SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 25:14

25:14a

Since they were staying: There are several ways to translate the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Since:

(1) It means while. For example:

During their stay (New Living Translation (2004))

(New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, New Century Version)

(2) It indicates the situation that prompted Felix to speak of Paul (grounds). For example:

Since they were staying (God’s Word)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition, God’s Word)

(3) It means after. For example:

After they had been there (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, King James Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because BDAG chooses that interpretation.

several days: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as several days indicates that King Agrippa and Bernice spent more days with Festus after they greeted him and welcomed him to Judea. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Their visit lasted several days (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
They prolonged their stay for some days (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
They stayed there for some time (New Century Version)

25:14b

Festus laid out Paul’s case before the king: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as laid out refers to explaining something with the hope of the other person advising him on the matter. Agrippa was a Jew and knew much about the Jews and their thoughts, customs, and such things. Festus wanted his advice about what to write about Paul and why the Jews asked that he be killed. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Festus explained Paul’s situation to the king (Good News Translation)
-or-
seeking advice, Festus told the king about Paul, what the Jews accused him of doing, and what Paul said in defense
-or-
Festus explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion (NET Bible)

25:14c

There is a certain man whom Felix left in prison: This clause in Greek is literally “There is a certain man having been left by Felix, a prisoner.” The words a certain man probably indicates that Festus did not expect King Agrippa to know who Paul was. Other ways to translate this clause are:

There is a prisoner here…whose case was left for me by Felix. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
A certain man remains a prisoner ⌊here⌋, whom Felix did nothing about before he left.
-or-
Felix left a man here in prison. (Contemporary English Version)

Felix: This is the former Roman governor of Judea (23:24, 24:27). In some languages readers will need reminding who this is. For example:

the previous governor,⌋ Felix

But since King Agrippa would know who Felix was, Festus would not need to explain who he was. So it may be better to add a footnote to explain instead of adding the explanation in the text. An example footnote is:

Felix was the previous governor of Judea (23:24, 24:27).

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

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