25 ¹ THREE DAYS AFTER taking up his appointment Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 25 ² where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders brought before him the case against Paul. 25 ³ They asked Festus to favour them against him, and pressed for him to be brought up to Jerusalem, for they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. 25 ⁴ Festus, however, replied, 'Paul is in safe custody at Caesarea, and I shall be leaving Jerusalem shortly myself; 25 ⁵ so let your leading men come down with me, and if there is anything wrong, let them prosecute him.'

25 ⁶ After spending eight or ten days at most in Jerusalem, he went down to Caesarea, and next day he took his seat in court and ordered Paul to be brought up. 25 ⁷ When he appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood round bringing many grave charges, which they were unable to prove. 25 ⁸ Paul's plea was: 'I have committed no offence, either against the Jewish law, or against the temple, or against the Emperor.' 25 ⁹ Festus, anxious to ingratiate himself with the Jews, turned to Paul and asked, 'Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial on these charges before me there?' 25 ¹⁰ But Paul said, 'I am now standing before the Emperor's tribunal, and that is where I must be tried. Against the Jews I have committed no offence, as you very well know. 25 ¹¹ If I am guilty of any capital crime, I do not ask to escape the death penalty; but if there is no substance in the charges which these men bring against me, it is not open to anyone to hand me over as a sop to them. I appeal to Caesar!' 25 ¹² Then Festus, after conferring with his advisers, replied, 'You have appealed to Caesar: to Caesar you shall go.'