now, O king, come down whenever your soul desires, and we will be responsible for delivering him into your hand.” ²¹ “May you be blessed by the LORD,” replied Saul, “for you have had compassion on me.

³² Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them, ³³ the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned under judgment.

² Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the mob of workers of iniquity, ³ who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows, ⁴ ambushing the innocent in seclusion, shooting suddenly, without fear. ⁵ They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say. ⁶ They devise injustice and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men. Protect me from men of violence, ² who devise evil in their hearts and stir up war all day long. ³ They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah ⁴ Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble. ⁵ The proud hide a snare for me; the cords of their net are spread along the path, and lures are set out for me. Selah

¹⁸ Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”

⁴ Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”

²³ And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!” ²⁴ Then she went out and asked her mother, “What should I request?” And her mother answered, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ At once the girl hurried back to the king with her request: “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.”

⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased. He had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had heard about Him and was hoping to see Him perform a miracle. ⁹ Herod questioned Jesus at great length, but He gave no answer. ¹⁰ Meanwhile, the chief priests and scribes stood there, vehemently accusing Him. ¹¹ And even Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in a fine robe, they sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² That day Herod and Pilate became friends; before this time they had been enemies. ¹³ Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him here in your presence and found Him not guilty of your charges against Him. ¹⁵ Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us. As you can see, He has done nothing deserving of death. ¹⁶ Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.” ^{17 18} But they all cried out in unison: “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” ¹⁹ (Barabbas had been imprisoned for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) ²⁰ Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate addressed them again, ²¹ but they kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” ²² A third time he said to them, “What evil has this man done? I have found in Him no offense worthy of death. So after I punish Him, I will release Him.” ²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices for Jesus to be crucified. And their clamor prevailed. ²⁴ So Pilate sentenced that their demand be met.

³ They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me.

² and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

²⁴ but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him.

¹² When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ More than forty of them were involved in this plot. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him down to you on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. We are ready to kill him on the way.”

⁹ So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

⁸ Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!

²³ He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard, but to allow him some freedom and permit his friends to minister to his needs.

¹¹ See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. See and know that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, even though you are hunting me down to take my life. ¹² May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.

³ O LORD my God, if I have done this, if injustice is on my hands, ⁴ if I have rewarded my ally with evil, if I have plundered my foe without cause, ⁵ then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust. Selah

²⁹ So Pilate went out to them and asked, “What accusation are you bringing against this man?” ³⁰ “If He were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.”

¹⁴ But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “If this matter involved a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to hear your complaint.

³⁰ When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also instructed his accusers to present their case against him before you.

⁸ By examining him yourself, you will be able to learn the truth about all our charges against him.”

¹⁶ I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand a man over before he has had an opportunity to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges.

¹⁸ But when his accusers rose to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. ¹⁹ They only had some contentions with him regarding their own religion and a certain Jesus who had died, but whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

²⁵ But I found he had done nothing worthy of death, and since he has now appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.

¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”

¹³ When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha.

¹² While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat. ¹³ “This man is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law,” they said. ¹⁴ But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “If this matter involved a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to hear your complaint. ¹⁵ But since it is a dispute about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.” ¹⁶ And he drove them away from the judgment seat. ¹⁷ At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.

¹⁰ Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.

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.

¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

¹⁵ that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

⁸ Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

¹² Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.

¹¹ Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.

¹¹ Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

⁶⁰ But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward ⁶¹ and declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” ⁶² So the high priest stood up and asked Him, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?”

³ And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things. ⁴ Then Pilate questioned Him again, “Have You no answer? Look how many charges they are bringing against You!”

² And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”

¹⁰ Meanwhile, the chief priests and scribes stood there, vehemently accusing Him.

²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everywhere against our people and against our law and against this place. Furthermore, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”

⁵ We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, ⁶ and he even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.

¹³ Nor can they prove to you any of their charges against me.

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.

¹⁴ If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵ Indeed, none of you should suffer as a murderer or thief or wrongdoer, or even as a meddler. ¹⁶ But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.

¹⁵ For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”

¹⁸ Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you have put me in prison?

²² My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

¹³ where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

¹ Paul looked directly at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have conducted myself before God in all good conscience to this day.”

⁶ and he even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.

¹² Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city.

¹⁷ After several years, then, I returned to Jerusalem to bring alms to my people and to present offerings. ¹⁸ At the time they found me in the temple, I was ceremonially clean and was not inciting a crowd or an uproar. But there are some Jews from the province of Asia ¹⁹ who ought to appear before you and bring charges, if they have anything against me. ²⁰ Otherwise, let these men state for themselves any crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin, ²¹ unless it was this one thing I called out as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”

¹⁷ After three days, he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, I was taken prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.

²¹ The leaders replied, “We have not received any letters about you from Judea, nor have any of the brothers from there reported or even mentioned anything bad about you.

¹² And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.

