Acts 25:8-23

⁸while he defended himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar did I commit any sin.”

⁹But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul by saying, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be judged by me there concerning these things?”

¹⁰So Paul said: “I am standing before Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as even you know very well.

¹¹Now if I really am in the wrong and have perpetrated anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if there is nothing to the things of which these are accusing me, no one has the right to give me to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹²Then Festus, when he had conferred with his counsel, answered: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go!”

¹³Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived in Caesarea to congratulate Festus.

¹⁴Since they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying: “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix;

¹⁵about whom, when I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, asking for punishment against him;

¹⁶to whom I answered that it is not a custom with Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused has his accusers face to face and has opportunity for defense against the accusation.

¹⁷So when they had assembled here, without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought.

¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge against him of such things as I supposed,

¹⁹but had certain issues against him about their religion, and about a certain dead Jesus whom Paul affirmed to be living.

²⁰And since I was at a loss how to investigate such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be judged there concerning these things.

²¹But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of the Emperor, I commanded him to be kept until I can send him to Caesar.”

²²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I myself would also like to hear the man.” So he said, “Tomorrow you shall hear him.”

²³So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp and entered the auditorium, with the commanding officers and the more prominent men of the city, at Festus' command Paul was brought in.