Acts 25:14

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Since they were staying there several days, Festus presented Paul’s case to the king, saying, “There’s a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix.

King James Version (1611)
And when they had beene there many dayes, Festus declared Pauls cause vnto the king, saying, There is a certaine man left in bonds by Felix:

King James Version
And when they had been there many days, Festus declared Paul's cause unto the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by Felix:

English Standard Version
And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, "There is a man left prisoner by Felix,

New American Standard Bible
And while they were spending many days there, Festus presented Paul's case to the king, saying, "There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix;

New Century Version
They stayed there for some time, and Festus told the king about Paul's case. Festus said, "There is a man that Felix left in prison.

Amplified Bible
While they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, "There is a man here who was left as a prisoner by Felix.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
While they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, "There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix;

Legacy Standard Bible
And while they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, "There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix;

Berean Standard Bible
Since they were staying several days, Festus laid out Paul's case before the king: "There is a certain man whom Felix left in prison.

Contemporary English Version
They had been there for several days, when Festus told the king about the charges against Paul. He said: Felix left a man here in jail,

Complete Jewish Bible
Since they were staying on there for some time, Festus had the opportunity to acquaint the king with Sha'ul's situation. "There is a man here," he said, "who was left behind in custody by Felix.

Darby Translation
And when they had spent many days there, Festus laid before the king the matters relating to Paul, saying, There is a certain man left prisoner by Felix,

Easy-to-Read Version
They stayed there many days, and Festus told the king about Paul's case. Festus said, "There is a man that Felix left in prison.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And when they had remained there many dayes, Festus declared Pauls cause vnto the King, saying, There is a certaine man left in prison by Felix,

George Lamsa Translation
And when they had been with him several days, Festus related Paul''s case to the king, saying, There is a certain prisoner left by Felix:

Good News Translation
After they had been there several days, Festus explained Paul's situation to the king: "There is a man here who was left a prisoner by Felix;

Lexham English Bible
And while they were staying there many days, Festus laid out the case against Paul to the king, saying, "There is a certain man left behind by Felix as a prisoner,

Literal Translation
And when they stayed there more days, Festus set out to the king the things as to Paul, saying, A certain man has been left a prisoner by Felix,

American Standard Version
And as they tarried there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix;

Bible in Basic English
And as they were there for some days, Festus gave them Paul's story, saying, There is a certain man here who was put in prison by Felix:

Hebrew Names Version
As they stayed there many days, Festus laid Sha'ul's case before the King, saying, "There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix;

International Standard Version
Since they were staying there for several days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king. He said, "There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix.Acts 24:27;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And when they had been with him (some) days, Festos recounted to the king the judgment [fn] of Paulos, saying, A certain man has been left bound by Felix;

Murdock Translation
And when they had been with him: [fn] days, Festus related to the king the case of Paul, saying: A certain man was left a prisoner by Felix:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when they had ben there a good season, Festus rehearsed Paules cause vnto the kyng, saying: There is a certayne man left in bondes of Felix,

English Revised Version
And as they tarried there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix:

World English Bible
As they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the King, saying, "There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix;

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And when they had been there many days, Festus declared the case of Paul to the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by Felix,

Weymouth's New Testament
and, during their rather long stay, Festus laid Paul's case before the king. "There is a man here," he said, "whom Felix left a prisoner,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne thei dwelliden there many daies, Festus schewide to the king of Poul, and seide, A man is left boundun of Felix,

Update Bible Version
And as they tarried there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the King, saying, There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix;

Webster's Bible Translation
And when they had been there many days, Festus declared Paul's cause to the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by Felix:

New English Translation
While they were staying there many days, Festus explained Paul's case to the king to get his opinion, saying, "There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix.

New King James Version
When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying: "There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix,

New Living Translation
During their stay of several days, Festus discussed Paul's case with the king. "There is a prisoner here," he told him, "whose case was left for me by Felix.

New Life Bible
They stayed there a few days. Festus told them about Paul. He said, "There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix.

