25

Paul Appeals to Caesar

¹Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from ⚓Caesarea to Jerusalem. ²⚓Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him, ³asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem—⚓while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. ⁴But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly. ⁵“Therefore,” he said, “let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see ⚓if there is any fault in him.”
⁶And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. ⁷When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about ⚓and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove, ⁸while he answered for himself, ⚓“Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.”
⁹But Festus, ⚓wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, ⚓“Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?”
¹⁰So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. ¹¹⚓For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. ⚓I appeal to Caesar.”
¹²Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”

Paul Before Agrippa

¹³And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. ¹⁴When 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, ¹⁵⚓about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him. ¹⁶⚓To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him.’ ¹⁷Therefore 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. ¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed, ¹⁹⚓but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. ²⁰And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters. ²¹But when Paul ⚓appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar.”
²²Then ⚓Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.”
“Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”
²³So 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. ²⁴And Festus said: “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom ⚓the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was ⚓not fit to live any longer. ²⁵But when I found that ⚓he had committed nothing deserving of death, ⚓and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. ²⁶I 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. ²⁷For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.”

25

Povlauj thov moog has plaub ntawm Xixa

¹Thaus Fexata tuaj txug huv lub xeev tau peb nub lawm nwg txawm tawm huv lub moos Xixaleya moog rua lub nroog Yeluxalee. ²Cov pov thawj hlub hab Yutai cov thawj tuaj kom Povlauj rua nwg, hab thov nwg. ³Puab thov kuas nwg xaa Povlauj tuaj rua huv Yeluxalee, vem puab ntaus tswvyim yuav tog kev tua Povlauj. ⁴Fexata txawm teb tas, “Povlauj tseed raug kaw rua huv Xixaleya hab tshuav tsw ntev kuv yuav rov moog rua hov ntawd.” ⁵Hab nwg has tas, “Vem le nuav, mej cov kws ua thawj ca le nrug kuv moog. Yog Povlauj ua txhum txuj twg, puab ca le kom nwg hov ntawd.”
⁶Thaus Fexata su huv puab tsw dhau yim nub lossws kaum nub, nwg kuj moog rua lub moos Xixaleya. Mas nub tom qaab nwg nyob tsawg sau lub rooj tu plaub has kuas coj Povlauj lug. ⁷Thaus Povlauj lug txug, cov Yutai kws tuaj ntawm Yeluxalee kuj sawv vej Povlauj, hab has ntau pwm lug nyaav kom Povlauj tassws tej lug hov tsw muaj keeb puam tseeb. ⁸Povlauj txhad has daws nwg zaaj tas, “Kuv tsw tau ua daabtsw txhum cov Yutai txuj kevcai lossws lub tuam tsev lossws Xixa.” ⁹Fexata xaav ua zoo rua cov Yutai txhad has rua Povlauj tas, “Koj puas xaav moog rua huv lub nroog Yeluxalee es kuv le tu koj tshaaj plaub hov ntawd?” ¹⁰Tassws Povlauj has tas, “Kuv saamswm sawv ntsug ntawm Xixa lub rooj tu plaub, yog lub chaw kws tswm nyog tu kuv tshaaj plaub. Koj yeej paub zoo tas kuv tsw ua daabtsw txhum rua cov Yutai. ¹¹Yog kuv tau ua txhum hab ua daabtsw kws tswm nyog raug lub txem tuag, kuv kuj yeem tuag. Yog qhov kws puab kom kuv tsw muaj tseeb, mas tsw muaj leejtwg muaj fwjchim muab kuv cob tau rua puab. Kuv thov moog has plaub ntawm Xixa.” ¹²Thaus Fexata nrug nwg cov tuav num sablaaj lawm txawm teb tas, “Koj tub thov moog has ntawm Xixa, mas koj yuav tau moog cuag Xixa.”

Fexata sablaaj rua vaajntxwv Akipa

¹³Dhau ntau nub lawm vaajntxwv Akipa hab nwg tug muam Npawnij tuaj tshaam Fexata ntawm lub moos Xixaleya. ¹⁴Thaus su hov ntawd ntau nub lawm, Fexata txawm pav Povlauj tshaaj plaub rua vaajntxwv noog has tas, “Muaj ib tug yawm raug Feli kaw ca. ¹⁵Mas thaus kuv moog rua huv Yeluxalee cov pov thawj hlub hab Yutai cov kev txwj quas laug tuaj kom thov kuv rau txem rua tug hov. ¹⁶Kuv txhad teb tas tsw yog Loo le kevcai kws yuav muab tug pem kom cob rua cov yeej kom ua ntej kws ob tog tsw tau sws ntswb hab tug pem kom muaj swjhawm has daws nwg zaaj txug tej kws puab kom nwg. ¹⁷Vem le nuav thaus puab tuaj txhwj rua ntawm nuav lawm kuv tsw tog ntev, taagkig tom qaab kuv nyob tsawg sau lub rooj tu plaub hab has kuas coj tug yawm hov lug. ¹⁸Thaus cov yeej kom sawv puab tsw kom tas nwg ua txhum yaam le kuv xaav, ¹⁹tassws tsuas yog puab sws caam txug puab tej kev ntseeg tej qhov xwb hab has txug ib tug yawm npe hu ua Yexu kws tub tuag lawm tassws Povlauj has khov kho tas nwg muaj txujsa nyob. ²⁰Thaus kuv tsw pum qaab xaav yuav tshuaj zaaj teeb meem hov le caag, kuv txawm nug Povlauj saib nwg puas xaav moog rua huv Yeluxalee le tu tshaaj plaub rua hov ntawd. ²¹Tassws Povlauj thov kuas muab nwg kaw ca tog fuabtais txav txem, kuv txhad muab nwg kaw ca moog txug thaus kuv xaa tau nwg moog cuag Xixa.” ²²Akipa txawm has rua Fexata tas, “Kuv xaav noog tug yawm hov has hab.” Fexata has tas, “Pigkig koj yuav tau nov nwg has.”

Coj Povlauj lug cuag vaajntxwv Akipa

²³Taagkig tom qaab Akipa hab Npawnij naav meej mom txhwj zog tuaj rua huv chaav tsev tu plaub nrug cov thawj tub rog kws kaav ib txheeb hab cov tuabneeg tseem ceeb huv lub moos hov ua ke. Tes Fexata txawm has kuas coj Povlauj lug. ²⁴Fexata has tas, “Vaajntxwv Akipa hab mej suavdawg kws tuaj ua ke ntawm nuav, mej pum tug yawm nuav kws cov Yutai suavdawg tuaj thov kuv huv lub nroog Yeluxalee, hab ntawm nuav puab tau qw has tas tsw tswm nyog ca nwg muaj txujsa nyob ntxwv lawm. ²⁵Tassws kuv pum tas nwg tsw tau ua ib qho txhum kws txaus tuag, mas thaus nwg thov moog has plaub rua ntawm fuabtais, kuv txhad txav sab yuav xaa nwg moog. ²⁶Tassws kuv tsw muaj tug nuav le keeb puam meej kws yuav xaa moog rua kuv tug tswv. Vem le nuav kuv txhad coj nwg lug rua ntawm mej xubndag hab qhov luj yog lug rua ntawm vaajntxwv Akipa koj xubndag, vaam has tas thaus muab nwg tshuaj taag lawm yuav muaj ntsab lug sau tau hab. ²⁷Kuv xaav tas qhov kws xaa ib tug raug txem moog tassws tsw qha tej keeb puam kws kom moog kuj yog tsw thoob tswb.”