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Paul Appeals to Caesar

25 Now[a] three days after Festus[b] arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.[c] So the chief priests and the most prominent men[d] of the Jews brought formal charges[e] against Paul to him. Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul,[f] they urged Festus[g] to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush[h] to kill him along the way. Then Festus[i] replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea,[j] and he himself intended to go there[k] shortly. “So,” he said, “let your leaders[l] go down there[m] with me, and if this man has done anything wrong,[n] they may bring charges[o] against him.”

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 25:1 tn BDAG 736-37 s.v. οὖν 2.b states, “οὖν serves to indicate a transition to someth. new…now, then, wellAc 25:1.”
  2. Acts 25:1 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
  3. Acts 25:1 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a journey of 65 mi (just over 100 km).
  4. Acts 25:2 tn BDAG 893-94 s.v. πρῶτος 2.a.β has “οἱ πρῶτοι the most prominent men, the leading men w. gen. of the place…or of a group…οἱ πρ. τοῦ λαοῦLk 19:47; cp. Ac 25:2; 28:17.”
  5. Acts 25:2 tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “. τινὶ κατά τινος bring formal charges against someoneAc 24:1; 25:2.”sn Note how quickly the Jewish leadership went after Paul: They brought formal charges against him within three days of Festus’ arrival in the province.
  6. Acts 25:3 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.
  7. Acts 25:3 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.
  8. Acts 25:3 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.
  9. Acts 25:4 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
  10. Acts 25:4 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.
  11. Acts 25:4 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
  12. Acts 25:5 tn Grk “let those who are influential among you” (i.e., the powerful).
  13. Acts 25:5 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
  14. Acts 25:5 tn Grk “and if there is anything wrong with this man,” but this could be misunderstood in English to mean a moral or physical defect, while the issue in context is the commission of some crime, something legally improper (BDAG 149 s.v. ἄτοπος 2).
  15. Acts 25:5 tn BDAG 533 s.v. κατηγορέω 1 states, “nearly always as legal t.t.: bring charges in court.” L&N 33.427 states for κατηγορέω, “to bring serious charges or accusations against someone, with the possible connotation of a legal or court context—‘to accuse, to bring charges.”

Paul Appeals to the Emperor

25 Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews gave him a report against Paul. They appealed to him(A) and requested, as a favor to them against Paul,[a] to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way.(B) Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly.(C) “So,” he said, “let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him.”

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Footnotes

  1. 25.3 Gk him