Acts 24:10-23

Paul’s Defense Before Felix

24:10 When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know ¹  that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense. ²  24:11 As you can verify ³  for yourself, not more than twelve days ago ⁴  I went up to Jerusalem ⁵  to worship. 24:12 They did not find me arguing ⁶  with anyone or stirring up a crowd ⁷  in the temple courts ⁸  or in the synagogues ⁹  or throughout the city, ¹⁰  24:13 nor can they prove ¹¹  to you the things ¹²  they are accusing me of doing. ¹³  24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship ¹⁴  the God of our ancestors ¹⁵  according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law ¹⁶  and that is written in the prophets. 24:15 I have ¹⁷  a hope in God (a hope ¹⁸  that ¹⁹  these men ²⁰  themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. ²¹  24:16 This is the reason ²²  I do my best to always ²³  have a clear ²⁴  conscience toward God and toward people. ²⁵  24:17 After several years ²⁶  I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor ²⁷  and to present offerings, ²⁸  24:18 which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified, ²⁹  without a crowd or a disturbance. ³⁰  24:19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia ³¹  who should be here before you and bring charges, ³²  if they have anything against me. 24:20 Or these men here ³³  should tell what crime ³⁴  they found me guilty of ³⁵  when I stood before the council, ³⁶  24:21 other than ³⁷  this one thing ³⁸  I shouted out while I stood before ³⁹  them: ‘I am on trial before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.’” ⁴⁰ 

24:22 Then Felix, ⁴¹  who understood the facts ⁴²  concerning the Way ⁴³  more accurately, ⁴⁴  adjourned their hearing, ⁴⁵  saying, “When Lysias the commanding officer comes down, I will decide your case.” ⁴⁶  24:23 He ordered the centurion ⁴⁷  to guard Paul, ⁴⁸  but to let him have some freedom, ⁴⁹  and not to prevent any of his friends ⁵⁰  from meeting his needs. ⁵¹ 

[24:10]  ¹ tn Grk “knowing.” The participle ἐπιστάμενος (epistamenos) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[24:10]  ² sn “Because…defense.” Paul also paid an indirect compliment to the governor, implying that he would be fair in his judgment.

[24:11]  ³ tn BDAG 369 s.v. ἐπιγινώσκω 2.c has “notice, perceive, learn of, ascertain…Also as legal t.t. ascertain (2 Macc 14:9) τὶ Ac 23:28; cp. 24:8. W. ὅτι foll. Ac 24:11.” “Verify” is an English synonym for “ascertain.”

[24:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “it is not more than twelve days from when.” This has been simplified to “not more than twelve days ago.”

[24:11]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:12]  ⁶ tn Or “disputing,” “conducting a heated discussion.”

[24:12]  ⁷ tn BDAG 381 s.v. ἐπίστασις 2 has “ἐ. ποιεῖν ὄχλου to cause a crowd to gather Ac 24:12.” Roman authorities would not allow a mob to gather and threaten the peace, and anyone suspected of instigating a mob would certainly be arrested.

[24:12]  ⁸ tn Grk “in the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[24:12]  ⁹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[24:12]  ¹⁰ sn A second part of Paul’s defense is that he did nothing while he was in Jerusalem to cause unrest, neither arguing nor stirring up a crowd in the temple courts or in the synagogues or throughout the city.

[24:13]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 1.f has “οὐδὲ παραστῆσαι δύνανταί σοι περὶ ὧν νυνὶ κατηγοροῦσίν μου nor can they prove to you the accusations they are now making against me Ac 24:13.”

[24:13]  ¹² tn The words “the things” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[24:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “nor can they prove to you [the things] about which they are now accusing me.” This has been simplified to eliminate the relative pronoun (“which”) in the translation.

[24:14]  ¹⁴ tn Or “serve.”

[24:14]  ¹⁵ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[24:14]  ¹⁶ sn That is, the law of Moses. Paul was claiming that he legitimately worshiped the God of Israel. He was arguing that this amounted to a religious dispute rather than a political one, so that the Roman authorities need not concern themselves with it.

[24:15]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “having.” The participle ἔχων (ecwn) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun at this point in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.

[24:15]  ¹⁸ sn This mention of Paul’s hope sets up his appeal to the resurrection of the dead. At this point Paul was ignoring the internal Jewish dispute between the Pharisees (to which he had belonged) and the Sadducees (who denied there would be a resurrection of the dead).

[24:15]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “a hope in God (which these [men] themselves accept too).” Because the antecedent of the relative pronoun “which” is somewhat unclear in English, the words “a hope” have been repeated at the beginning of the parenthesis for clarity.

[24:15]  ²⁰ tn Grk “that they”; the referent (these men, Paul’s accusers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:15]  ²¹ tn Or “the unjust.”

