Acts 24
The full text of Acts 24 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.
2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus began his accusation: "We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought reforms to this nation.
3 In every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with deep gratitude.
4 But in order not to weary you further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly.
5 We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
6 and he even tried to desecrate the temple, so we seized him.
8 By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him."
9 The Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.
10 When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: "I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, so I gladly make my defense.
11 You can verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
12 My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone in the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.
13 And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.
14 But I admit this to you: I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and written in the Prophets,
15 and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.
16 So I always strive to keep my conscience clear before God and people.
17 After several years away, I came to bring gifts for the poor of my nation and to present offerings.
18 While I was doing this, they found me ceremonially clean in the temple. There was no crowd with me, and no disturbance.
19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.
20 Or these men here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin,
21 unless it was this one statement I shouted as I stood among them: 'It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.'"
22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. "When Lysias the commander comes," he said, "I will decide your case."
23 He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.
24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.
25 As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became afraid and said, "That is enough for now! You may go. When I find it convenient, I will send for you."
26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him often and talked with him.
27 When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. Wanting to grant a favor to the Jews, Felix left Paul in prison.
Translation notes (9)
- Acts 24:5a The word behind 'troublemaker' is loimos (λοιμός), literally 'a plague' or 'pest'. Nazōraioi, 'Nazarenes', appears only here in the New Testament as a name for Christians collectively; Tertullus classes them as a hairesis, 'sect' or 'party', the same term Acts uses for the Sadducees and Pharisees (Acts 5:17; 15:5).
- Acts 24:6a Some later manuscripts add at the end of verse 6 through verse 8a: "and we would have judged him by our own law. But the commander Lysias came and with great force took him from our hands, ordering his accusers to come before you." The earliest manuscripts omit this addition. The Trinity Bible Version does not number a verse 7 here.
- Acts 24:6b Traditional verse numbering includes additional wording here, running into a verse 7, which describes the commander Lysias taking Paul from the crowd by force. The earliest manuscripts do not contain it.
- Acts 24:14a Greek hodos (ὁδός), 'way' or 'road', served as an early self-designation of the Christian movement, appearing also in Acts 9:2, 19:9, 19:23, 22:4, and 24:22. Paul contrasts it with hairesis, 'sect' or 'party', the term his accusers use, which elsewhere in Acts describes the Sadducees and Pharisees as factions within Judaism.
- Acts 24:15a Paul's phrase anastasin dikaiōn te kai adikōn (ἀνάστασιν δικαίων τε καὶ ἀδίκων), 'a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous', echoes Daniel 12:2, where many who sleep in the dust awake, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting contempt. This is the New Testament's most explicit statement that the unrighteous, not only the righteous, will be raised.
- Acts 24:22a Greek akribesteron eidos, literally 'knowing more accurately', indicates that Felix possessed a fuller knowledge of the Way than the accusers may have expected, perhaps through his Jewish wife Drusilla (verse 24). The Way (hodos) was an early self-designation of the Christian movement (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23).
- Acts 24:24a Drusilla, youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I, had left her husband Azizus, king of Emesa, to marry Felix, according to Josephus (Antiquities 20.141-144). Luke's phrase te idia gynaiki, 'his own wife', is notable given this history, and the marriage forms a pointed backdrop to Paul's discourse on self-control and judgment in the following verse.
- Acts 24:25a Greek enkrateia, 'self-control', carried pointed force before this audience: Josephus (Antiquities 20.141-144) reports that Felix had induced Drusilla to abandon her husband, King Azizus of Emesa, in order to marry him. The phrase emphobos genomenos, literally 'becoming afraid', marks the governor's reaction to preaching that touched his own conduct.
- Acts 24:27a Greek dietia denotes a fixed two-year term, here marking the length of Paul's custody at Caesarea. Josephus records that Nero recalled Felix and sent Porcius Festus in his place, an event most often dated to about AD 59 or 60, which makes this verse a principal anchor for Pauline chronology. The final clause is literally 'left Paul bound' (dedemenon).
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Greek and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Acts, is free to read here on the web.
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