^25:23So the next day Agrippa⁸³ and Bernice came with great pomp⁸⁴ and entered the audience hall,⁸⁵ along with the senior military officers⁸⁶ and the prominent men of the city. When Festus⁸⁷ gave the order,⁸⁸ Paul was brought in. ^25:24Then Festus⁸⁹ said, “King Agrippa,⁹⁰ and all you who are present here with us, you see this man about whom the entire Jewish populace⁹¹ petitioned⁹² me both in Jerusalem⁹³ and here,⁹⁴ shouting loudly⁹⁵ that he ought not to live any longer. ^25:25But I found that he had done nothing that deserved death,⁹⁶ and when he appealed⁹⁷ to His Majesty the Emperor,⁹⁸ I decided to send him.⁹⁹^25:26But I have nothing definite¹⁰⁰ to write to my lord¹⁰¹ about him.¹⁰² Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa,¹⁰³ so that after this preliminary hearing¹⁰⁴ I may have something to write. ^25:27For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating¹⁰⁵ the charges against him.”

Read in Logos

Footnotes

83 See the note on King Agrippa in .
84 Or “great pageantry” ( φαντασία; the term is a NT ). Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp. The “royals” were getting their look at Paul. Everyone who was anyone would have been there.
85 Or “auditorium.” “Auditorium” may suggest to the modern English reader a theater where performances are held. Here it is the large hall where a king or governor would hold audiences. Paul once spoke of himself as a “spectacle” to the world (1 Cor 4:8–13).
86 Grk “the chiliarchs” (officers in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (chiliarchos) literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.
87 See the note on Porcius Festus in .
88 Grk “and Festus ordering, Paul was brought in.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has not been translated. The participle κελεύσαντος (keleusantos) has been taken temporally.
89 See the note on Porcius Festus in .
90 See the note on King Agrippa in .
91 Probably best understood as rhetorical hyperbole. πλῆθος 2.b.γ states, “people, populace, population … τὸ πλῆθος the populace … ἅπαν τὸ πλ. τῶν Ἰουδαίων Ac 25:24.” However, the actions of the leadership are seen by Luke as representing the actions of the entire nation, so the remark is not inaccurate.
92 Or “appealed to” ( ἐντυγχάνω 1.a).
93 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
94 Here means “here in Caesarea.”
95 Or “screaming.”
96 He had done nothing that deserved death. Festus’ opinion of Paul’s guilt is like Pilate’s of Jesus (Luke 23:4, 14, 22).
97 The participle ἐπικαλεσαμένου (epikalesamenou) has been taken temporally. It could also be translated as causal: “and because he appealed …”
98 A designation of the Roman emperor (in this case, Nero). σεβαστός states, “ὁ Σεβαστός His Majesty the Emperor Ac 25:21, 25 (of Nero).”
99 The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
100 There is irony here. How can Festus write anything definite about Paul, if he is guilty of nothing.
101 To my lord means “to His Majesty the Emperor.”
102 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.
103 See the note on King Agrippa in .
104 Or “investigation.” ἀνάκρισις has “a judicial hearing, investigation, hearing, esp. preliminary hearing … τῆς ἀ. γενομένης Ac 25:26.” This is technical legal language.
105 L&N 33.153 σημαίνω, “to cause something to be both specific and clear—‘to indicate clearly, to make clear’ … ‘for it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating the charges against him’ Ac 25:27.” Without clearly indicating the charges against him. Again the point is made by Festus himself that there is difficulty even in articulating a charge against Paul.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

So the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the auditorium with the military commanders and prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the command, Paul was brought in. Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all men present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has appealed to me concerning him, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he should not live any longer. I found that he had not done anything deserving of death, but when he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him. I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this examination is over, I may have something to write. For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.”

NLTNew Living Translation

So the next day Agrippa and Bernice arrived at the auditorium with great pomp, accompanied by military officers and prominent men of the city. Festus ordered that Paul be brought in. Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are here, this is the man whose death is demanded by all the Jews, both here and in Jerusalem. But in my opinion he has done nothing deserving death. However, since he appealed his case to the emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome.

“But what shall I write the emperor? For there is no clear charge against him. So I have brought him before all of you, and especially you, King Agrippa, so that after we examine him, I might have something to write. For it makes no sense to send a prisoner to the emperor without specifying the charges against him!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

So on the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pageantry and entered into the audience hall, along with military tribunes and the most prominent men of the city. And when Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in. And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole population of the Jews appealed to me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he must not live any longer. But I understood that he had done nothing deserving death himself, and when this man appealed to His Majesty the Emperor, I decided to send him. I do not have anything definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all—and especially before you, King Agrippa—so that after this preliminary hearing has taken place, I may have something to write. For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner and not to indicate the charges against him.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus’ commandment Paul was brought forth. And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer. But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him. Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write. For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.

Public Domain