Acts 25:1-11

Context

Paul Appeals to Caesar

25:1 Now¹ three days after Festus² arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem³ from Caesarea.⁴ 25:2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men⁵ of the Jews brought formal charges⁶ against Paul to him. 25:3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul,⁷ they urged Festus⁸ to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush⁹ to kill him along the way. 25:4 Then Festus¹⁰ replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea,¹¹ and he himself intended to go there¹² shortly. 25:5 “So,” he said, “let your leaders¹³ go down there¹⁴ with me, and if this man has done anything wrong,¹⁵ they may bring charges¹⁶ against him.”

25:6 After Festus¹⁷ had stayed¹⁸ not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea,¹⁹ and the next day he sat²⁰ on the judgment seat²¹ and ordered Paul to be brought. 25:7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him,²² bringing many serious²³ charges that they were not able to prove.²⁴ 25:8 Paul said in his defense,²⁵ “I have committed no offense²⁶ against the Jewish law²⁷ or against the temple or against Caesar.”²⁸ 25:9 But Festus,²⁹ wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried³⁰ before me there on these charges?”³¹ 25:10 Paul replied,³² “I am standing before Caesar’s³³ judgment seat,³⁴ where I should be tried.³⁵ I have done nothing wrong³⁶ to the Jews, as you also know very well.³⁷ 25:11 If then I am in the wrong³⁸ and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying,³⁹ but if not one of their charges against me is true,⁴⁰ no one can hand me over to them.⁴¹ I appeal to Caesar!”⁴²

[25:1] ¹tn BDAG 736-37 s.v. οὖν 2.b states, “οὖν serves to indicate a transition to someth. new…now, then, well…Ac 25:1.”

[25:1] ²sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:1] ³map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[25:1] ⁴sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a journey of 65 mi (just over 100 km).

[25:2] ⁵tn BDAG 893-94 s.v. πρῶτος 2.a.β has “οἱ πρῶτοι the most prominent men, the leading men w. gen. of the place…or of a group…οἱ πρ. τοῦ λαοῦ…Lk 19:47; cp. Ac 25:2; 28:17.”

[25:2] ⁶tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “ἐ. τινὶ κατά τινος bring formal charges against someone…Ac 24:1; 25:2.”

[25:3] ⁷tn Grk “Requesting a favor against him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation, the understood direct object of “requesting” has been supplied, and the phrase “to do them” supplied for clarity.

[25:3] ⁸tn Grk “him”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The words “they urged him” are in v. 2 in the Greek text.

[25:3] ⁹sn Planning an ambush. The Jewish leadership had not forgotten the original plan of several years ago (see 23:16). They did not trust the Roman legal process, but preferred to take matters into their own hands.

[25:4] ¹⁰sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:4] ¹¹sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

[25:4] ¹²tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[25:5] ¹³tn Grk “let those who are influential among you” (i.e., the powerful).

[25:5] ¹⁴tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[25:5] ¹⁵tn 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).

[25:5] ¹⁶tn 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.”

[25:6] ¹⁷tn Grk “he”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:6] ¹⁸tn Grk “Having stayed.” The participle διατρίψας (diatriya") has been taken temporally.

[25:6] ¹⁹sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

[25:6] ²⁰tn Grk “sitting down…he ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[25:6] ²¹tn 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 bhma was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.

[25:7] ²²tn BDAG 801 s.v. περιίστημι 1.a has “περιέστησαν αὐτὸν οἱ ᾿Ιουδαῖοι the Judeans stood around him 25:7.”

[25:7] ²³tn Grk “many and serious.” The term βαρύς (barus) refers to weighty or serious charges (BDAG 167 s.v. 1).

[25:7] ²⁴tn The term ἀποδείκνυμι (apodeiknumi) in a legal context refers to legal proof (4 Macc 1:8; BDAG 108 s.v. 3).

[25:8] ²⁵tn Grk “Paul saying in his defense”; the participle ἀπολογουμένου (apologoumenou) could be taken temporally (“when Paul said…”), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle was translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here in the translation. BDAG 116-17 s.v. ἀπολογέομαι has “W. ὅτι foll. τοῦ Παύλου ἀπολογουμένου, ὅτι when Paul said in his defense (direct quot. foll.) Ac 25:8.”

[25:8] ²⁶tn Grk “I have sinned…in nothing.”

[25:8] ²⁷tn Grk “against the law of the Jews.” Here τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[25:8] ²⁸tn Or “against the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[25:9] ²⁹sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:9] ³⁰tn Or “stand trial.”

[25:9] ³¹tn Grk “concerning these things.”

[25:10] ³²tn Grk “said.”

[25:10] ³³tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[25:10] ³⁴tn 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] ³⁵tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.

[25:10] ³⁶sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.

[25:10] ³⁷tn 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.”

[25:11] ³⁸tn BDAG 20 s.v. ἀδικέω 1.b has “intr. be in the wrong (Ex 2:13) εἰ ἀδικῶ Ac 25:11.”

[25:11] ³⁹tn BDAG 764 s.v. παραιτέομαι 2.b.β, “οὐ παραιτοῦμαι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν I am not trying to escape death Ac 25:11 (cp. Jos., Vi. 141).” To avoid redundancy in the translation, the English gerund “dying” is used to translate the Greek infinitive ἀποθανεῖν (apoqanein).

[25:11] ⁴⁰tn Or “but if there is nothing to their charges against me.” Both “if” clauses in this verse are first class conditions. Paul stated the options without prejudice, assuming in turn the reality of each for the sake of the argument.

[25:11] ⁴¹sn That is, no one can hand me over to them lawfully. Paul was aware of the dangers of a return to Jerusalem.

[25:11] ⁴²tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).