Historical
23 Paul looked at the Jewish council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life in a good way before God up to this day.” 2 Ananias,[a] the high priest, heard this and told the men who were standing near Paul to hit him on his mouth. 3 Paul said to Ananias, “God will hit you too! You are like a wall that has been painted white! You sit there and judge me, using the law of Moses. But you are telling them to hit me, and that is against the law.”
4 The men standing near Paul said to him, “You cannot talk like that to God’s high priest! You are insulting him!”
5 Paul said, “Brothers, I did not know this man was the high priest. It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must not curse a leader of your people.’”[b]
6 Some of the men in the meeting were Sadducees, and others were Pharisees. So Paul shouted to them, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee and my father was a Pharisee! I am on trial here because I hope that people will rise from death!”
7 When Paul said this, there was an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The group was divided. 8 (The Sadducees believe that after people die, they cannot live again. The Sadducees also teach that there are no angels or spirits. But the Pharisees believe in them all.) 9 So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of the law, who were Pharisees, stood up and argued, “We find nothing wrong with this man! Maybe an angel or a spirit did speak to him.”
10 The argument was beginning to turn into a fight. The commander was afraid that the Jews would tear Paul to pieces. So the commander told the soldiers to go down and take Paul away and put him in the army building.
11 The next night the Lord came and stood by Paul. He said, “Be brave! You have told people in Jerusalem about me. You must do the same in Rome also.”
12 In the morning some of the Jews made a plan to kill Paul. They made a promise that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed him. 13 There were more than 40 Jews who made this plan. 14 They went and talked to the leading priests and the Jewish elders. They said, “We have made a promise to ourselves that we will not eat or drink until we have killed Paul! 15 So this is what we want you to do: Send a message to the commander to bring Paul out to you. Tell him you want to ask Paul more questions. We will be waiting to kill him while he is on the way here.”
16 But Paul’s nephew heard about this plan. He went to the army building and told Paul about it. 17 Then Paul called one of the officers and said, “Take this young man to the commander. He has a message for him.”
18 So the officer brought Paul’s nephew to the commander. The officer said, “The prisoner, Paul, asked me to bring this young man to you. He wants to tell you something.”
19 The commander led the young man to a place where they could be alone. The commander asked, “What do you want to tell me?”
20 The young man said, “The Jews have decided to ask you to bring Paul down to their council meeting tomorrow. They want you to think that they are going to ask him more questions. 21 But don’t believe them! There are more than 40 men who are hiding and waiting to kill Paul. They have all made a promise not to eat or drink until they have killed him! Now they are waiting for you to agree.”
22 The commander sent the young man away. He said to him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have told me about their plan.”
Paul Is Sent to Caesarea
23 Then the commander called two officers. He said to them, “I need some men to go to Caesarea. Get 200 soldiers ready. Also, get 70 horsemen and 200 men with spears. Be ready to leave at nine o’clock tonight. 24 Get some horses for Paul to ride. He must be taken to Governor Felix safely.” 25 And he wrote a letter that said:
26 From Claudius Lysias.
To the Most Excellent Governor Felix:
Greetings.
27 The Jews had taken this man, and they planned to kill him. But I learned that he is a Roman citizen, so I went with my soldiers and saved him. 28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him. So I brought him before their council meeting. 29 I learned that the Jews said Paul did some things that were wrong. But these charges were about their own laws. And no charge was worthy of jail or death. 30 I was told that some of the Jews were planning to kill Paul. So I sent him to you at once. I also told those Jews to tell you what they have against him.
31 So the soldiers did what they were told. They took Paul and brought him to the city of Antipatris that night. 32 The next day the horsemen went with Paul to Caesarea. But the other soldiers went back to the army building in Jerusalem. 33 The horsemen came to Caesarea and gave the letter to the governor. Then they turned Paul over to him. 34 The governor read the letter. Then he asked Paul, “What area are you from?” He learned that Paul was from Cilicia. 35 He said, “I will hear your case when those who are against you come here too.” Then the governor gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in the palace. (This building had been built by Herod.)
The Jews Accuse Paul
24 Five days later Ananias, the high priest, went to the city of Caesarea. With him were some of the Jewish elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They had come to make charges against Paul before the governor. 2 Paul was called into the meeting, and Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Most Excellent Felix! Our people enjoy much peace because of you, and many wrong things in our country are being made right through your wise help. 3 We accept these things always and in every place. And we are thankful for them. 4 But I do not want to take any more of your time. I beg you to be kind and listen to our few words. 5 This man is a troublemaker. He makes trouble among the Jews everywhere in the world. He is a leader of the Nazarene group. 6 Also, he was trying to make the Temple unclean, but we stopped him. [And we wanted to judge him by our own law. 7 But the officer Lysias came and used much force to take him from us. And Lysias commanded his people to come to you to accuse us.][c] 8 You can decide if all these things are true. Ask him some questions yourself.” 9 The other Jews agreed and said that all of this was true.
