Acts 24:10–27

¹⁰When ^athe governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense,

¹¹since you can take note of the fact that no more than ^atwelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²“^aNeither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or ^bcausing ¹a riot.

¹³“^aNor can they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me.

¹⁴“But this I admit to you, that according to ^athe Way which they call a ^bsect I do serve ^1cthe God of our fathers, ^dbelieving everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets;

¹⁵having a hope in God, which ^athese men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

¹⁶“In view of this, ^aI also ¹do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.

¹⁷“Now ^aafter several years I ^bcame to bring ¹alms to my nation and to present offerings;

¹⁸in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been ^apurified, without any ^bcrowd or uproar. But there were some ^cJews from ¹Asia—

¹⁹who ought to have been present before you and to ^amake accusation, if they should have anything against me.

²⁰“Or else let these men themselves tell what misdeed they found when I stood before ^athe ¹Council,

²¹other than for this one statement which ^aI shouted out while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.’ ”

²²But Felix, ¹having a more exact knowledge about ^athe Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the ²commander comes down, I will decide your case.”

²³Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be ^akept in custody and yet ^bhave some freedom, and not to prevent any of ^chis friends from ministering to him.

²⁴But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his ¹wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about ^afaith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵But as he was discussing ^arighteousness, ^bself-control and ^cthe judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.”

²⁶At the same time too, he was hoping that ^amoney would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and converse with him.

²⁷But after two years had passed, Felix ¹was succeeded by Porcius ^aFestus, and ^bwishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul ^cimprisoned.