Acts 25:18
What does Acts 25:18 mean?
A plain-English look at Acts 25:18 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Acts 25:18 means
To his surprise, when the accusers stood up, they did not allege the sort of wicked deeds he had anticipated. Festus had expected obvious criminal activity, but he found no such charge. This confession reveals that the case lacked the kind of substance that would justify severe penalties under Roman law. It also confirms Paul’s earlier defense that he had not offended Cæsar. The disconnect between expectation and reality exposes how religious hostility can masquerade as criminal accusation. God uses even the candid observations of pagan officials to vindicate His servants and to separate gospel disputes from civil crimes.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Concerning whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no charge of such evil things as I supposed;
KJV
King James Version · 1611Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed:
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Concerning whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no charge of such evil things as I supposed;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949But when they got up they said nothing about such crimes as I had in mind:
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862concerning whom the accusers, having stood up, were bringing against <FI>him<Fi> no accusation of the things I was thinking of,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Against whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation of this which I thought ill of:
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890concerning whom the accusers, standing up, brought no such accusation of guilt as I supposed;
Context
Festus continues his account to Agrippa, explaining the mismatch between his expectations and the actual accusations. This prepares for verse 19, where he identifies the real issue as disagreements over Jewish religion and Jesus’ resurrection. Because Festus is out of his depth in such matters, he will explain in verse 20 his perplexity and his proposal to move the venue to Jerusalem, which Paul refused by appealing to the emperor (verse 21). This sequence rationalizes why Festus now seeks Agrippa’s help to frame the case.
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