10 The governor made a sign for Paul to speak. So Paul said, “Governor Felix, I know that you have been a judge over this nation for a long time. So I am happy to defend myself before you. 11 I went to worship in Jerusalem only 12 days ago. You can learn for yourself that this is true. 12 Those who are accusing me did not find me arguing with anyone in the Temple. I was not stirring up the people. And I was not making trouble in the Temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 They cannot prove the things they are saying against me now. 14 But I will tell you this: I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way of Jesus. The Jews say that the Way of Jesus is not the right way. But I believe everything that is taught in the law of Moses and that is written in the books of the Prophets. 15 I have the same hope in God that they have—the hope that all people, good and bad, will be raised from death. 16 This is why I always try to do what I believe is right before God and men.
17 “I was away from Jerusalem for several years. I went back there to bring money to my people and to offer sacrifices. 18 I was doing this when they found me in the Temple. I had finished the cleansing ceremony. I had not made any trouble; no people were gathering around me. 19 But some Jews from Asia were there. They should be here, standing before you. If I have really done anything wrong, they are the ones who should accuse me. 20 Or ask these Jews here if they found any wrong in me when I stood before the Jewish council in Jerusalem. 21 But I did say one thing when I stood before them: ‘You are judging me today because I believe that people will rise from death!’”
22 Felix already understood much about the Way of Jesus. He stopped the trial and said, “When commander Lysias comes here, I will decide about your case.” 23 Felix told the officer to keep Paul guarded. But he told the officer to give Paul some freedom and to let his friends bring what he needed.
Paul Speaks to Felix and His Wife
24 After some days Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was a Jew. He asked for Paul to be brought to him. He listened to Paul talk about believing in Christ Jesus. 25 But Felix became afraid when Paul spoke about things like right living, self-control, and the time when God will judge the world. He said, “Go away now. When I have more time, I will call for you.” 26 At the same time Felix hoped that Paul would give him some money. So he sent for Paul often and talked with him.
27 But after two years, Porcius Festus became governor. Felix was no longer governor, but he had left Paul in prison to please the Jews.
Paul Asks to See Caesar
25 Three days after Festus became governor, he went from Caesarea to Jerusalem. 2 There the leading priests and the important Jewish leaders made charges against Paul before Festus. 3 They asked Festus to do something for them; they wanted him to send Paul back to Jerusalem. (They had a plan to kill Paul on the way.) 4 But Festus answered, “No! Paul will be kept in Caesarea. I will return there soon myself. 5 Some of your leaders should go with me. They can accuse the man there in Caesarea, if he has really done something wrong.”
6 Festus stayed in Jerusalem another eight or ten days. Then he went back to Caesarea. The next day he told the soldiers to bring Paul before him. Festus was seated on the judge’s seat 7 when Paul came into the room. The Jews who had come from Jerusalem stood around him. They started making serious charges against Paul. But they could not prove any of them. 8 This is what Paul said to defend himself: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law, against the Temple, or against Caesar!”
9 But Festus wanted to please the Jews. So he asked Paul, “Do you want to go to Jerusalem? Do you want me to judge you there on these charges?”
10 Paul said, “I am standing at Caesar’s judgment seat now. This is where I should be judged! I have done nothing wrong to the Jews; you know this is true. 11 If I have done something wrong and the law says I must die, I do not ask to be saved from death. But if these charges are not true, then no one can give me to them. No! I want Caesar to hear my case!”
12 Festus talked about this with the people who advised him. Then he said, “You have asked to see Caesar; so you will go to Caesar!”
Paul Before King Agrippa
13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to visit Festus. 14 They stayed there for some time, and Festus told the king about Paul’s case. Festus said, “There is a man that Felix left in prison. 15 When I went to Jerusalem, the leading priests and the Jewish elders there made charges against him. They wanted me to sentence him to death. 16 But I answered, ‘When a man is accused of a crime, Romans do not hand him over just to please someone. The man must be allowed to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges.’ 17 So these Jews came here to Caesarea for the trial. And I did not waste time. The next day I sat on the judge’s seat and commanded that the man be brought in. 18 The Jews stood up and accused him. But they did not accuse him of any serious crime as I thought they would. 19 The things they said were about their own religion and about a man named Jesus. Jesus died, but Paul said that he is still alive. 20 I did not know much about these things; so I did not ask questions. But I asked Paul, ‘Do you want to go to Jerusalem and be judged there?’ 21 But he asked to be kept in Caesarea. He wants a decision from the Emperor.[d] So I ordered that Paul be held until I could send him to Caesar in Rome.”
22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man, too.”
Festus said, “Tomorrow you will hear him!”
23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice appeared. They dressed and acted like very important people. Agrippa and Bernice, the army leaders, and the important men of Caesarea went into the judgment room. Then Festus ordered the soldiers to bring Paul in. 24 Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are gathered here with us, you see this man. All the Jewish people, here and in Jerusalem, have complained to me about him. They shout that he should not live any longer. 25 When I judged him, I could find nothing wrong. I found no reason to order his death. But he asked to be judged by Caesar. So I decided to send him. 26 But I have nothing definite to write the Emperor about him. So I have brought him before all of you—especially you, King Agrippa. I hope that you can question him and give me something to write. 27 I think it is foolish to send a prisoner to Caesar without telling what the charges are against him.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.