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Festus Asks King Agrippa for Advice

13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa[a] and Bernice arrived at Caesarea[b] to pay their respects[c] to Festus.[d] 14 While[e] they were staying there many days, Festus[f] explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion,[g] saying, “There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed[h] me about him,[i] asking for a sentence of condemnation[j] against him.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 25:13 sn King Agrippa was Herod Agrippa II (a.d. 27-92/93), son of Herod Agrippa I (see Acts 12:1). He ruled over parts of Palestine from a.d. 53 until his death. His sister Bernice was widowed when her second husband, Herod King of Chalcis, died in a.d. 48. From then she lived with her brother. In an attempt to quiet rumors of an incestuous relationship between them, she resolved to marry Polemo of Cilicia, but she soon left him and returned to Herod Agrippa II. Their incestuous relationship became the gossip of Rome according to Josephus (Ant. 20.7.3 [20.145-147]). The visit of Agrippa and Bernice gave Festus the opportunity to get some internal Jewish advice. Herod Agrippa II was a trusted adviser because he was known to be very loyal to Rome (Josephus, J. W. 2.16.4 [2.345-401]).
  2. Acts 25:13 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.
  3. Acts 25:13 tn BDAG 144 s.v. ἀσπάζομαι 1.b states, “Of official visits pay ones respects toAc 25:13.”
  4. Acts 25:13 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
  5. Acts 25:14 tn BDAG 1105-6 s.v. ὡς 8.b states, “w. pres. or impf. while, when, as long asAc 1:10; 7:23; 9:23; 10:17; 13:25; 19:9; 21:27; 25:14.”
  6. Acts 25:14 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
  7. Acts 25:14 tn Grk “Festus laid Paul’s case before the king for consideration.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατίθημι 2 states, “otherw. only mid. to lay someth. before someone for consideration, communicate, refer, declare w. connotation of request for a person’s opinion…Ac 25:14.”
  8. Acts 25:15 tn BDAG 326 s.v. ἐμφανίζω 3 has “to convey a formal report about a judicial matter, present evidence, bring charges. περί τινος concerning someone 25:15.”
  9. Acts 25:15 tn Grk “about whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“him”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 15 (where the phrase περὶ οὗ [peri hou] occurs in the Greek text).
  10. Acts 25:15 tn BDAG 516 s.v. καταδίκη states, “condemnation, sentence of condemnation, conviction, guilty verdictαἰτεῖσθαι κατά τινος κ. ask for a conviction of someone Ac 25:15.”