Acts 24:23
And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him. And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him.
Although Paul remained a prisoner under a centurion's guard, Felix commanded that he be given liberty and that none of his acquaintance be forbidden to come to him to visit him and minister to his needs. He was still kept under guard both because he was a prisoner and for his own protection. This custody with liberty was part of the deliverance Felix, like other heathen magistrates, provided when Paul's life was threatened by his enemies.
It was part of the protection Paul received from Roman officials, in contrast to the condemnation he faced from Jewish tribunals. The imprisonment at Caesarea under Felix was long, continuing until Porcius Festus took Felix's place, Festus being a far more honorable ruler with a higher sense of responsibility who refused bribes and endeavored to administer justice. That long imprisonment did not soften the malignant hatred of the Jews nor shake their determination to take Paul's life.