Acts 25:7-10

25:7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him,¹ bringing many serious² charges that they were not able to prove.³ 25:8 Paul said in his defense,⁴ “I have committed no offense⁵ against the Jewish law⁶ or against the temple or against Caesar.”⁷ 25:9 But Festus,⁸ wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried⁹ before me there on these charges?”¹⁰ 25:10 Paul replied,¹¹ “I am standing before Caesar’s¹² judgment seat,¹³ where I should be tried.¹⁴ I have done nothing wrong¹⁵ to the Jews, as you also know very well.¹⁶

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

²tn Grk “many and serious.” The term βαρύς (barus) refers to weighty or serious charges (BDAG 167 s.v. 1).

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

⁴tn 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.”

⁵tn Grk “I have sinned…in nothing.”

⁶tn Grk “against the law of the Jews.” Here τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων has been translated as an attributive genitive.

sn The Jewish law refers to the law of Moses.

⁷tn Or “against the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

sn Paul’s threefold claim to be innocent with respect to the law…the temple and Caesar argues that he has not disturbed the peace at any level. This was the standard charge made against early Christians (Luke 23:2; Acts 17:6-7). The charges here are emphatically denied, with the Greek conjunction oute repeated before each charge.

⁸sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

⁹tn Or “stand trial.”

¹⁰tn Grk “concerning these things.”

¹¹tn Grk “said.”

¹²tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

¹³tn 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.

sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bhma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city.

¹⁴tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.

¹⁵sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.

¹⁶tn 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.”