Acts

²The leading priests and the important Jewish leaders made charges against Paul before Festus. ³They asked Festus to do them a favor. They wanted him to send Paul back to Jerusalem because they had a plan to kill Paul on the way. ⁴But Festus answered, “No, Paul will be kept in Caesarea. I will be going there soon myself, ⁵and your leaders can go with me. If this man has really done anything wrong, they can accuse him there.” ⁶Festus stayed in Jerusalem another eight or ten days and then went back to Caesarea. The next day Festus told the soldiers to bring Paul before him. Festus was seated on the judgment seat. ⁷Paul came into the room, and the Jews who had come from Jerusalem stood around him. They made many serious charges against him, but they could not prove anything. ⁸Paul defended himself, saying, “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law, against the Temple, or against Caesar.”