Acts 25:8-10

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Acts 25:8 tn Grk “Paul saying in his defense”; the participle ἀπολογουμένου (apologoumenou) could be taken temporally (“when Paul said…”), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle was translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here in the translation. BDAG 116-17 s.v. ἀπολογέομαι has “W. ὅτι foll. τοῦ Παύλου ἀπολογουμένου, ὅτι when Paul said in his defense (direct quot. foll.) Ac 25:8.”
2. Acts 25:8 tn Grk “I have sinned…in nothing.”
3. Acts 25:8 tn Grk “against the law of the Jews.” Here τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων has been translated as an attributive genitive.sn The Jewish law refers to the law of Moses.
4. Acts 25:8 tn Or “against the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).sn Paul’s threefold claim to be innocent with respect to the law…the temple and Caesar argues that he has not disturbed the peace at any level. This was the standard charge made against early Christians (Luke 23:2; Acts 17:6-7). The charges here are emphatically denied, with the Greek conjunction oute repeated before each charge.
5. Acts 25:9 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
6. Acts 25:9 tn Or “stand trial.”
7. Acts 25:9 tn Grk “concerning these things.”
8. Acts 25:10 tn Grk “said.”
9. Acts 25:10 tn Or “before the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
10. Acts 25:10 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, bēma) 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.
11. Acts 25:10 tn That is, tried by an imperial representative and subject to Roman law.
12. Acts 25:10 sn “I have done nothing wrong.” Here is yet another declaration of total innocence on Paul’s part.
13. Acts 25:10 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.”