Acts 7:5

7:5 He ¹  did not give any of it to him for an inheritance, ²  not even a foot of ground, ³  yet God ⁴  promised to give it to him as his possession, and to his descendants after him, ⁵  even though Abraham ⁶  as yet had no child.

Acts 25:6

25:6 After Festus ⁷  had stayed ⁸  not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, ⁹  and the next day he sat ¹⁰  on the judgment seat ¹¹  and ordered Paul to be brought.

Acts 25:10

25:10 Paul replied, ¹²  “I am standing before Caesar’s ¹³  judgment seat, ¹⁴  where I should be tried. ¹⁵  I have done nothing wrong ¹⁶  to the Jews, as you also know very well. ¹⁷ 

[7:5]  ¹ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[7:5]  ² tn Grk “He did not give him an inheritance in it.” This could be understood to mean that God did not give something else to Abraham as an inheritance while he was living there. The point of the text is that God did not give any of the land to him as an inheritance, and the translation makes this clear.

[7:5]  ³ tn Grk “a step of a foot” (cf. Deut 2:5).

[7:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:5]  ⁵ sn An allusion to Gen 12:7; 13:15; 15:2, 18; 17:8; 24:7; 48:4. On the theological importance of the promise and to his descendants after him, see Rom 4 and Gal 3.

[7:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “Having stayed.” The participle διατρίψας (diatriya") has been taken temporally.

[25:6]  ⁹ sn 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]  ¹⁰ tn 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]  ¹¹ tn 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.

[25:10]  ¹³ tn Grk “said.”

[25:10]  ¹⁴ tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[25:10]  ¹⁵ tn 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]  ¹⁶ tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.

[25:10]  ¹⁷ sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.

[25:10]  ¹⁸ tn 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.”