Acts 25:14-21

25:14 While¹ they were staying there many days, Festus² explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion,³ saying, “There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix. 25:15 When I was in Jerusalem,⁴ the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed⁵ me about him,⁶ asking for a sentence of condemnation⁷ against him. 25:16 I answered them⁸ that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone⁹ before the accused had met his accusers face to face¹⁰ and had been given¹¹ an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation.¹² 25:17 So after they came back here with me,¹³ I did not postpone the case,¹⁴ but the next day I sat¹⁵ on the judgment seat¹⁶ and ordered the man to be brought. 25:18 When his accusers stood up, they did not charge¹⁷ him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected.¹⁸ 25:19 Rather they had several points of disagreement¹⁹ with him about their own religion²⁰ and about a man named Jesus²¹ who was dead, whom Paul claimed²² to be alive. 25:20 Because I was at a loss²³ how I could investigate these matters,²⁴ I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried²⁵ there on these charges.²⁶ 25:21 But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor,²⁷ I ordered him to be kept under guard until I could send him to Caesar.”²⁸

¹tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b states, “w. pres. or impf. while, when, as long as…Ac 1:10; 7:23; 9:23; 10:17; 13:25; 19:9; 21:27; 25:14.”

²sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

³tn Grk “Festus laid Paul’s case before the king for consideration.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατίθημι 2 states, “otherw. only mid. to lay someth. before someone for consideration, declare, communicate, refer w. the added idea that the pers. to whom a thing is ref. is asked for his opinion lay someth. before someone for consideration…Ac 25:14.”

⁴map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁵tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “to convey a formal report about a judicial matter, present evidence, bring charges…ἐ. περί τινος concerning someone 25:15.”

⁶tn Grk “about whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“him”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 15 (where the phrase περὶ οὗ [peri Jou] occurs in the Greek text).

⁷tn BDAG 516 s.v. καταδίκη states, “condemnation, sentence of condemnation, conviction, guilty verdict…αἰτεῖσθαι κατά τινος κ. ask for a conviction of someone Ac 25:15.”

⁸tn Grk “to whom I answered.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 16.

⁹tn Grk “any man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos).

¹⁰tn Or “has met his accusers in person.”

¹¹tn Grk “and receives.”

¹²tn Or “indictment” (a legal technical term). BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 states, “legal t.t.…ἀπολογία περὶ τοῦ ἐ. defense against the accusation Ac 25:16.” L&N 56.6 defines ἔγκλημα (enklhma) as “(a technical, legal term) a formal indictment or accusation brought against someone – ‘indictment, accusation, case.’ …‘and might receive an opportunity for a defense against the indictment’ Ac 25:16.”

¹³tn BDAG 969-70 s.v. συνέρχομαι 2 states, “συνελθόντων ἐνθάδε prob. means (because of συνκαταβάντες 25:5) they came back here with (me) 25:17.”

¹⁴tn BDAG 59 s.v. ἀναβολή states, “‘delay’…legal t.t. postponement…ἀ. μηδεμίαν ποιησάμενος I did not postpone the matter Ac 25:17.” “Case” has been supplied instead of “matter” since it is more specific to the context. The participle ποιησάμενος (poihsameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁵tn Grk “sitting…I ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁶tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” NIV; “tribunal,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.

¹⁷tn Grk “they brought no charge of any of the evil deeds.” BDAG 31 s.v. αἰτία 3.b has “αἰτίαν φέρειν…bring an accusation Ac 25:18.” Since κατήγοροι (kathgoroi, “accusers”) in the previous clause is somewhat redundant with this, “charge” was used instead.

¹⁸tn Or “I was expecting.”

¹⁹tn Grk “several controversial issues.” BDAG 428 s.v. ζήτημα states, “in our lit. only in Ac, w. the mng. it still has in Mod. Gk. (controversial) question, issue, argument…Ac 15:2; 26:3. ζ. περί τινος questions about someth.…18:15; 25:19.”

²⁰tn On this term see BDAG 216 s.v. δεισιδαιμονία 2. It is a broad term for religion.

²¹tn Grk “a certain Jesus.”

²²tn Or “asserted.”

²³tn Or “Because I was undecided.” Grk “Being at a loss.” The participle ἀπορούμενος (aporoumeno") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

²⁴tn L&N 27.34 states, “ἀπορούμενος δὲ ἐγὼ τὴν περὶ τούτων ζήτησιν ‘I was undecided about how I could get information on these matters’ Ac 25:20. The clause ‘about how I could get information on these matters’ may also be rendered as ‘about how I should try to find out about these matters’ or ‘about how I could learn about these matters.’”

²⁵tn Or “stand trial.”

²⁶tn Grk “on these things.”

²⁷tn A designation of the Roman emperor (in this case, Nero). BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός states, “ὁ Σεβαστός His Majesty the Emperor Ac 25:21, 25 (of Nero).” It was a translation into Greek of the Latin “Augustus.”

²⁸tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).