Beginning
Chapter 24
Paul’s Second Trial—before Felix.[a] 1 Five days later, the high priest Ananias came down with some of the elders and an advocate named Tertullus, and they presented charges against Paul to the governor. 2 Then Paul was summoned, and Tertullus began the prosecution.
He said, “Because of you we have enjoyed an unbroken period of peace, and reforms have been made in this nation as a result of your caring concern. 3 We acknowledge this everywhere and in every way with the utmost gratitude, most noble Felix.
4 “But in order not to detain you needlessly, I beg you to be kind enough to listen to a brief statement. 5 We have found this man to be a troublemaker. He is a fomenter of dissension among Jews all over the world and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 When he even tried to profane the temple, we placed him under arrest. [ 7 We would have judged him according to our own Law, but the commander Lysias came and forcibly removed him out of our hands, ordering his accusers to appear before you.][b] 8 If you examine him yourself, you will be able to ascertain the validity of all the charges we bring against him.” 9 The Jews supported the charge, asserting that these things were true.
10 Then the governor motioned to Paul to speak, and he replied, “I know that you have administered justice to this nation for many years, and therefore I feel confident in presenting my defense. 11 As you can verify for yourself, no more than twelve days have elapsed since I went up to worship in Jerusalem. 12 They did not find me disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city. 13 Nor can they offer you any proof concerning their charges against me.
14 “But this much I will admit to you: it is as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect, that I worship the God of my ancestors, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law or is written in the Prophets. 15 I hold the same hope in God as they do that there will be a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked alike. 16 Accordingly, I strive at all times to have a clear conscience before God and man.
17 “After several years, I came to bring charitable gifts to my people and to offer sacrifices. 18 They found me in the temple after I had completed the rite of purification. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.
“However, some Jews from the province of Asia were there, 19 and they are the ones who should have appeared before you to give such evidence if they had any charge against me. 20 At the very least, those who are present here should state what crime they discovered when I was brought before the Sanhedrin, 21 unless it has to do with this one declaration I made when I stood up among them, ‘I am on trial on account of the resurrection of the dead.’ ”
22 In the Procurator’s Hall.[c] Then Felix, who was well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing with the comment, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I shall issue a ruling on this case.” 23 He also ordered the centurion to keep Paul in custody, but allow him some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from caring for his needs.
24 Several days later, Felix came with his wife Drusilla,[d] who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as Paul discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and exclaimed, “Go away for the present. When I have an opportunity, I will send for you.” 26 At the same time, he hoped that Paul would offer him a bribe. Therefore he used to send for him quite often and converse with him.
27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus,[e] and since he wanted to ingratiate himself with the Jews, Felix left Paul in custody.
Chapter 25
Paul’s Third Trial—before Festus.[f] 1 Three days after his arrival in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews informed him about Paul. They urged him 3 as a favor to send for Paul to bring him to Jerusalem. They were going to kill him in an ambush along the way.
4 Festus replied that Paul was in custody in Caesarea, and that he himself would be returning there shortly. 5 He said, “Let your authorities come down with me, and if this man has done something improper, they can bring a charge against him.”
6 After staying with them for eight to ten days, Festus went down to Caesarea. On the next day, he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be summoned. 7 When he appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him, and they leveled many serious charges against him that they were unable to prove.
8 Paul said in his defense, “I have committed no offense against the Jewish Law, or against the temple, or against the Emperor.” 9 Festus, anxious to ingratiate himself with the Jews, asked Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial there before me on these charges?”
10 Paul replied, “I am standing before the tribunal of Caesar, and this is where I should be tried. I have committed no crime against the Jews, as you yourself well know. 11 If I am guilty of any capital crime, I do not ask to be spared death. However, if there is no substance to the charges they are bringing against me, then no one has the right to turn me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.”[g] 12 Then, after Festus had conferred with his advisors, he said, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go.”
13 Paul’s Fourth Trial—before Agrippa.[h] Some days later, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they spent several days there, Festus raised the subject of Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man here who was left in custody by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and requested his condemnation. 16 I told them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before he had met his accusers face to face and had had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges.
17 “Therefore, when they had come here, I wasted no time; the very next day, I took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be summoned. 18 When the accusers rose, they did not charge him with any of the crimes that I was expecting. 19 Instead, they had certain points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about someone named Jesus, a dead man who Paul asserted was alive.
20 “Since I did not feel qualified to deal with such questions, I asked him if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem to stand trial on these charges. 21 But Paul appealed to be held in custody for the Emperor’s decision, and I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” 22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man for myself.” He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”
23 On the next day, Agrippa and Bernice arrived with great pomp and entered the audience hall, accompanied by officers of high rank and prominent men of the city. Festus ordered Paul to be brought in. 24 Then he said, “King Agrippa and all of you here present with us, you see this man about whom the entire Jewish community petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting loudly that he should not be allowed to live any longer.
25 “I have found nothing deserving of death, but when he made his appeal to the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 However, I have nothing definite about him to put in writing for our sovereign. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this examination I may have something to write. 27 For it seems senseless to me to send on a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.”
Chapter 26
Paul’s Defense before Agrippa. 1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself: 2 “I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that it is before you today that I am to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 particularly since you are well acquainted with all our Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I implore you to listen to me patiently.
4 “The Jews all know my way of life from my youth, which I first lived among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known about me from my youth, and they could testify, if they were willing, that I belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. 6 But now I am on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors.
7 “Our twelve tribes worship night and day with intense devotion in the hope of seeing its fulfillment. It is because of this hope that I am accused by the Jews, O king. 8 Why should it seem incredible to any of you that God raises the dead?
9 “I myself once thought that I had to do everything possible against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With the authorization of the chief priests, I not only sent many of the saints[i] to prison, but when they were being condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 In all the synagogues, I tried by inflicting repeated punishments to force them to blaspheme, and I was so enraged with fury against them that I even pursued them to foreign cities.
12 “On one such occasion, I was traveling to Damascus with the authorization and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, as I was on my way, O king, I saw a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad.’[j]
15 “I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 Get up now and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as my servant and as a witness to what you have seen of me and what you will yet see. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you. 18 You are to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light[k] and from the power of Satan to God. Thus, they may obtain forgiveness of their sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated through faith in me.’
19 “And so, King Agrippa, I did not disobey the vision from heaven. 20 Rather, I started to preach, first to the people in Damascus, and then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, calling on them to repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
22 “But I have had help from God to this very day, and I stand here and testify to both the lowly and the great. I assert nothing more than what the Prophets and Moses said would occur: 23 that the Christ must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to the people and to the Gentiles.”
24 Reactions to Paul’s Speech. While Paul was still speaking in his own defense, Festus exclaimed, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane.” 25 But he replied, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. What I am asserting is true and reasonable. 26 The king understands these matters, and to him I now speak freely. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, for all this was not done in a corner.[l] 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets?[m] I know that you do.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a brief time you can persuade me to become a Christian?” 29 Paul responded, “Whether in a short time or longer, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”
30 Then the king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated with them. 31 And as they were leaving, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing that deserves death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
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