Acts 25:25-27

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  25:26 But I have nothing definite ⁵  to write to my lord ⁶  about him. ⁷  Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, ⁸  so that after this preliminary hearing ⁹  I may have something to write. 25:27 For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating ¹⁰  the charges against 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.

[25:26]  ⁵ sn There is irony here. How can Festus write anything definite about Paul, if he is guilty of nothing.

[25:26]  ⁶ sn To my lord means “to His Majesty the Emperor.”

[25:26]  ⁷ tn Grk “about whom I have nothing definite…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced with a personal pronoun (“him”) and a new sentence begun in the translation at the beginning of v. 26.

[25:26]  ⁸ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[25:26]  ⁹ tn Or “investigation.” BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνάκρισις has “a judicial hearing, investigation, hearing, esp. preliminary hearing…τῆς ἀ. γενομένης Ac 25:26.” This is technical legal language.

[25:27]  ¹⁰ tn L&N 33.153 s.v. σημαίνω, “to cause something to be both specific and clear – ‘to indicate clearly, to make clear’… ‘for it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating the charges against him’ Ac 25:27.”