Acts 25:13-22

Context

Festus Asks King Agrippa for Advice

25:13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa¹ and Bernice arrived at Caesarea² to pay their respects³ to Festus.⁴ 25:14 While⁵ they were staying there many days, Festus⁶ explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion,⁷ saying, “There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix. 25:15 When I was in Jerusalem,⁸ the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed⁹ me about him,¹⁰ asking for a sentence of condemnation¹¹ against him. 25:16 I answered them¹² that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone¹³ before the accused had met his accusers face to face¹⁴ and had been given¹⁵ an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation.¹⁶ 25:17 So after they came back here with me,¹⁷ I did not postpone the case,¹⁸ but the next day I sat¹⁹ on the judgment seat²⁰ and ordered the man to be brought. 25:18 When his accusers stood up, they did not charge²¹ him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected.²² 25:19 Rather they had several points of disagreement²³ with him about their own religion²⁴ and about a man named Jesus²⁵ who was dead, whom Paul claimed²⁶ to be alive. 25:20 Because I was at a loss²⁷ how I could investigate these matters,²⁸ I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried²⁹ there on these charges.³⁰ 25:21 But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor,³¹ I ordered him to be kept under guard until I could send him to Caesar.”³² 25:22 Agrippa³³ said to Festus,³⁴ “I would also like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he replied,³⁵ “you will hear him.”

[25:13] ¹sn King Agrippa was Herod Agrippa II (a.d. 27-92/93), son of Herod Agrippa I (see Acts 12:1). He ruled over parts of Palestine from a.d. 53 until his death. His sister Bernice was widowed when her second husband, Herod King of Chalcis, died in a.d. 48. From then she lived with her brother. In an attempt to quiet rumors of an incestuous relationship between them, she resolved to marry Polemo of Cilicia, but she soon left him and returned to Herod Agrippa II. Their incestuous relationship became the gossip of Rome according to Josephus (Ant. 20.7.3 [20.145-147]). The visit of Agrippa and Bernice gave Festus the opportunity to get some internal Jewish advice. Herod Agrippa II was a trusted adviser because he was known to be very loyal to Rome (Josephus, J. W. 2.16.4 [2.345-401]).

[25:13] ²sn 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.

[25:13] ³tn BDAG 144 s.v. ἀσπάζομαι 1.b states, “Of official visits pay one’s respects to…Ac 25:13.”

[25:13] ⁴sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:14] ⁵tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b states, “w. pres. or impf. while, when, as long as…Ac 1:10; 7:23; 9:23; 10:17; 13:25; 19:9; 21:27; 25:14.”

[25:14] ⁶sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:14] ⁷tn Grk “Festus laid Paul’s case before the king for consideration.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατίθημι 2 states, “otherw. only mid. to lay someth. before someone for consideration, declare, communicate, refer w. the added idea that the pers. to whom a thing is ref. is asked for his opinion lay someth. before someone for consideration…Ac 25:14.”

[25:15] ⁸map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[25:15] ⁹tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “to convey a formal report about a judicial matter, present evidence, bring charges…ἐ. περί τινος concerning someone 25:15.”

[25:15] ¹⁰tn Grk “about whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“him”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 15 (where the phrase περὶ οὗ [peri Jou] occurs in the Greek text).

[25:15] ¹¹tn BDAG 516 s.v. καταδίκη states, “condemnation, sentence of condemnation, conviction, guilty verdict…αἰτεῖσθαι κατά τινος κ. ask for a conviction of someone Ac 25:15.”

[25:16] ¹²tn Grk “to whom I answered.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 16.

[25:16] ¹³tn Grk “any man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos).

[25:16] ¹⁴tn Or “has met his accusers in person.”

[25:16] ¹⁵tn Grk “and receives.”

[25:16] ¹⁶tn Or “indictment” (a legal technical term). BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 states, “legal t.t.…ἀπολογία περὶ τοῦ ἐ. defense against the accusation Ac 25:16.” L&N 56.6 defines ἔγκλημα (enklhma) as “(a technical, legal term) a formal indictment or accusation brought against someone – ‘indictment, accusation, case.’ …‘and might receive an opportunity for a defense against the indictment’ Ac 25:16.”

[25:17] ¹⁷tn BDAG 969-70 s.v. συνέρχομαι 2 states, “συνελθόντων ἐνθάδε prob. means (because of συνκαταβάντες 25:5) they came back here with (me) 25:17.”

[25:17] ¹⁸tn BDAG 59 s.v. ἀναβολή states, “‘delay’…legal t.t. postponement…ἀ. μηδεμίαν ποιησάμενος I did not postpone the matter Ac 25:17.” “Case” has been supplied instead of “matter” since it is more specific to the context. The participle ποιησάμενος (poihsameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[25:17] ¹⁹tn Grk “sitting…I ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[25:17] ²⁰tn 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.

[25:18] ²¹tn Grk “they brought no charge of any of the evil deeds.” BDAG 31 s.v. αἰτία 3.b has “αἰτίαν φέρειν…bring an accusation Ac 25:18.” Since κατήγοροι (kathgoroi, “accusers”) in the previous clause is somewhat redundant with this, “charge” was used instead.

[25:18] ²²tn Or “I was expecting.”

[25:19] ²³tn Grk “several controversial issues.” BDAG 428 s.v. ζήτημα states, “in our lit. only in Ac, w. the mng. it still has in Mod. Gk. (controversial) question, issue, argument…Ac 15:2; 26:3. ζ. περί τινος questions about someth.…18:15; 25:19.”

[25:19] ²⁴tn On this term see BDAG 216 s.v. δεισιδαιμονία 2. It is a broad term for religion.

[25:19] ²⁵tn Grk “a certain Jesus.”

[25:19] ²⁶tn Or “asserted.”

[25:20] ²⁷tn Or “Because I was undecided.” Grk “Being at a loss.” The participle ἀπορούμενος (aporoumeno") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[25:20] ²⁸tn L&N 27.34 states, “ἀπορούμενος δὲ ἐγὼ τὴν περὶ τούτων ζήτησιν ‘I was undecided about how I could get information on these matters’ Ac 25:20. The clause ‘about how I could get information on these matters’ may also be rendered as ‘about how I should try to find out about these matters’ or ‘about how I could learn about these matters.’”

[25:20] ²⁹tn Or “stand trial.”

[25:20] ³⁰tn Grk “on these things.”

[25:21] ³¹tn A designation of the Roman emperor (in this case, Nero). BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός states, “ὁ Σεβαστός His Majesty the Emperor Ac 25:21, 25 (of Nero).” It was a translation into Greek of the Latin “Augustus.”

[25:21] ³²tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[25:22] ³³sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[25:22] ³⁴sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

[25:22] ³⁵tn Grk “said.”