Discovery BoxActs 25:3 
Context25:3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul, 1 they urged Festus 2 to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush 3 to kill him along the way.
Acts 25:9-11
Context25:9 But Festus, 4 wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried 5 before me there on these charges?” 6 25:10 Paul replied, 7 “I am standing before Caesar’s 8 judgment seat, 9 where I should be tried. 10 I have done nothing wrong 11 to the Jews, as you also know very well. 12 25:11 If then I am in the wrong 13 and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, 14 but if not one of their charges against me is true, 15 no one can hand me over to them. 16 I appeal to Caesar!” 17
1 tn Grk “Requesting a favor against him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation, the understood direct object of “requesting” has been supplied, and the phrase “to do them” supplied for clarity.
2 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Festus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The words “they urged him” are in v. 2 in the Greek text.
3 sn Planning an ambush. The Jewish leadership had not forgotten the original plan of several years ago (see 23:16). They did not trust the Roman legal process, but preferred to take matters into their own hands.
4 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
5 tn Or “stand trial.”
6 tn Grk “concerning these things.”
7 tn Grk “said.”
8 tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
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 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.
10 tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.
11 sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.
12 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.”
13 tn BDAG 20 s.v. ἀδικέω 1.b has “intr. be in the wrong (Ex 2:13) εἰ ἀδικῶ Ac 25:11.”
14 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).
15 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.
16 sn That is, no one can hand me over to them lawfully. Paul was aware of the dangers of a return to Jerusalem.
17 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.
