Acts 24:27

24:27 After two years ¹  had passed, Porcius Festus ²  succeeded Felix, ³  and because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison. ⁴ 

Acts 25:3

25:3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul, ⁵  they urged Festus ⁶  to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush ⁷  to kill him along the way.

Acts 25:9

25:9 But Festus, ⁸  wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried ⁹  before me there on these charges?” ¹⁰ 

Acts 7:10

7:10 and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made ¹¹  him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

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¹ tn Grk “After a two-year period.”

² sn Porcius Festus was the procurator of Palestine who succeeded Felix; neither the beginning nor the end of his rule (at his death) can be determined with certainty, although he appears to have died in office after about two years. Nero recalled Felix in a.d. 57 or 58, and Festus was appointed to his vacant office in a.d. 57, 58, or 59. According to Josephus (Ant. 20.8.9-10 [20.182-188]; J. W. 2.14.1 [2.271-272]), his administration was better than that of his predecessor Felix or his successor Albinus, but Luke in Acts portrays him in a less favorable light: He was willing to sacrifice Paul to court Jewish favor by taking him to Jerusalem for trial (v. 9), regardless of Paul’s guilt or innocence. The one characteristic for which Festus was noted is that he dealt harshly with those who disturbed the peace.

³ tn Grk “Felix received as successor Porcius Festus.”

sn See the note on Felix in 23:26.

⁴ tn Grk “left Paul imprisoned.”

sn Felix left Paul in prison. Luke makes the point that politics got in the way of justice here; keeping Paul in prison was a political favor to the Jews.

⁵ tn Grk “Requesting a favor against him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation, the understood direct object of “requesting” has been supplied, and the phrase “to do them” supplied for clarity.

⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The words “they urged him” are in v. 2 in the Greek text.

⁷ sn Planning an ambush. The Jewish leadership had not forgotten the original plan of several years ago (see 23:16). They did not trust the Roman legal process, but preferred to take matters into their own hands.

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

⁹ tn Or “stand trial.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “concerning these things.”

¹¹ tn Or “appointed.” See Gen 41:41-43.