Acts 25:16

25:16 I answered them ¹  that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone ²  before the accused had met his accusers face to face ³  and had been given ⁴  an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation. ⁵ 

Acts 28:17

Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome

28:17 After three days ⁶  Paul ⁷  called the local Jewish leaders ⁸  together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, ⁹  although I had done ¹⁰  nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, ¹¹  from Jerusalem ¹²  I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. ¹³ 

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¹ tn Grk “to whom I answered.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 16.

sn “I answered them.” In the answer that follows, Festus is portrayed in a more positive light, being sensitive to justice and Roman law.

² tn Grk “any man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos).

³ tn Or “has met his accusers in person.”

⁴ tn Grk “and receives.”

⁵ tn Or “indictment” (a legal technical term). BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 states, “legal t.t.…ἀπολογία περὶ τοῦ ἐ. defense against the accusation Ac 25:16.” L&N 56.6 defines ἔγκλημα (enklhma) as “(a technical, legal term) a formal indictment or accusation brought against someone – ‘indictment, accusation, case.’ …‘and might receive an opportunity for a defense against the indictment’ Ac 25:16.”

⁶ tn Grk “It happened that after three days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn L&N 33.309 has “‘after three days, he called the local Jewish leaders together’ Ac 28:17.”

⁹ tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.

¹⁰ tn The participle ποιήσας (poihsas) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

¹¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

sn I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors. Once again Paul claimed to be faithful to the Jewish people and to the God of Israel.

¹² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹³ tn Grk “into the hands of the Romans,” but this is redundant when παρεδόθην (paredoqhn) has been translated “handed over.”