Acts
24 And after five days Hananiah the high priest came down with certain elders and one Tertullus, an orator, who all presented charges against Paul to the governor; 2 and, he being called, Tertullus began to open for the prosecution, saying “Since we are enjoying thorough peace through you and reforms are being brought about in this nation by your statesmanship, 3 we welcome it in every way everywhere, your excellency, with all thankfulness. 4 But, not to inconvenience you with anything lengthy, I appeal to your good nature to listen to us concisely. 5 For, having found this man a pest and a starter of revolutionary movements among all the Jews throughout the world of men and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, 6 who even tried to desecrate the temple-precinct, and whom we seized, 7 —— 8 from whom you can by examining him ascertain about all this that we accuse him of—” 9 and the Jews too took part in the attack, asserting that those things were so.
10 And Paul, when the governor nodded to him to speak, answered “Knowing that you have for many years been judge of this nation, I speak on my own behalf with confidence, 11 as you can ascertain that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to do reverence, 12 and they did not find me arguing with anybody or drawing a crowd either in the temple-precinct or in the synagogues or about the city, 13 nor can they substantiate to you what they are now accusing me of. 14 But this I acknowledge to you, it is in the way of the movement they call a sect that I am worshiping our fathers’ God, believing all that the law includes and all that is written in the prophets, 15 having a hope in God, what these are themselves watching for, that there is to be a resurrection of both saints and guilty men. 16 With a view to this I keep in training to have a clear conscience myself on God’s side and on man’s continually. 17 And after an interval of several years I came on to present gifts of charity to my nation, and offerings; 18 in connection with which they found me in the temple-precinct purified, not with a crowd nor with a disturbance; but some Jews from Asia— 19 who ought to be appearing before you and prosecuting if they had anything to bring against me— 20 or let these themselves say what wrong-doing they found when I stood before the Sanhedrin 21 but about this one cry that I shouted as I stood among them ‘It is about the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.’”
22 But Felix, knowing more precisely about the movement, postponed the case, saying “When Tribune Lysias comes down I will determine your affair” 23 and directing the centurion that he be in safekeeping and have things made easy for him, and not to interfere with any of his own set’s attending to his wants. 24 And after some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and listened to him about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as he argued about honest living and self-restraint and the future judgment, Felix was terror-struck and answered “For now you may go, but when I get an opportunity I will send and have you come”—hoping, 26 at the same time, that he would be given money by Paul, for which reason he quite often sent for him and had conversations with him.
27 But when two years had elapsed Felix received a successor, Porcius Festus; and, wishing to ingratiate himself with the Jews, he left Paul in prison.