Passage

Acts 25.8

Book: Acts · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"6. And when he had tarried among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and on the morrow he sat on the judgment-seat, and commanded Paul to be brought. 7. And when he was come, the Jews that had come down from Jerusalem stood round about him, bringing against him many and grievous charges which they could not prove;"

"8. while Paul said in his defense, Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I sinned at all."

"9. But Festus, desiring to gain favor with the Jews, answered Paul and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me? 10. But Paul said, I am standing before Caesar's judgment-seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou also very well knowest." (Acts 25:6-10, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"6. When he had stayed among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he sat on the judgment seat, and commanded Paul to be brought. 7. When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing against him many and grievous charges which they could not prove,"

"8. while he said in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I sinned at all.”"

"9. But Festus, desiring to gain favor with the Jews, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem, and be judged by me there concerning these things?” 10. But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also know very well." (Acts 25:6-10, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"6. And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought. ^{more: or, as some copies read, no more than eight or ten days} 7. And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove."

"8. While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all."

"9. But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me? 10. Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest." (Acts 25:6-10, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"6. and having tarried among them more than ten days, having gone down to Caesarea, on the morrow having sat upon the tribunal, he commanded Paul to be brought; 7. and he having come, there stood round about the Jews who have come down from Jerusalem, many and weighty charges they are bringing against Paul, which they were not able to prove,"

"8. he making defence, 'Neither in regard to the law of the Jews, nor in regard to the temple, nor in regard to Caesar, did I commit any sin.'"

"9. And Festus willing to lay on the Jews a favour, answering Paul, said, 'Art thou willing, to Jerusalem having gone up, there concerning these things to be judged before me?' 10. and Paul said, 'At the tribunal of Caesar I am standing, where it behoveth me to be judged; to Jews I did no unrighteousness, as thou dost also very well know;" (Acts 25:6-10, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: the Apostle Paul, addressing Porcius Festus, the new Roman procurator who succeeded Felix
Audience: Festus; the Jerusalem-Sanhedrin delegation continuing the prosecution after a two-year delay under Felix
Location: Caesarea Maritima, Festus's judgment-seat
Time period: c. AD 59; Festus has just succeeded Felix as procurator

Theological reading

The verse compresses Paul's apologia before Festus into a single-sentence three-part denial against the three-part Jewish-Sanhedrin accusation: not against the Law, not against the Temple, not against Caesar. The structural-rhetorical move is deliberate: each clause matches the type of charge the Sanhedrin had brought (Law-violation, Temple-desecration, sedition), and the comprehensive triadic-denial covers the full attack-surface. The participial apologoumenou (genitive-absolute, "while [Paul] was defending himself") frames the address as ongoing-act of [[G0626 - apologeomai|apologeomai]]; Luke's narration treats this as the same verb-act as Acts 24:10 (before Felix) and 26:1 (before Agrippa), the three together constituting Paul's continuous-apologia under successive-Roman-tribunals. The verse models tight-structural-clarity: the apologia is most-effective when it matches the accusation point-for-point without padding. Paul's subsequent appeal to Caesar (v. 11) does not retreat from the apologetic-task but extends it to a higher tribunal; the Christian-apologetic-tradition inherits the right and duty to press the gospel before whatever tribunal God puts before it, up to and including the imperial-court.

Key words

G0626 - apologeomai, apologoumenou (genitive-absolute, "while [Paul] was making his defense"). The verb naming the ongoing-act of defense before Festus; second in the Lukan three-trial sequence.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.