“But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to stand trial before me on these charges?”
Acts 25:9 (BSB)
Context Reading
7When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove. 8Then Paul made his defense: “I have committed no offense against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” 9But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to stand trial before me on these charges?” 10Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”