Paul’s Hearing Before Agrippa

¹³ Some days later, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. ¹⁴ Since they were going to stay there a number of days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king. He said, “There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix. ¹⁵ When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked for a sentence of condemnation against him.

¹⁶ “I answered them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man^[a] before the accused has met the accusers face to face and has had an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation.

¹⁷ “Therefore, after they came back here with me, I did not delay. On the next day I took my place on the judicial bench and ordered the man to be brought in. ¹⁸ When the accusers stood up, they charged him with none of the crimes I was expecting. ¹⁹ Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who was dead, but who Paul claimed is alive. ²⁰ Since I was at a loss how to investigate these issues, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there concerning these charges. ²¹ But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody until his majesty the emperor would decide his case, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.”

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

“Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.”