Passage

Acts 25

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Verse

ASV (ASV)

"1. Festus therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.... 8. while Paul said in his defence, 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. 11. If then I am a wrong-doer, and have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die; but if none of those things is true whereof these accuse me, no man can give me up unto them. I appeal unto Caesar. 12. Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Thou hast appealed unto Caesar: unto Caesar shalt thou go.... 23. So on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and they were entered into the place of hearing with the chief captains and the principal men of the city, at the command of Festus Paul was brought in." (Acts 25:1, 8-12, 23 excerpts, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Festus therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.... 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. 11. For if I have done wrong and have committed anything worthy of death, I don’t refuse to die; but if none of those things is true that they accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!” 12. Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go.”... 23. So on the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, and they had entered into the place of hearing with the commanding officers and principal men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in." (Acts 25:1, 8-12, 23 excerpts, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem.... 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. 11. For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar. 12. Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go.... 23. 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." (Acts 25:1, 8-12, 23 excerpts, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Festus, therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea,... 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; 11. for if indeed I am unrighteous, and anything worthy of death have done, I deprecate not to die; and if there is none of the things of which these accuse me, no one is able to make a favour of me to them; to Caesar I appeal!' 12. then Festus, having communed with the council, answered, 'To Caesar thou hast appealed; to Caesar thou shalt go.'... 23. On the morrow, therefore, on the coming of Agrippa and Bernice with much display, and they having entered into the audience chamber, with the chief captains also, and the principal men of the city, and Festus having ordered, Paul was brought forth;" (Acts 25:1, 8-12, 23 excerpts, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Luke (narrator); Paul, Festus, Agrippa in scene
Audience: Festus the new Roman governor; later King Agrippa II and Bernice
Location: Caesarea Maritima
Time period: c. AD 59

Paul's procedural apologia before Festus. The appeal to Caesar is itself an apologetic move, using Roman legal apparatus to escape the lynch-court Festus is contemplating. The Lesson 1.2 takeaway: the apologist who knows the rules of engagement is harder to defeat than the apologist who only knows the arguments.

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Notes

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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.