1 Three days after Festus entered his province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.
2 The high priests and the Jewish leaders laid information before him against Paul, and begged him,
3 as a special favour, to send for him to Jerusalem, meaning to lay an ambush for him and murder him on the road.
4 Festus replied that Paul would be kept in custody at Caesarea, but that he himself meant to leave for Caesarea before long ??5 "when," he added, "your competent authorities can come down with me and charge the man with whatever crime he has committed."
6 After staying not more than eight or ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea. Next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought before him.
7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him and brought a number of serious charges against him, none of which they were able to prove.
8 Paul's defence was, "I have committed no offence against the Law of the Jews, against the temple, or against Caesar."
9 As Festus wanted to ingratiate himself with the Jews, he asked Paul, "Will you go up to Jerusalem and be tried there by me upon these charges?"
10 Paul said, "I am standing before Caesar's tribunal; that is where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong whatever to the Jews ??you know that perfectly well.
11 If I am a criminal, if I have done anything that deserves death, I do not object to die; but if there is nothing in any of their charges against me, then no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!"
12 Then, after conferring with the council, Festus answered, "You have appealed to Caesar? Very well, you must go to Caesar! "
13 Some days had passed, when king Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.
14 As they were spending several days there, Festus laid Paul's case before the king. "There is a man," he said, "who was left in prison by Felix.
15 When I was at Jerusalem, the high priests and elders of the Jews informed me about him and demanded his condemnation.
16 I told them Romans were not in the habit of giving up any man until the accused met the accusers face to face and had a chance of defending himself against the impeachment.
17 Well, the day after they came here along with me, I took my seat on the tribunal without any loss of time. I ordered the man to be brought in,
18 but when his accusers stood up they did not charge him with any of the crimes that I had expected.
19 The questions at issue referred to their own religion and to a certain Jesus who had died. Paul said he was alive.
20 As I felt at a loss about the method of inquiry into such topics, I asked if he would go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.
21 But Paul entered an appeal for his case to be reserved for the decision of the emperor; so I ordered him to be detained till I could remit him to Caesar."
22 "I should like to hear the man myself," said Agrippa to Festus. "You shall hear him to-morrow," said Festus.
23 So next day Agrippa and Bernice proceeded with great pomp to the hall of audience, accompanied by the military commanders and the prominent civilians of the town. Festus then ordered Paul to be brought in.
24 "King Agrippa and all here present," said Festus, "you see before you a man of whom the entire body of the Jews at Jerusalem and also here have complained to me. They loudly insist he ought not to live any longer.
25 I could not find he had done anything that deserved death, so I decided to send him, on his own appeal, to the emperor.
26 Only, I have nothing definite to write to the sovereign about him. So I have brought him up before you all, and especially before you, O king Agrippa, in order that I may have something to write as the result of your cross-examination.
27 For it seems absurd to me to forward a prisoner without notifying the particulars of his charge."