^18 (A)and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^(B)to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

⁴ And Jesus said to him, ^(A)“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^(B)show yourself to the priest and ^(C)offer the gift that Moses commanded, ^(D)for a proof to them.”

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

⁷ And when they have finished their testimony, ^(A)the beast that rises from ^(B)the bottomless pit^{[a] (C)}will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under ^(A)the altar ^(B)the souls of those who had been slain ^(C)for the word of God and for ^(D)the witness they had borne.

Vision of the Son of Man

⁹ I, John, your brother and ^(A)partner in ^(B)the tribulation and ^(C)the kingdom and ^(D)the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(E)on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

¹⁶ At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. ^(A)May it not be charged against them! ¹⁷ But ^(B)the Lord stood by me and ^(C)strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and ^(D)all the Gentiles might hear it. So ^(E)I was rescued ^(F)from the lion's mouth.

⁸ Therefore ^(A)do not be ashamed of ^(B)the testimony about our Lord, nor of ^(C)me his prisoner, but ^(D)share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

Paul Before Felix at Caesarea

24 And ^(A)after five days the high priest ^(B)Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before ^(C)the governor their case against Paul. ² And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:

“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, ^(D)most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, ³ in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. ⁴ But, to detain^[a] you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. ⁵ For we have found this man a plague, ^(E)one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of ^(F)the sect of the Nazarenes. ^6 (G)He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.^{[b] 8} By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”

⁹ The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

¹⁰ And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. ¹¹ You can verify that ^(H)it is not more than twelve days since I ^(I)went up ^(J)to worship in Jerusalem, ¹² and ^(K)they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. ^13 (L)Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. ¹⁴ But this I confess to you, that according to ^(M)the Way, which they call ^(N)a sect, ^(O)I worship ^(P)the God of our fathers, believing everything ^(Q)laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, ^15 (R)having ^(S)a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be ^(T)a resurrection ^(U)of both the just and the unjust. ¹⁶ So I always ^(V)take pains to have a ^(W)clear conscience toward both God and man. ¹⁷ Now ^(X)after several years ^(Y)I came to bring alms to ^(Z)my nation and to present ^(AA)offerings. ¹⁸ While I was doing this, they found me ^(AB)purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But ^(AC)some Jews from Asia— ^19 (AD)they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. ²⁰ Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, ²¹ other than this one thing ^(AE)that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”

Paul Kept in Custody

²² But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of ^(AF)the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³ Then he gave orders to the centurion that he ^(AG)should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that ^(AH)none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

²⁴ After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about ^(AI)faith ^(AJ)in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ And as he reasoned ^(AK)about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. ^(AL)When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” ²⁶ At the same time he hoped ^(AM)that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him.