¹⁵ And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.

³ And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

²⁷ After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

³ to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.

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.

¹⁸ For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.

²³ “Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” ²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “You bear the responsibility.”

³⁷ But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!” ³⁸ So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

²⁵ But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?” ²⁶ On hearing this, the centurion went and reported it to the commander. “What are you going to do?” he said. “This man is a Roman citizen.” ²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered. ²⁸ “I paid a high price for my citizenship,” said the commander. “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹ I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.

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.

³¹ On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”

¹⁸ They examined me and wanted to release me, because there was no basis for a death sentence against me.

² Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

²² “The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! He knows, and may Israel also know. If this was in rebellion or breach of faith against the LORD, do not spare us today.

³ Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.” ⁴ “You have not wronged us or oppressed us,” they replied, “nor have you taken anything from the hand of man.” ⁵ Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.

¹ David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

²¹ if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,

³⁸ if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together, ³⁹ if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, ⁴⁰ then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” Thus conclude the words of Job.

³⁷ But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”

²⁵ But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?”

²¹ But when Paul appealed to be held over for the decision of the Emperor, I ordered that he be held until I could send him to Caesar.”

³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

¹⁹ But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, even though I have no charge to bring against my nation.

¹⁵ who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,

¹⁰ Even the wrath of man shall praise You; with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.

¹⁰ I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’ ¹¹ I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, and truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, and I will surely do it.

³⁷ Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?

³⁵ All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

²¹ After these things had happened, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must see Rome as well.”

¹¹ The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”

³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

¹⁶ When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to stay by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

²⁸ So after I have completed this service and have safely delivered this bounty to them, I will set off to Spain by way of you. ²⁹ I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴ And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.

²⁰ I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

¹⁰ Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

¹⁴ Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s young men informed Nabal’s wife Abigail, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he scolded them.

¹⁰ he sent his son Joram to greet King David and bless him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer, who had been at war with Toi. Joram brought with him articles of silver and gold and bronze,

¹³ Jehu met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?” “We are relatives of Ahaziah,” they answered, “and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and of the queen mother.”

¹⁸ And they began to salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”

²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.” “Tomorrow you will hear him,” Festus declared. ²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the auditorium, along with the commanders and leading men of the city. And Festus ordered that Paul be brought in.

¹ Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:

²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.” ²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?”

⁹ If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out.”

³ And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice. Then she will stop wearing me out with her perpetual requests.’”

²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices for Jesus to be crucified. And their clamor prevailed.

¹ Three days after his arrival in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, ² where the chief priests and Jewish leaders presented their case against Paul. They urged Festus ³ to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.

⁴ and if it is reported and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report is true and such an abomination has happened in Israel,

¹⁷ both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time. ¹⁸ The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is proven to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother,

¹³ He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.

¹⁷ The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

⁵¹ “Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”

⁴ But Festus replied, “Paul is being held in Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. ⁵ So if this man has done anything wrong, let some of your leaders come down with me and accuse him there.”

²² beginning from John’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

³² God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.

²² Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.

³¹ For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

¹⁵ But since it is a dispute about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”

¹⁹ When they reached Ephesus, Paul parted ways with Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews.

⁷ When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove.

²² But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen: ²³ that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith. ¹⁵ In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead, but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men. ²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

¹⁸ the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

⁹ But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to stand trial before me on these charges?”

¹ Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.

¹⁰ Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹ If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹⁶ At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.

¹⁵ so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.

¹⁸ On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.

¹² But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors.

¹⁵ “Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.

⁴ And for a full 180 days he displayed the glorious riches of his kingdom and the magnificent splendor of his greatness.

² “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

¹⁴ Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion’s nobles and masses, her revelers and carousers!

¹¹ Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket.

²⁴ So I will bring the most wicked of nations to take possession of their houses. I will end the pride of the mighty, and their holy places will be profaned.

¹⁸ The day will be darkened in Tahpanhes when I break the yoke of Egypt and her proud strength comes to an end. A cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.

¹² I will make your hordes fall by the swords of the mighty, the most ruthless of all nations. They will ravage the pride of Egypt and all her multitudes will be destroyed.

²⁸ I will make the land a desolate waste, and the pride of her strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, so that no one will pass through.

³⁰ the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

²¹ On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people.

¹³ After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.

³⁰ Then the king and the governor rose, along with Bernice and those seated with them.

³¹ and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

²⁴ For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

²¹ but they kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” ²² A third time he said to them, “What evil has this man done? I have found in Him no offense worthy of death. So after I punish Him, I will release Him.” ²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices for Jesus to be crucified. And their clamor prevailed.

²² The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!”

⁴ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him here in your presence and found Him not guilty of your charges against Him.

³⁸ “What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.

⁹ A great clamor arose, and some scribes from the party of the Pharisees got up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

¹¹ If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one 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!”

² “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews, ³ especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently.