Acts 24:27

24:27 After two years ¹  had passed, Porcius Festus ²  succeeded Felix, ³  and because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison. ⁴ 

Acts 28:15

28:15 The brothers from there, ⁵  when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius ⁶  and Three Taverns ⁷  to meet us. When he saw them, ⁸  Paul thanked God and took courage.

[24:27]  ¹ tn Grk “After a two-year period.”

[24:27]  ² sn Porcius Festus was the procurator of Palestine who succeeded Felix; neither the beginning nor the end of his rule (at his death) can be determined with certainty, although he appears to have died in office after about two years. Nero recalled Felix in a.d. 57 or 58, and Festus was appointed to his vacant office in a.d. 57, 58, or 59. According to Josephus (Ant. 20.8.9-10 [20.182-188]; J. W. 2.14.1 [2.271-272]), his administration was better than that of his predecessor Felix or his successor Albinus, but Luke in Acts portrays him in a less favorable light: He was willing to sacrifice Paul to court Jewish favor by taking him to Jerusalem for trial (v. 9), regardless of Paul’s guilt or innocence. The one characteristic for which Festus was noted is that he dealt harshly with those who disturbed the peace.

[24:27]  ³ tn Grk “Felix received as successor Porcius Festus.”

[24:27]  ⁴ tn Grk “left Paul imprisoned.”

[28:15]  ⁵ sn Mention of Christian brothers from there (Rome) shows that God’s message had already spread as far as Italy and the capital of the empire.

[28:15]  ⁶ sn The Forum of Appius was a small traveler’s stop on the Appian Way about 43 mi (71 km) south of Rome (BDAG 125 s.v. ᾿Αππίου φόρον). It was described by Horace as “crammed with boatmen and stingy tavernkeepers” (Satires 1.5.3).

[28:15]  ⁷ sn Three Taverns was a stop on the Appian Way 33 mi (55 km) south of Rome.

[28:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “whom, when he saw [them], Paul.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun here in the translation.