Acts 25:1

Paul Appeals to Caesar

25:1 Now ¹  three days after Festus ²  arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem ³  from Caesarea. ⁴ 

Acts 25:6

25:6 After Festus ⁵  had stayed ⁶  not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, ⁷  and the next day he sat ⁸  on the judgment seat ⁹  and ordered Paul to be brought.

Acts 25:9

25:9 But Festus, ¹⁰  wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried ¹¹  before me there on these charges?” ¹² 

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¹ tn BDAG 736-37 s.v. οὖν 2.b states, “οὖν serves to indicate a transition to someth. new…now, then, well…Ac 25:1.”

² sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴ 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. This was a journey of 65 mi (just over 100 km).

map For location see Map2-C1; Map4-B3; Map5-F2; Map7-A1; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Grk “Having stayed.” The participle διατρίψας (diatriya") has been taken temporally.

⁷ 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.

map For location see Map2-C1; Map4-B3; Map5-F2; Map7-A1; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁸ tn Grk “sitting down…he ordered.” The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁹ 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.

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.

¹⁰ sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.

¹¹ tn Or “stand trial.”

¹² tn Grk “concerning these things.”