Act 25 | NASB1995 | STEP | Festus then , having arrived in the province , three days later went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea .

Acts 25

Paul before Festus

1 Festus then, having arrived in ^athe province, three days later went up to Jerusalem from ^bCaesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews ^cbrought charges against Paul, and they were urging him, 3 requesting a ^{▼▼ Or favor}concession against ^{▼▼ Lit him}Paul, that he might ^{▼▼ Lit send for him to Jerusalem}have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, ^gsetting an ambush to kill him on the way). 4 Festus then ^hanswered that Paul ⁱwas being kept in custody at ^jCaesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. 5 “Therefore,” he said, “let the influential men among you ^{▼▼ Lit go down}go there with me, and if there is anything wrong ^{▼▼ Lit in}about the man, let them ^{▼▼ Or accuse}prosecute him.”

6 After he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to ⁿCaesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on ^othe tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing ^pmany and serious charges against him ^qwhich they could not prove, 8 while Paul said in his own defense, ^r“I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” 9 But Festus, ^swishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, ^t“Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and ^{▼▼ Lit be judged}stand trial before me on these charges?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s ^vtribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. 11 “If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I ^wappeal to Caesar.” 12 Then when Festus had conferred with ^{▼▼ A different group from that mentioned in Act.4.15 and 24:20}his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.”

13 Now when several days had elapsed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at ^yCaesarea ^{▼▼ Lit greeting Festus}and paid their respects to Festus. 14 While they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man who was ^aaleft as a prisoner by Felix; 15 and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews ^abbrought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 “I ^acanswered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any man before ^adthe accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges. 17 “So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on ^aethe tribunal and ordered the man to be brought before me. 18 “When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting, 19 but they simply had some ^afpoints of disagreement with him about their own ^{▼▼ Or superstition
,} ^ahreligion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20 ^ai“Being at a loss how to investigate ^{▼▼ Lit these}such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these matters. 21 “But when Paul ^akappealed to be held in custody for ^{▼▼ Lit the Augustus’s (in this case Nero)}the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.” 22 Then ^amAgrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”

Paul before Agrippa

23 So, on the next day when ^anAgrippa came ^{▼▼ Lit and Bernice}together with ^apBernice amid great pomp, and entered the auditorium ^{▼▼ Lit and with}accompanied by the ^{▼▼ I.e. chiliarchs, in command of one thousand troops}commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom ^asall the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that ^athe ought not to live any longer. 25 “But I found that he had committed ^aunothing worthy of death; and since he himself ^avappealed to ^{▼▼ V 21, note 1}the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 ^{▼▼ Lit About whom I have nothing definite}“Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. 27 “For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”