1 Festus, therefore, on arriving in the province, three days later went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 The chief priests and the Jewish leaders presented formal charges before him against Paul. They made an urgent request of Festus, 3 asking him to do them the favor of sending for Paul and having him brought to Jerusalem, because they were planning to have him ambushed and killed on the way. 4 Festus, therefore, to begin with, told them in reply that Paul was being kept in custody at Caesarea, but then added that he himself would be returning there very soon. 5 “Therefore,” he said, “let those who are prominent among you accompany me down there, and, if there is with regard to this man any fault, present charges against him.”

6 After Festus had spent no more than eight or ten days with them, having returned to Caesarea, the next day he sat down on the judgment seat and gave an order for Paul to be brought in. 7 When he arrived, the Jewish authorities who had made the trip down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing against him many serious accusations, which they were unable to prove, 8 while Paul said in his defense, “Neither against the Torah+ of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against the Emperor have I committed any sin at all.”

9 Festus, however, wanting to gain favor with the Jewish authorities, in reply asked Paul, “Are ˢyou willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me concerning these matters there?”

10 “It is the judgment seat of the Emperor before which I am standing, where I ought to be tried,” answered Paul. “To the Jews I have done no wrong, as ˢyou, too, know very well. 11 If, therefore, on the one hand, I am guilty of wrongdoing and have done anything at all for which I truly do deserve the death penalty, I do not ask to escape death. If, however, there is no truth to the accusations that these men are bringing against me, no one at all has the right to just hand me over to them freely. I appeal to the Emperor!”

12 Festus, then, after conferring with his council, replied, “It is the Emperor to whom ˢyou have appealed, and so to the Emperor you will go!”

13 After several days, some important visitors arrived in Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus: King Agrippa and Bernice. 14 Since it was more than a few days that they were intending to spend there, Festus, to the king, explained Paul’s situation, saying, “There is a certain man who was left here by Felix, a prisoner, 15 concerning whom, when I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the Jewish elders presented formal charges, asking me to condemn him. 16 In reply I told them that it is not the Roman custom to freely hand over anyone before the accused has met his accusers face to face and in person, and has received with regard to the charge an opportunity to make a defense. 17 Therefore, when they had gathered here, deciding as I had not to put the matter off, the next day, after sitting down on the judgment seat, I gave orders for the man to be brought in. 18 When his accusers stood up, they charged him with not even one of the evil deeds I was expecting. 19 It was certain controversial issues concerning their own religion, rather, that made up their charges against him, and concerning a man named Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul kept claiming was alive again. 20 Well, being at a loss as to how to investigate such things, I asked if he might be willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial regarding these matters. 21 When Paul, however, appealed and asked to be kept in custody until His Imperial Majesty could himself decide the case, I gave orders for him to be kept in custody until I could send him to the Emperor.”

22 Agrippa, then, said to Festus, “I myself would also like to grant the man a hearing.”

“Tomorrow,” Festus replied. “That’s when ˢyou’ll hear him.”

23 The next day, therefore, after Agrippa and Bernice had arrived with great pomp and entered the audience hall with the military commanders and the prominent men of the city, and when Festus had given the order, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said: “King Agrippa and all who are present here with us! ᵖYou see this man concerning whom the entire Jewish populace has appealed to me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he should not be allowed to live any longer. 25 I, however, found that he had done nothing at all deserving of the death penalty. Since this man himself, however, appealed his case to His Imperial Majesty, I have decided to send him, 26 although in regard to him I don’t have anything to write to my lord that is established with certainty. That is why I have brought him before all of ᵖyou, and especially before ˢyou, King Agrippa, so that after this examination I may have something to write. 27 For it seems to me completely absurd to send on a prisoner without specifying, too, the charges against him.”