New Revised Standard
Since they were staying there several days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, "There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, as they were spending more days there, Festus, repeated, unto the king, the things relating to Paul, saying - A certain man, hath been left behind by Felix, as a prisoner;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And as they tarried there many days, Festus told the king of Paul, saying: A certain man was left prisoner by Felix.

Revised Standard Version
And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, "There is a man left prisoner by Felix;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And when they had bene there a good ceason Festus rehersed Paules cause vnto ye kynge sayinge: ther is a certayne man left in preson of Felix

Young's Literal Translation
and as they were continuing there more days, Festus submitted to the king the things concerning Paul, saying, `There is a certain man, left by Felix, a prisoner,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And whan they had taried there many dayes, Festus rehearsed Pauls cause vnto the kynge, and sayde: There is a man left bounde of Felix,

Mace New Testament (1729)
as they continued there for some time, Festus represented Paul's case to the king: Felix, said he, had left here a certain prisoner:

Simplified Cowboy Version
While they were there, Festus told him about his Paul problem. Festus said, "There's a cowboy I have locked up here. Felix left me to deal with him.

Contextual Overview

¹³A few days later King Agrippa and his wife, Bernice, visited Caesarea to welcome Festus to his new post. After several days, Festus brought up Paul's case to the king. "I have a man on my hands here, a prisoner left by Felix. When I was in Jerusalem, the high priests and Jewish leaders brought a bunch of accusations against him and wanted me to sentence him to death. I told them that wasn't the way we Romans did things. Just because a man is accused, we don't throw him out to the dogs. We make sure the accused has a chance to face his accusers and defend himself of the charges. So when they came down here I got right on the case. I took my place in the courtroom and put the man on the stand. ¹⁸"The accusers came at him from all sides, but their accusations turned out to be nothing more than arguments about their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who the prisoner claimed was alive. Since I'm a newcomer here and don't understand everything involved in cases like this, I asked if he'd be willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there. Paul refused and demanded a hearing before His Majesty in our highest court. So I ordered him returned to custody until I could send him to Caesar in Rome." ²² Agrippa said, "I'd like to see this man and hear his story." "Good," said Festus. "We'll bring him in first thing in the morning and you'll hear it for yourself." ²³ The next day everybody who was anybody in Caesarea found his way to the Great Hall, along with the top military brass. Agrippa and Bernice made a flourishing grand entrance and took their places. Festus then ordered Paul brought in. ²⁴Festus said, "King Agrippa and distinguished guests, take a good look at this man. A bunch of Jews petitioned me first in Jerusalem, and later here, to do away with him. They have been most vehement in demanding his execution. I looked into it and decided that he had committed no crime. He requested a trial before Caesar and I agreed to send him to Rome. But what am I going to write to my master, Caesar? All the charges made by the Jews were fabrications, and I've uncovered nothing else. "That's why I've brought him before this company, and especially you, King Agrippa: so we can come up with something in the nature of a charge that will hold water. For it seems to me silly to send a prisoner all that way for a trial and not be able to document what he did wrong." ²⁷An Appeal to Caesar Three days after Festus arrived in Caesarea to take up his duties as governor, he went up to Jerusalem. The high priests and top leaders renewed their vendetta against Paul. They asked Festus if he wouldn't please do them a favor by sending Paul to Jerusalem to respond to their charges. A lie, of course—they had revived their old plot to set an ambush and kill him along the way. Festus answered that Caesarea was the proper jurisdiction for Paul, and that he himself was going back there in a few days. "You're perfectly welcome," he said, "to go back with me then and accuse him of whatever you think he's done wrong." About eight or ten days later, Festus returned to Caesarea. The next morning he took his place in the courtroom and had Paul brought in. The minute he walked in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem were all over him, hurling the most extreme accusations, none of which they could prove. Then Paul took the stand and said simply, "I've done nothing wrong against the Jewish religion, or the Temple, or Caesar. Period." Festus, though, wanted to get on the good side of the Jews and so said, "How would you like to go up to Jerusalem, and let me conduct your trial there?" Paul answered, "I'm standing at this moment before Caesar's bar of justice, where I have a perfect right to stand. And I'm going to keep standing here. I've done nothing wrong to the Jews, and you know it as well as I do. If I've committed a crime and deserve death, name the day. I can face it. But if there's nothing to their accusations—and you know there isn't—nobody can force me to go along with their nonsense. We've fooled around here long enough. I appeal to Caesar." Festus huddled with his advisors briefly and then gave his verdict: "You've appealed to Caesar; you'll go to Caesar!" A few days later King Agrippa and his wife, Bernice, visited Caesarea to welcome Festus to his new post. After several days, Festus brought up Paul's case to the king. "I have a man on my hands here, a prisoner left by Felix. When I was in Jerusalem, the high priests and Jewish leaders brought a bunch of accusations against him and wanted me to sentence him to death. I told them that wasn't the way we Romans did things. Just because a man is accused, we don't throw him out to the dogs. We make sure the accused has a chance to face his accusers and defend himself of the charges. So when they came down here I got right on the case. I took my place in the courtroom and put the man on the stand. "The accusers came at him from all sides, but their accusations turned out to be nothing more than arguments about their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who the prisoner claimed was alive. Since I'm a newcomer here and don't understand everything involved in cases like this, I asked if he'd be willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there. Paul refused and demanded a hearing before His Majesty in our highest court. So I ordered him returned to custody until I could send him to Caesar in Rome." Agrippa said, "I'd like to see this man and hear his story." "Good," said Festus. "We'll bring him in first thing in the morning and you'll hear it for yourself." The next day everybody who was anybody in Caesarea found his way to the Great Hall, along with the top military brass. Agrippa and Bernice made a flourishing grand entrance and took their places. Festus then ordered Paul brought in. Festus said, "King Agrippa and distinguished guests, take a good look at this man. A bunch of Jews petitioned me first in Jerusalem, and later here, to do away with him. They have been most vehement in demanding his execution. I looked into it and decided that he had committed no crime. He requested a trial before Caesar and I agreed to send him to Rome. But what am I going to write to my master, Caesar? All the charges made by the Jews were fabrications, and I've uncovered nothing else. "That's why I've brought him before this company, and especially you, King Agrippa: so we can come up with something in the nature of a charge that will hold water. For it seems to me silly to send a prisoner all that way for a trial and not be able to document what he did wrong."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

