Discovery BoxActs 5:36 
Context5:36 For some time ago 1 Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He 2 was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it. 3
Acts 5:38
Context5:38 So in this case I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking originates with people, 4 it will come to nothing, 5
Acts 23:9
Context23:9 There was a great commotion, 6 and some experts in the law 7 from the party of the Pharisees stood up 8 and protested strongly, 9 “We find nothing wrong 10 with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
Acts 25:10
Context25:10 Paul replied, 11 “I am standing before Caesar’s 12 judgment seat, 13 where I should be tried. 14 I have done nothing wrong 15 to the Jews, as you also know very well. 16
Acts 25:26
Context25:26 But I have nothing definite 17 to write to my lord 18 about him. 19 Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, 20 so that after this preliminary hearing 21 I may have something to write.
Acts 26:22
Context26:22 I have experienced 22 help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except 23 what the prophets and Moses said 24 was going to happen:
Acts 27:33
Context27:33 As day was about to dawn, 25 Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense 26 and have gone 27 without food; you have eaten nothing. 28
1 tn Grk “For before these days.”
2 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point.
3 tn Grk “and they came to nothing.” Gamaliel’s argument is that these two insurrectionists were taken care of by natural events.
4 tn Here ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).
5 tn Or “it will be put to an end.”
6 tn Or “clamor” (cf. BDAG 565 s.v. κραυγή 1.a, which has “there arose a loud outcry” here, and Exod 12:30).
7 tn Or “and some scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.
8 tn Grk “standing up.” The participle ἀναστάντες (anastante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
9 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.
10 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.
11 tn Grk “said.”
12 tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
13 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.
14 tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.
15 sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.
16 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.”
17 sn There is irony here. How can Festus write anything definite about Paul, if he is guilty of nothing.
18 sn To my lord means “to His Majesty the Emperor.”
19 tn 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.
20 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
21 tn 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.
22 tn Grk “So experiencing…I stand.” The participle τυχών (tucwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
23 tn BDAG 311 s.v. ἐκτός 3.b, “functions as prep. w. gen. οὐδὲν ἐ. ὧν nothing except what (cf. 1 Ch 29:3; 2 Ch 17:19; TestNapht. 6:2) Ac 26:22.”
24 sn What the prophets and Moses said. Paul argued that his message reflected the hope of the Jewish scriptures.
25 tn BDAG 160 s.v. ἄχρι 1.b.α has “ἄ. οὗ ἡμέρα ἤμελλεν γίνεσθαι until the day began to dawn 27:33.”
26 tn Or “have waited anxiously.” Grk “waiting anxiously.” The participle προσδοκῶντες (prosdokwnte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
27 tn Or “continued.”
28 tn Grk “having eaten nothing.” The participle προσλαβόμενοι (proslabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb (with subject “you” supplied) due to requirements of contemporary English style.
