Acts 25:5

5 "You're perfectly welcome," he said, "to go back with me then and accuse him of whatever you think he's done wrong."

Acts 25:5 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 25:5

Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able
Who are at leisure, can spare time, and to whom it will be convenient, without interrupting other business, to take such a journey; and who are able to bear the expenses of it, without hurting their families, and whose health and age will admit of it; and above all, who are masters of this affair, and are capable of forming charges, and of supporting them with proper proofs and evidences: let such

go down with me;
from Jerusalem to Caesarea: and accuse this man: in proper form, according to the rules of law, of what he is guilty, and can be proved upon him:

if there is any wickedness in him;
or committed by him, anything that is absurd and unreasonable, notoriously flagitious and criminal; that is, contrary to the rules of reason, the common sense of mankind, and the laws of God and men; and especially of the Roman empire, or that is blasphemous or seditious.

Acts 25:5 In-Context

3 They asked Festus if he wouldn't please do them a favor by sending Paul to Jerusalem to respond to their charges. A lie, of course - they had revived their old plot to set an ambush and kill him along the way.
4 Festus answered that Caesarea was the proper jurisdiction for Paul, and that he himself was going back there in a few days.
5 "You're perfectly welcome," he said, "to go back with me then and accuse him of whatever you think he's done wrong."
6 About eight or ten days later, Festus returned to Caesarea. The next morning he took his place in the courtroom and had Paul brought in.
7 The minute he walked in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem were all over him, hurling the most extreme accusations, none of which they could prove.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.