{"book":"Acts","slug":"acts","ch":25,"genre":"prose","sub":"The Acts of the Apostles","prev":"acts/24","next":"acts/26","verses":[{"v":1,"t":"Three days after his arrival in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem,","f":[],"h":"Paul’s Trial before Festus","style":"reg"},{"v":2,"t":"[where] the chief priests and Jewish leaders presented their case against Paul. They urged [Festus]","f":[]},{"v":3,"t":"to grant them a concession against [Paul] by summoning him to Jerusalem, [ because ] they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.","f":[]},{"v":4,"t":"But Festus replied,“ Paul is being held in Caesarea, and [I myself] am going there soon.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":5,"t":"So if [this] man has done anything wrong, {let} some of your leaders come down with me and accuse him [there].”","f":[]},{"v":6,"t":"[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.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":7,"t":"[When] [Paul] arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove.","f":[]},{"v":8,"t":"[Then] Paul made his defense:“ I have committed no offense against the law of the Jews [or] against the temple [or] against Caesar.”","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":9,"t":"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]?”","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":10,"t":"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.","f":[],"h":"Paul Appeals to Caesar","style":"reg"},{"v":11,"t":"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!”","f":[]},{"v":12,"t":"Then Festus conferred with [his] council [and] replied,“ You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":13,"t":"[After] several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.","f":[],"h":"Festus Consults Agrippa","style":"reg"},{"v":14,"t":"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.","f":[]},{"v":15,"t":"While I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews presented their case [and] requested a judgment against him.","f":[]},{"v":16,"t":"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.","f":[]},{"v":17,"t":"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.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":18,"t":"[But when his] accusers rose to speak, they did not charge [him] with [any of the] crimes I had expected.","f":[]},{"v":19,"t":"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.","f":[]},{"v":20,"t":"[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].","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":21,"t":"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.”","f":[]},{"v":22,"t":"Then Agrippa [said] to Festus,“ I would like to hear [this] man myself.”“ Tomorrow you will hear him,” Festus declared.","f":[],"lines":[{"style":"reg","t":"Then Agrippa [said] to Festus,“ I would like to hear [this] man myself.”"},{"style":"reg","t":"“ Tomorrow you will hear him,” Festus declared."}],"style":"reg"},{"v":23,"t":"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.","f":[],"h":"Paul before Agrippa and Bernice","style":"reg"},{"v":24,"t":"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.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":25,"t":"But I found he had done nothing worthy of death, [and] since he has now appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send [him].","f":[]},{"v":26,"t":"I have nothing definite to write to [our] sovereign 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.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":27,"t":"For it seems unreasonable to me to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.”","f":[]}]}