Acts 25:10

Paul replied, ¹  “I am standing before Caesar’s ²  judgment seat, ³  where I should be tried. ⁴  I have done nothing wrong ⁵  to the Jews, as you also know very well. ⁶ 

Paul answered: "I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.

But Paul said, "I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know.

But Paul replied, "No! This is the official Roman court, so I ought to be tried right here. You know very well I am not guilty.

Paul answered, "I'm standing at this moment before Caesar's bar of justice, where I have a perfect right to stand. And I'm going to keep standing here. I've done nothing wrong to the Jews, and you know it as well as I do.

And Paul said, I am before the seat of Caesar’s authority where it is right for me to be judged: I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you are well able to see.

Paul said, "I am appealing to the emperor’s tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know.

So Paul said, "I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know.

Paul replied, ¹  “I am standing before Caesar’s ²  judgment seat, ³  where I should be tried. ⁴  I have done nothing wrong ⁵  to the Jews, as you also know very well. ⁶ 

¹ tn Grk “said.”

² tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

³ 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.

⁴ tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.

⁵ sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.

⁶ 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.”