Acts 25:25

25:25 But I found that he had done nothing that deserved death, ¹  and when he appealed ²  to His Majesty the Emperor, ³  I decided to send him. ⁴ 

Acts 26:31

26:31 and as they were leaving they said to one another, ⁵  “This man is not doing anything deserving ⁶  death or imprisonment.”

Acts 26:1

Paul Offers His Defense

26:1 So Agrippa ⁷  said to Paul, “You have permission ⁸  to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand ⁹  and began his defense: ¹⁰ 

Acts 24:17

24:17 After several years ¹¹  I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor ¹²  and to present offerings, ¹³ 

Proverbs 16:7

16:7 When a person’s ¹⁴  ways are pleasing to the Lord, ¹⁵ 

he ¹⁶  even reconciles his enemies to himself. ¹⁷ 

Luke 23:4

23:4 Then ¹⁸  Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation ¹⁹  against this man.”

Luke 23:14-15

23:14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading ²⁰  the people. When I examined him before you, I ²¹  did not find this man guilty ²²  of anything you accused him of doing. 23:15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing ²³  deserving death. ²⁴ 

Luke 23:22

23:22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I have found him guilty ²⁵  of no crime deserving death. ²⁶  I will therefore flog ²⁷  him and release him.”

[25:25]  ¹ sn He had done nothing that deserved death. Festus’ opinion of Paul’s guilt is like Pilate’s of Jesus (Luke 23:4, 14, 22).

[25:25]  ² tn The participle ἐπικαλεσαμένου (epikalesamenou) has been taken temporally. It could also be translated as causal: “and because he appealed…”

[25:25]  ³ tn 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).”

[25:25]  ⁴ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[26:31]  ⁵ tn Grk “they spoke to one another saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[26:31]  ⁶ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b has “θανάτου ἢ δεσμῶν ἄ. nothing deserving death or imprisonment 23:29; 26:31.”

[26:1]  ⁷ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”

[26:1]  ⁹ tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).

[26:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”

[24:17]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 401 s.v. ἔτος has “δι᾿ ἐ. πλειόνων after several years 24:17.”

[24:17]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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.

[16:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “ways of a man.”

[16:7]  ¹⁵ tn The first line uses an infinitive in a temporal clause, followed by its subject in the genitive case: “in the taking pleasure of the Lord” = “when the Lord is pleased with.” So the condition set down for the second colon is a lifestyle that is pleasing to God.

[16:7]  ¹⁶ tn The referent of the verb in the second colon is unclear. The straightforward answer is that it refers to the person whose ways please the Lord – it is his lifestyle that disarms his enemies. W. McKane comments that the righteous have the power to mend relationships (Proverbs [OTL], 491); see, e.g., 10:13; 14:9; 15:1; 25:21-22). The life that is pleasing to God will be above reproach and find favor with others. Some would interpret this to mean that God makes his enemies to be at peace with him (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT). This is workable, but in this passage it would seem God would do this through the pleasing life of the believer (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV).

[16:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “even his enemies he makes to be at peace with him.”

[23:4]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:4]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “find no cause.”

[23:14]  ²⁰ tn This term also appears in v. 2.

[23:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “behold, I” A transitional use of ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.

[23:14]  ²² tn Grk “nothing did I find in this man by way of cause.” The reference to “nothing” is emphatic.

[23:15]  ²³ sn With the statement “he has done nothing,” Pilate makes another claim that Jesus is innocent of any crime worthy of death.

[23:15]  ²⁴ tn Grk “nothing deserving death has been done by him.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style.

[23:22]  ²⁵ tn Grk “no cause of death I found in him.”

[23:22]  ²⁶ sn The refrain of innocence comes once again. Pilate tried to bring some sense of justice, believing Jesus had committed no crime deserving death.

[23:22]  ²⁷ tn Or “scourge” (BDAG 749 s.v. παιδεύω 2.b.γ). See the note on “flogged” in v. 16.