Acts 25:1–27

Paul’s Trial Before Festus

25Three days after arriving in the province, Festus^h went up from Caesareaⁱ to Jerusalem, ²where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.^{j 3}They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.^{k 4}Festus answered, “Paul is being held^l at Caesarea,^m and I myself am going there soon. ⁵Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”

⁶After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the courtⁿ and ordered that Paul be brought before him.^{o 7}When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him,^p but they could not prove them.^q

⁸Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple^r or against Caesar.”

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

¹⁰Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews,^u as you yourself know very well. ¹¹If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”^v

¹²After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

Festus Consults King Agrippa

¹³A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea^w to pay their respects to Festus. ¹⁴Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.^{x 15}When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him^y and asked that he be condemned.

¹⁶“I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges.^{z 17}When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.^{a 18}When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. ¹⁹Instead, they had some points of dispute^b with him about their own religion^c and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. ²⁰I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.^{d 21}But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”^e

²²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”

He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”^f

Paul Before Agrippa

26:12–18pp—Ac 9:3–8; 22:6–11

²³The next day Agrippa and Bernice^g came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community^h has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.^{i 25}I found he had done nothing deserving of death,^j but because he made his appeal to the Emperor^k I decided to send him to Rome. ²⁶But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. ²⁷For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”