Acts 24-26

International Children’s Bible

The Jews Accuse Paul

24 Five days later Ananias, the high priest, went to the city of Caesarea. With him were some of the Jewish elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They had come to make charges against Paul before the governor. ² Paul was called into the meeting, and Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Most Excellent Felix! Our people enjoy much peace because of you, and many wrong things in our country are being made right through your wise help. ³ We accept these things always and in every place. And we are thankful for them. ⁴ But I do not want to take any more of your time. I beg you to be kind and listen to our few words. ⁵ This man is a troublemaker. He makes trouble among the Jews everywhere in the world. He is a leader of the Nazarene group. ⁶ Also, he was trying to make the Temple unclean, but we stopped him. [And we wanted to judge him by our own law. ⁷ But the officer Lysias came and used much force to take him from us. And Lysias commanded his people to come to you to accuse us.]^{[a] 8} You can decide if all these things are true. Ask him some questions yourself.” ⁹ The other Jews agreed and said that all of this was true.

¹⁰ The governor made a sign for Paul to speak. So Paul said, “Governor Felix, I know that you have been a judge over this nation for a long time. So I am happy to defend myself before you. ¹¹ I went to worship in Jerusalem only 12 days ago. You can learn for yourself that this is true. ¹² Those who are accusing me did not find me arguing with anyone in the Temple. I was not stirring up the people. And I was not making trouble in the Temple or in the synagogues or in the city. ¹³ They cannot prove the things they are saying against me now. ¹⁴ But I will tell you this: I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way of Jesus. The Jews say that the Way of Jesus is not the right way. But I believe everything that is taught in the law of Moses and that is written in the books of the Prophets. ¹⁵ I have the same hope in God that they have—the hope that all people, good and bad, will be raised from death. ¹⁶ This is why I always try to do what I believe is right before God and men.

¹⁷ “I was away from Jerusalem for several years. I went back there to bring money to my people and to offer sacrifices. ¹⁸ I was doing this when they found me in the Temple. I had finished the cleansing ceremony. I had not made any trouble; no people were gathering around me. ¹⁹ But some Jews from Asia were there. They should be here, standing before you. If I have really done anything wrong, they are the ones who should accuse me. ²⁰ Or ask these Jews here if they found any wrong in me when I stood before the Jewish council in Jerusalem. ²¹ But I did say one thing when I stood before them: ‘You are judging me today because I believe that people will rise from death!’”

²² Felix already understood much about the Way of Jesus. He stopped the trial and said, “When commander Lysias comes here, I will decide about your case.” ²³ Felix told the officer to keep Paul guarded. But he told the officer to give Paul some freedom and to let his friends bring what he needed.

Paul Speaks to Felix and His Wife

²⁴ After some days Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was a Jew. He asked for Paul to be brought to him. He listened to Paul talk about believing in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ But Felix became afraid when Paul spoke about things like right living, self-control, and the time when God will judge the world. He said, “Go away now. When I have more time, I will call for you.” ²⁶ At the same time Felix hoped that Paul would give him some money. So he sent for Paul often and talked with him.

²⁷ But after two years, Porcius Festus became governor. Felix was no longer governor, but he had left Paul in prison to please the Jews.

Paul Asks to See Caesar

25 Three days after Festus became governor, he went from Caesarea to Jerusalem. ² There the leading priests and the important Jewish leaders made charges against Paul before Festus. ³ They asked Festus to do something for them; they wanted him to send Paul back to Jerusalem. (They had a plan to kill Paul on the way.) ⁴ But Festus answered, “No! Paul will be kept in Caesarea. I will return there soon myself. ⁵ Some of your leaders should go with me. They can accuse the man there in Caesarea, if he has really done something wrong.”

⁶ Festus stayed in Jerusalem another eight or ten days. Then he went back to Caesarea. The next day he told the soldiers to bring Paul before him. Festus was seated on the judge’s seat ⁷ when Paul came into the room. The Jews who had come from Jerusalem stood around him. They started making serious charges against Paul. But they could not prove any of them. ⁸ This is what Paul said to defend himself: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law, against the Temple, or against Caesar!”

⁹ But Festus wanted to please the Jews. So he asked Paul, “Do you want to go to Jerusalem? Do you want me to judge you there on these charges?”

¹⁰ Paul said, “I am standing at Caesar’s judgment seat now. This is where I should be judged! I have done nothing wrong to the Jews; you know this is true. ¹¹ If I have done something wrong and the law says I must die, I do not ask to be saved from death. But if these charges are not true, then no one can give me to them. No! I want Caesar to hear my case!”

¹² Festus talked about this with the people who advised him. Then he said, “You have asked to see Caesar; so you will go to Caesar!”

