Acts 18:16-17

18:16 Then he had them forced away ¹  from the judgment seat. ²  18:17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, ³  and began to beat ⁴  him in front of the judgment seat. ⁵  Yet none of these things were of any concern ⁶  to Gallio.

Acts 25:10

25:10 Paul replied, ⁷  “I am standing before Caesar’s ⁸  judgment seat, ⁹  where I should be tried. ¹⁰  I have done nothing wrong ¹¹  to the Jews, as you also know very well. ¹² 

Matthew 27:19

27:19 As ¹³  he was sitting on the judgment seat, ¹⁴  his wife sent a message ¹⁵  to him: ¹⁶  “Have nothing to do with that innocent man; ¹⁷  I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream ¹⁸  about him today.”

John 19:13

19:13 When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat ¹⁹  in the place called “The Stone Pavement” ²⁰  (Gabbatha in ²¹  Aramaic). ²² 

James 2:6

2:6 But you have dishonored the poor! ²³  Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?

[18:16]  ¹ tn Grk “driven away,” but this could result in a misunderstanding in English (“driven” as in a cart or wagon?). “Forced away” conveys the idea; Gallio rejected their complaint. In contemporary English terminology the case was “thrown out of court.” The verb ἀπήλασεν (aphlasen) has been translated as a causative since Gallio probably did not perform this action in person, but ordered his aides or officers to remove the plaintiffs.

[18:16]  ² sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.

[18:17]  ³ tn That is, “the official in charge of the synagogue”; ἀρχισυνάγωγος (arcisunagwgo") refers to the “leader/president of a synagogue” (so BDAG 139 s.v. and L&N 53.93).

[18:17]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verb ἔτυπτον (etupton) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[18:17]  ⁵ sn See the note on the term judgment seat in 18:12.

[18:17]  ⁶ tn L&N 25.223 has “‘none of these things were of any concern to Gallio’ Ac 18:17.”

[25:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “said.”

[25:10]  ⁸ tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[25:10]  ⁹ tn 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. Here of course Paul’s reference to “Caesar’s judgment seat” is a form of metonymy; since Festus is Caesar’s representative, Festus’ judgment seat represents Caesar’s own.

[25:10]  ¹⁰ tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.

[25:10]  ¹¹ sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.

[25:10]  ¹² tn BDAG 506 s.v. καλῶς 7 states, “comp. κάλλιον (for the superl., as Galen, Protr. 8 p. 24, 19J.=p. 10, 31 Kaibel; s. B-D-F §244, 2) ὡς καί σὺ κ. ἐπιγινώσκεις as also you know very well Ac 25:10.”

[27:19]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the judge’s seat.”

[27:19]  ¹⁵ tn The word “message” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[27:19]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[27:19]  ¹⁷ tn The Greek particle γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated here.

[27:19]  ¹⁸ tn Or “suffered greatly in a dream.” See the discussion on the construction κατ᾿ ὄναρ (kat’ onar) in BDAG 710 s.v. ὄναρ.

[19:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the judge’s seat.”

[19:13]  ²⁰ sn The precise location of the place called ‘The Stone Pavement’ is still uncertain, although a paved court on the lower level of the Fortress Antonia has been suggested. It is not certain whether it was laid prior to a.d. 135, however.

[19:13]  ²¹ tn Grk “in Hebrew.”

[19:13]  ²² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[2:6]  ²³ tn This is singular: “the poor person,” perhaps referring to the hypothetical one described in vv. 2-3.