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21 But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor,[a] I ordered him to be kept under guard until I could send him to Caesar.”[b] 22 Agrippa[c] said to Festus,[d] “I would also like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he replied,[e] “you will hear him.”

Paul Before King Agrippa and Bernice

23 So the next day Agrippa[f] and Bernice came with great pomp[g] and entered the audience hall,[h] along with the senior military officers[i] and the prominent men of the city. When Festus[j] gave the order,[k] Paul was brought in.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 25:21 tn A designation of the Roman emperor (in this case, Nero). BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός states, “ὁ Σεβαστός His Majesty the Emperor Ac 25:21, 25 (of Nero).” It was a translation into Greek of the Latin “Augustus.”
  2. Acts 25:21 tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
  3. Acts 25:22 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
  4. Acts 25:22 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
  5. Acts 25:22 tn Grk “said.”
  6. Acts 25:23 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
  7. Acts 25:23 tn Or “great pageantry” (BDAG 1049 s.v. φαντασία; the term is a NT hapax legomenon).sn Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp. The “royals” were getting their look at Paul. Everyone who was anyone would have been there.
  8. Acts 25:23 tn 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.
  9. Acts 25:23 tn 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.
  10. Acts 25:23 sn See the note on Porcius Festus in 24:27.
  11. Acts 25:23 tn 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.

21 But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”(A)

22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”

He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”(B)

Paul Before Agrippa(C)

23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice(D) 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.

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