Discovery BoxActs 23:9 
Context23:9 There was a great commotion, 1 and some experts in the law 2 from the party of the Pharisees stood up 3 and protested strongly, 4 “We find nothing wrong 5 with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
Acts 25:10
Context25:10 Paul replied, 6 “I am standing before Caesar’s 7 judgment seat, 8 where I should be tried. 9 I have done nothing wrong 10 to the Jews, as you also know very well. 11
1 tn Or “clamor” (cf. BDAG 565 s.v. κραυγή 1.a, which has “there arose a loud outcry” here, and Exod 12:30).
2 tn Or “and some scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.
3 tn Grk “standing up.” The participle ἀναστάντες (anastante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
4 tn Grk “protested strongly, saying.” L&N 39.27 has “διαμάχομαι: to fight or contend with, involving severity and thoroughness – ‘to protest strongly, to contend with.’…‘some scribes from the party of the Pharisees protested strongly’ Ac 23:9.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.
5 sn “We find nothing wrong with this man.” Here is another declaration of innocence. These leaders recognized the possibility that Paul might have the right to make his claim.
6 tn Grk “said.”
7 tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
8 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 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.
9 tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.
10 sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.
11 tn 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.”
