Acts 25-26

Acts 25

¹Festus therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

²And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they besought him,

³asking favour against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem; laying wait to kill him on the way.

⁴Howbeit Festus answered, that Paul was kept in charge at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to depart thither shortly.

⁵Let them therefore, saith he, which are of power among you, go down with me, and if there is anything amiss in the man, let them accuse him.

⁶And when he had tarried among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and on the morrow he sat on the judgment-seat, and commanded Paul to be brought.

⁷And when he was come, the Jews which had come down from Jerusalem stood round about him, bringing against him many and grievous charges, which they could not prove;

⁸while Paul said in his defence, Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I sinned at all.

⁹But Festus, desiring to gain favour with the Jews, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?

¹⁰But Paul said, I am standing before Caesar’s judgment-seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou also very well knowest.

¹¹If then I am a wrong-doer, and have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if none of those things is true, whereof these accuse me, no man can give me up unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.

¹²Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Thou hast appealed unto Caesar: unto Caesar shalt thou go.

¹³Now when certain days were passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea, and saluted Festus.

¹⁴And as they tarried there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix:

¹⁵about whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, asking for sentence against him.

¹⁶To whom I answered, that it is not the custom of the Romans to give up any man, before that the accused have the accusers face to face, and have had opportunity to make his defence concerning the matter laid against him.

¹⁷When therefore they were come together here, I made no delay, but on the next day sat down on the judgment-seat, and commanded the man to be brought.

¹⁸Concerning whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no charge of such evil things as I supposed;

¹⁹but had certain questions against him of their own religion, and of one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

²⁰And I, being perplexed how to inquire concerning these things, asked whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.

²¹But when Paul had appealed to be kept for the decision of the emperor, I commanded him to be kept till I should send him to Caesar.

²²And Agrippa said unto Festus, I also could wish to hear the man myself. Tomorrow, saith he, thou shalt hear him.

²³So on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and they were entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and the principal men of the city, at the command of Festus Paul was brought in.

²⁴And Festus saith, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye behold this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews made suit to me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.

²⁵But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death: and as he himself appealed to the emperor I determined to send him.

²⁶Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I may have somewhat to write.

²⁷For it seemeth to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not withal to signify the charges against him.

Acts 26

¹And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand, and made his defence:

²I think myself happy, king Agrippa, that I am to make my defence before thee this day touching all the things whereof I am accused by the Jews:

³especially because thou art expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.

⁴My manner of life then from my youth up, which was from the beginning among mine own nation, and at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;

⁵having knowledge of me from the first, if they be willing to testify, how that after the straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

⁶And now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers;

⁷unto which promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. And concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, O king!

⁸Why is it judged incredible with you, if God doth raise the dead?

⁹I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

¹⁰And this I also did in Jerusalem: and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my vote against them.

¹¹And punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, I strove to make them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities.

¹²Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,

¹³at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them that journeyed with me.

¹⁴And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad.

¹⁵And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

¹⁶But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee;

¹⁷delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee,

¹⁸to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.

¹⁹Wherefore, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

²⁰but declared both to them of Damascus first, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judaea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.

²¹For this cause the Jews seized me in the temple, and assayed to kill me.

²²Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come;

²³how that the Christ must suffer, and how that he first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles.

²⁴And as he thus made his defence, Festus saith with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning doth turn thee to madness.

²⁵But Paul saith, I am not mad, most excellent Festus; but speak forth words of truth and soberness.

²⁶For the king knoweth of these things, unto whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him; for this hath not been done in a corner.

²⁷King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.

²⁸And Agrippa said unto Paul, With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian.

²⁹And Paul said, I would to God, that whether with little or with much, not thou only, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these bonds.

³⁰And the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:

³¹and when they had withdrawn, they spake one to another, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

³²And Agrippa said unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.