Acts 25Book 44 of 66 · 27 verses · MBT primary, NKJV fallback where MBT pending

Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.
The chief priests and the leaders of the Jews presented their case against Paul to him; and they appealed,
asking for a favor against Paul, that Festus summon him to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, preparing an ambush along the road to kill him.
Festus, however, answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to go there shortly.
“Therefore,” he said, “let those of you who have authority go down with me and accuse him, if he has done anything wrong.”
When he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, seated at the tribunal, he commanded Paul to be brought in.
When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges that they were not able to prove.
While he answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense at all.”
But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried before me concerning these things?”
So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know.”
For if I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing to what these men accuse me of, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.”
Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”
And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.
When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying: “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix,
about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.
To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense concerning the charges against him.’
Therefore when they had come together, without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in.
When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge against him of such evils as I supposed,
but had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive.
And because I was uncertain about such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be tried concerning these matters.
But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept until I could send him to Caesar.”
Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”
So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in.
And Festus said: “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish community petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, crying out that he ought not to live any longer.
But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death, and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him.
I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write.
For it seems unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.”