Acts 25:5

25:5 “So,” he said, “let your leaders ¹  go down there ²  with me, and if this man has done anything wrong, ³  they may bring charges ⁴  against him.”

Acts 28:6

28:6 But they were expecting that he was going to swell up ⁵  or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited ⁶  a long time and had seen ⁷  nothing unusual happen ⁸  to him, they changed their minds ⁹  and said he was a god. ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Grk “let those who are influential among you” (i.e., the powerful).

² tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

³ tn Grk “and if there is anything wrong with this man,” but this could be misunderstood in English to mean a moral or physical defect, while the issue in context is the commission of some crime, something legally improper (BDAG 149 s.v. ἄτοπος 2).

⁴ tn BDAG 533 s.v. κατηγορέω 1 states, “nearly always as legal t.t.: bring charges in court.” L&N 33.427 states for κατηγορέω, “to bring serious charges or accusations against someone, with the possible connotation of a legal or court context – ‘to accuse, to bring charges.”

⁵ tn Or “going to burn with fever.” According to BDAG 814 s.v. πίμπρημι, either meaning (“swell up” or “burn with fever”) is possible for Acts 28:6.

⁶ tn The participle προσδοκώντων (prosdokwntwn) has been taken temporally.

⁷ tn The participle θεωρούντων (qewrountwn) has been taken temporally.

⁸ tn Grk “happening.” The participle γινόμενον (ginomenon) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁹ tn Grk “changing their minds.” The participle μεταβαλόμενοι (metabalomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁰ sn And said he was a god. The reaction is like Acts 14:11-19 where the crowd wanted to make Paul and Barnabas into gods. The providence of God had protected Paul again.