There: Acts 24:27

Reciprocal: Acts 23:24 - Felix Acts 26:29 - except 2 Corinthians 6:9 - unknown 2 Corinthians 11:23 - in prisons

Cross-References

Isaiah 21:11
A Message concerning Edom: A voice calls to me from the Seir mountains in Edom, "Night watchman! How long till daybreak? How long will this night last?" The night watchman calls back, "Morning's coming, But for now it's still night. If you ask me again, I'll give the same answer."

Isaiah 21:16
The Master told me, "Hang on. Within one year—I'll sign a contract on it!—the arrogant brutality of Kedar, those hooligans of the desert, will be over, nothing much left of the Kedar toughs." The God of Israel says so.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when they had been there many days,.... Indulging themselves in pleasure, and spending their time in conversing on various subjects; and in order to carry on the conversation, and pass away time,

Festus declared Paul's case unto the king; in the following manner:

saying, there is a certain man left in bonds by Felix; the former governor in Caesarea, meaning Paul.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Festus declared Paul’s cause - He did this, probably, because Agrippa, being a Jew, would be supposed to he interested in the case. It was natural that this trial should be a topic of conversation, and perhaps Festus might be disposed to ask what was proper to be done in such cases.

Left in bonds - Greek: “a prisoner” - δέσμιος desmios. He was left in custody, probably in the keeping of a soldier, Acts 24:23, Acts 24:27.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 25:14. Declared Paul's cause unto the king — Festus knew that Agrippa was better acquainted with such matters than he was; and he wished, in some sort, to make him a party in this business.