Paul Before King Agrippa

¹³ A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to visit Festus. ¹⁴ They stayed there for some time, and Festus told the king about Paul’s case. Festus said, “There is a man that Felix left in prison. ¹⁵ When I went to Jerusalem, the leading priests and the Jewish elders there made charges against him. They wanted me to sentence him to death. ¹⁶ But I answered, ‘When a man is accused of a crime, Romans do not hand him over just to please someone. The man must be allowed to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges.’ ¹⁷ So these Jews came here to Caesarea for the trial. And I did not waste time. The next day I sat on the judge’s seat and commanded that the man be brought in. ¹⁸ The Jews stood up and accused him. But they did not accuse him of any serious crime as I thought they would. ¹⁹ The things they said were about their own religion and about a man named Jesus. Jesus died, but Paul said that he is still alive. ²⁰ I did not know much about these things; so I did not ask questions. But I asked Paul, ‘Do you want to go to Jerusalem and be judged there?’ ²¹ But he asked to be kept in Caesarea. He wants a decision from the Emperor.^[b] So I ordered that Paul be held until I could send him to Caesar in Rome.”

²² Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man, too.”

Festus said, “Tomorrow you will hear him!”

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice appeared. They dressed and acted like very important people. Agrippa and Bernice, the army leaders, and the important men of Caesarea went into the judgment room. Then Festus ordered the soldiers to bring Paul in. ²⁴ Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are gathered here with us, you see this man. All the Jewish people, here and in Jerusalem, have complained to me about him. They shout that he should not live any longer. ²⁵ When I judged him, I could find nothing wrong. I found no reason to order his death. But he asked to be judged by Caesar. So I decided to send him. ²⁶ But I have nothing definite to write the Emperor about him. So I have brought him before all of you—especially you, King Agrippa. I hope that you can question him and give me something to write. ²⁷ I think it is foolish to send a prisoner to Caesar without telling what the charges are against him.”

Paul Defends Himself

26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now speak to defend yourself.”

Then Paul raised his hand and began to speak. ² He said, “King Agrippa, I will answer all the charges that the Jews make against me. I think it is a blessing that I can stand here before you today. ³ I am very happy to talk to you, because you know so much about all the Jewish customs and the things that the Jews argue about. Please listen to me patiently.

⁴ “All the Jews know about my whole life. They know the way I lived from the beginning in my own country and later in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known me for a long time. If they want to, they can tell you that I was a good Pharisee. And the Pharisees obey the laws of the Jewish religion more carefully than any other group of Jewish people. ⁶ Now I am on trial because I hope for the promise that God made to our ancestors. ⁷ This is the promise that the 12 tribes of our people hope to receive. For this hope the Jews serve God day and night. My king, the Jews have accused me because I hope for this same promise! ⁸ Why do any of you people think it is impossible for God to raise people from death?

⁹ “I too thought I ought to do many things against Jesus from Nazareth. ¹⁰ And in Jerusalem I did many things against God’s people. The leading priests gave me the power to put many of them in jail. When they were being killed, I agreed that it was a good thing. ¹¹ In every synagogue, I often punished them. I tried to make them say evil things against Jesus. I was so angry against them that I even went to other cities to find them and punish them.

¹² “One time the leading priests gave me permission and the power to go to Damascus. ¹³ On the way there, at noon, I saw a light from heaven. The light was brighter than the sun. It flashed all around me and the men who were traveling with me. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice speaking to me in the Jewish language.^[c] The voice said, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you doing things against me? You are only hurting yourself by fighting me.’ ¹⁵ I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord said, ‘I am Jesus. I am the One you are trying to hurt. ¹⁶ Stand up! I have chosen you to be my servant. You will be my witness—you will tell people the things that you have seen and the things that I will show you. This is why I have come to you today. ¹⁷ I will not let your own people hurt you. And I will keep you safe from the non-Jewish people too. These are the people I am sending you to. ¹⁸ I send you to open their eyes that they may turn away from darkness to the light. I send you that they may turn away from the power of Satan and turn to God. Then their sins can be forgiven and they can have a place with those people who have been made holy by believing in me.’

¹⁹ “King Agrippa, after I had this vision from heaven, I obeyed it. ²⁰ I began telling people that they should change their hearts and lives and turn to God. I told them to do things to show that they really had changed. I told this first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and in every part of Judea, and also to the non-Jewish people. ²¹ This is why the Jews took me and were trying to kill me in the Temple. ²² But God helped me and is still helping me today. With God’s help I am standing here today and telling all people what I have seen. But I am saying nothing new. I am saying what Moses and the prophets said would happen. ²³ They said that the Christ would die and be the first to rise from death. They said that the Christ would bring light to the Jewish and non-Jewish people.”

Paul Tries to Persuade Agrippa

²⁴ While Paul was saying these things to defend himself, Festus said loudly, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Too much study has driven you crazy!”

²⁵ Paul said, “Most Excellent Festus, I am not crazy. My words are true. They are not the words of a foolish man. ²⁶ King Agrippa knows about these things. I can speak freely to him. I know that he has heard about all of these things. They did not happen off in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe what the prophets wrote? I know you believe!”

²⁸ King Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian in such a short time?”

²⁹ Paul said, “Whether it is a short or a long time, I pray to God that not only you but every person listening to me today would be saved and be like me—except for these chains I have!”

³⁰ Then King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Bernice, and all the people sitting with them stood up ³¹ and left the room. They were talking to each other. They said, “There is no reason why this man should die or be put in jail.” ³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “We could let this man go free, but he has asked Caesar to hear his case.”