⁵ and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of ^(A)Darius king of Persia.

Accused of Sedition

24 Now after ^(A)five days ^(B)Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.

² And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: “Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and ^[a]prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight, ³ we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. ⁴ Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your ^[b]courtesy, a few words from us. ^5 (C)For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. ^6 (D)He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, ^[c]and wanted ^(E)to judge him according to our law. ^7 (F)But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands, ^8 (G)commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him.” ⁹ And the Jews also ^[d]assented, maintaining that these things were so.

The Defense Before Felix

¹⁰ Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: “Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, ¹¹ because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem ^(H)to worship. ^12 (I)And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. ¹³ Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. ¹⁴ But this I confess to you, that according to ^(J)the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the ^(K)God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in ^(L)the Law and in the Prophets. ^15 (M)I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, ^(N)that there will be a resurrection ^[e]of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. ^16 (O)This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

¹⁷ “Now after many years ^(P)I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, ^18 (Q)in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me ^(R)purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. ^19 (S)They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me. ²⁰ Or else let those who are here themselves say ^[f]if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, ²¹ unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ^(T)‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ ”

Felix Procrastinates

²² But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the ^(U)Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When ^(V)Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.” ²³ So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and ^(W)told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

²⁴ And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the ^(X)faith in Christ. ²⁵ Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.” ²⁶ Meanwhile he also hoped that ^(Y)money would be given him by Paul, ^[g]that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

²⁷ But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, ^(Z)wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.

The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom^(A)

⁵ But ^(A)the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a ^(B)written answer was returned concerning this matter. ⁶ This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent:

⁷ (They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus.)

The Decree of Darius

6 Then King Darius issued a decree, ^(O)and a search was made in the ^[e]archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. ² And at ^[f]Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of ^(P)Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

¹³ Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent. ^14 (Y)So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the ^[i]command of ^(Z)Cyrus, ^(AA)Darius, and ^(AB)Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵ Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. ¹⁶ Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated ^(AC)the dedication of this ^[j]house of God with joy. ¹⁷ And they ^(AD)offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ They assigned the priests to their ^(AE)divisions and the Levites to their ^(AF)divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, ^(AG)as it is written in the Book of Moses.

²⁴ Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.