Acts 25:11

25:11 If then I am in the wrong¹ and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying,² but if not one of their charges against me is true,³ no one can hand me over to them.⁴ I appeal to Caesar!”⁵

Acts 25:18-20

25:18 When his accusers stood up, they did not charge⁶ him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected.⁷ 25:19 Rather they had several points of disagreement⁸ with him about their own religion⁹ and about a man named Jesus¹⁰ who was dead, whom Paul claimed¹¹ to be alive. 25:20 Because I was at a loss¹² how I could investigate these matters,¹³ I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried¹⁴ there on these charges.¹⁵

Acts 25:26

25:26 But I have nothing definite¹⁶ to write to my lord¹⁷ about him.¹⁸ Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa,¹⁹ so that after this preliminary hearing²⁰ I may have something to write.

¹tn BDAG 20 s.v. ἀδικέω 1.b has “intr. be in the wrong (Ex 2:13) εἰ ἀδικῶ Ac 25:11.”

²tn BDAG 764 s.v. παραιτέομαι 2.b.β, “οὐ παραιτοῦμαι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν I am not trying to escape death Ac 25:11 (cp. Jos., Vi. 141).” To avoid redundancy in the translation, the English gerund “dying” is used to translate the Greek infinitive ἀποθανεῖν (apoqanein).

³tn Or “but if there is nothing to their charges against me.” Both “if” clauses in this verse are first class conditions. Paul stated the options without prejudice, assuming in turn the reality of each for the sake of the argument.

⁴sn That is, no one can hand me over to them lawfully. Paul was aware of the dangers of a return to Jerusalem.

⁵tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

sn The appeal to Caesar was known as the provocatio ad Caesarem. It was a Roman citizen’s right to ask for a direct judgment by the emperor (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96). It was one of the oldest rights of Roman citizens.

⁶tn Grk “they brought no charge of any of the evil deeds.” BDAG 31 s.v. αἰτία 3.b has “αἰτίαν φέρειν…bring an accusation Ac 25:18.” Since κατήγοροι (kathgoroi, “accusers”) in the previous clause is somewhat redundant with this, “charge” was used instead.

⁷tn Or “I was expecting.”

⁸tn Grk “several controversial issues.” BDAG 428 s.v. ζήτημα states, “in our lit. only in Ac, w. the mng. it still has in Mod. Gk. (controversial) question, issue, argument…Ac 15:2; 26:3. ζ. περί τινος questions about someth.…18:15; 25:19.”

⁹tn On this term see BDAG 216 s.v. δεισιδαιμονία 2. It is a broad term for religion.

sn About their own religion. Festus made it clear that in his view as a neutral figure (and as one Luke had noted was disposed to help the Jews), he saw no guilt in Paul. The issue was a simple religious dispute.

¹⁰tn Grk “a certain Jesus.”

¹¹tn Or “asserted.”

¹²tn Or “Because I was undecided.” Grk “Being at a loss.” The participle ἀπορούμενος (aporoumeno") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

¹³tn L&N 27.34 states, “ἀπορούμενος δὲ ἐγὼ τὴν περὶ τούτων ζήτησιν ‘I was undecided about how I could get information on these matters’ Ac 25:20. The clause ‘about how I could get information on these matters’ may also be rendered as ‘about how I should try to find out about these matters’ or ‘about how I could learn about these matters.’”

¹⁴tn Or “stand trial.”

¹⁵tn Grk “on these things.”

¹⁶sn There is irony here. How can Festus write anything definite about Paul, if he is guilty of nothing.

¹⁷sn To my lord means “to His Majesty the Emperor.”

¹⁸tn 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.

¹⁹sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

²⁰tn 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.