^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.

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Footnotes

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.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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.

NLTNew Living Translation

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.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

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.

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

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