Discovery BoxActs 25:11 
Context25:11 If then I am in the wrong 1 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 25:21
Context25:21 But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor, 6 I ordered him to be kept under guard until I could send him to Caesar.” 7
1 tn BDAG 20 s.v. ἀδικέω 1.b has “intr. be in the wrong (Ex 2:13) εἰ ἀδικῶ Ac 25:11.”
2 tn 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).
3 tn 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.
4 sn That is, no one can hand me over to them lawfully. Paul was aware of the dangers of a return to Jerusalem.
5 tn 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.
6 tn A designation of the Roman emperor (in this case, Nero). BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός states, “ὁ Σεβαστός His Majesty the Emperor Ac 25:21, 25 (of Nero).” It was a translation into Greek of the Latin “Augustus.”
7 tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