[24:16]  ²² tn BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 9.a, “ἐν τούτῳ πιστεύομεν this is the reason why we believe Jn 16:30; cp. Ac 24:16.”

[24:16]  ²³ tn BDAG 224 s.v. διά 2.a, “διὰ παντός…always, continually, constantly…Ac 2:25 (Ps 15:8); 10:2; 24:16.” However, the positioning of the adverb “always” in the English translation is difficult; the position used is one of the least awkward.

[24:16]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀπρόσκοπος 1 has “ἀ. συνείδησις a clear conscience Ac 24:16.”

[24:16]  ²⁵ tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use (Paul does not have only males in view).

[24:17]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 401 s.v. ἔτος has “δι᾿ ἐ. πλειόνων after several years 24:17.”

[24:17]  ²⁷ tn Grk “to bring alms,” but the term “alms” is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “gifts for the poor,” is used instead.

[24:17]  ²⁸ tn Or “sacrifices.” BDAG 887 s.v. προσφορά 1 has “προσφοράς ποιεῖν have sacrifices made Ac 24:17,” but this may be overly specific. It is not clear from the immediate context whether the offering of sacrificial animals (so BDAG assumes) or offerings of some other sort (such as financial gifts) are in view. The combination with ἐλεημοσύνας (elehmosuna") in the preceding clause may suggest monetary offerings. Some have suggested this is an allusion to the payments made by Paul on behalf of the four other men mentioned in Acts 21:23-26, but the text here seems to suggest something Paul had planned to do before he came, while the decision to pay for the expenses of the men in 21:23ff. was made at the suggestion of the Jerusalem leadership after he arrived. In either case, Paul was portraying himself as a pious worshiper of his God.

[24:18]  ²⁹ sn Ritually purified. Paul’s claim here is that he was honoring the holiness of God by being sensitive to issues of ritual purity. Not only was he not guilty of the charges against him, but he was thoroughly devout.

[24:18]  ³⁰ tn BDAG 458 s.v. θόρυβος 3.b has “μετὰ θορύβου…with a disturbance Ac 24:18.”

[24:19]  ³¹ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[24:19]  ³² 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 (kathgorew), “to bring serious charges or accusations against someone, with the possible connotation of a legal or court context – ‘to accuse, to bring charges.’”

[24:20]  ³³ tn Grk “these [men] themselves.”

[24:20]  ³⁴ tn Or “unrighteous act.”

[24:20]  ³⁵ tn The words “me guilty of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. L&N 88.23 has “αὐτοὶ οὗτοι εἰπάτωσαν τί εὗρον ἀδίκημα στάντος μου ‘let these men themselves tell what unrighteous act they found me guilty of’ Ac 24:20.”

[24:20]  ³⁶ tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[24:21]  ³⁷ tn BDAG 433 s.v. ἤ 2.c has “οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἤ nothing else than…Ac 17:21. τί…ἤ what other…than…24:21.”

[24:21]  ³⁸ tn Grk “one utterance.”

[24:21]  ³⁹ tn Cf. BDAG 327 s.v. ἐν 1.e, which has “before, in the presence of, etc.”

[24:21]  ⁴⁰ sn The resurrection of the dead. Paul’s point was, what crime was there in holding this religious belief?

[24:22]  ⁴¹ sn See the note on Antonius Felix in 23:24.

[24:22]  ⁴² tn Grk “the things.”

[24:22]  ⁴³ tn That is, concerning Christianity.

[24:22]  ⁴⁴ tn BDAG 39 s.v. ἀκριβῶς has “Comp. ἀκριβέστερον more exactly…ἀ. ἐκτίθεσθαι explain more exactly Ac 18:26, cp. 23:15, 20; also more accurately…24:22.” Felix knew more about the Christian movement than what the Jewish leaders had told him.

[24:22]  ⁴⁵ tn L&N 56.18 s.v. ἀναβάλλω has “to adjourn a court proceeding until a later time – ‘to adjourn a hearing, to stop a hearing and put it off until later.’…‘then Felix, who was well informed about the Way, adjourned their hearing’ Ac 24:22.”

[24:22]  ⁴⁶ tn BDAG 227 s.v. διαγινώσκω 2 states, “to make a judicial decision, decide/hear (a case)…τὰ καθ᾿ ὑμᾶς decide your case Ac 24:22.”

[24:23]  ⁴⁷ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[24:23]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “that he was to be guarded.” The passive construction (τηρεῖσθαι, threisqai) has been converted to an active one in parallel with the following clauses, and the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:23]  ⁴⁹ tn BDAG 77 s.v. ἄνεσις 1 states, “lit. relaxation of custodial control, some liberty, ἀ. ἔχειν have some freedom Ac 24:23.”

[24:23]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “any of his own” (this could also refer to relatives).

[24:23]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “from serving him.”