Acts 25:18

THE MESSAGE

"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."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The accusers stood up but brought no charge against him of the evils I was expecting.

King James Version (1611)
Against whom when the accusers stood vp, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed:

King James Version
Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed:

English Standard Version
When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed.

New American Standard Bible
"When the accusers stood up, they did not begin bringing any charges against him of crimes that I suspected,

New Century Version
They stood up and accused him, but not of any serious crime as I thought they would.

Amplified Bible
"When his accusers stood up, they brought no charges against him of crimes that I was expecting [neither civil nor criminal actions],

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting,

Legacy Standard Bible
When the accusers stood up, they were not bringing any charges against him for the evil deeds I was expecting,

Berean Standard Bible
But when his accusers rose to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected.

Contemporary English Version
But when the men stood up to make their charges against him, they did not accuse him of any of the crimes that I thought they would.

Complete Jewish Bible
"When the accusers stood up, instead of charging him with some serious crime as I had expected,

Darby Translation
concerning whom the accusers, standing up, brought no such accusation of guilt as *I* supposed;

Easy-to-Read Version
The Jews stood up and accused him. But they did not accuse him of the kind of crimes I thought they would.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Against whom when the accusers stood vp, they brought no crime of such things as I supposed:

George Lamsa Translation
When his accusers stood up with him, they were unable to prove, as I had expected, any serious charges against him.

Good News Translation
His opponents stood up, but they did not accuse him of any of the evil crimes that I thought they would.

Lexham English Bible
When they stood up, his accusers began bringing no charge concerning him of the evil deeds that I was suspecting,

Literal Translation
about whom, standing up, the accusers brought no charge of which I suspected,

American Standard Version
Concerning whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no charge of such evil things as I supposed;

Bible in Basic English
But when they got up they said nothing about such crimes as I had in mind:

Hebrew Names Version
Concerning whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no charge of such things as I supposed;

International Standard Version
When his accusers stood up, they didn't accuse him of any of the crimesof anything">[fn] I was expecting.

Etheridge Translation
And his accusers stood up with him, but could not find any evil accusation to prove against him, (such) as I had expected,

Murdock Translation
And his accusers stood up with him; and they were not able to substantiate any criminal charge against him, as I had expected;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Agaynst whom, when the accusers stoode vp, they brought none accusation of such thynges as I supposed:

English Revised Version
Concerning whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no charge of such evil things as I supposed;

World English Bible
Concerning whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no charge of such things as I supposed;

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation of such things as I supposed,

Weymouth's New Testament
But, when his accusers stood up, they did not charge him with the misdemeanours of which I had been suspecting him.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne hise accuseris stoden, thei seiden no cause, of whiche thingis Y hadde suspicioun of yuel.

Update Bible Version
Concerning whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no charge of such evil things as I supposed;

Webster's Bible Translation
Against whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation of such things as I supposed:

New English Translation
When his accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected.

New King James Version
When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed,

New Living Translation
But the accusations made against him weren't any of the crimes I expected.

New Life Bible
When the others spoke, they had nothing against him that I thought they had.

New Revised Standard
When the accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the crimes that I was expecting.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Concerning whom, taking their stand, his accusers, no accusation at all, were bringing, of the evil things which, I, had been suspecting;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Against whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation of this which I thought ill of:

Revised Standard Version
When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Agaynst who when ye accusers stode vp they brought none accusacion of soche thinges as I supposed:

Young's Literal Translation
concerning whom the accusers, having stood up, were bringing against [him] no accusation of the things I was thinking of,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Of whom, whan the accusers stode vp, they broughte no accusacion of soch thinges as I supposed:

Mace New Testament (1729)
when his accusers appear'd, they did not charge him with any such crimes as I imagined they would.

Simplified Cowboy Version
But honestly, I was surprised. The accusations were nothing like I thought they'd be.

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

Reciprocal: John 18:31 - Take Acts 18:14 - If Acts 25:5 - if

Cross-References

Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba, Dedan.

Genesis 13:10
Lot looked. He saw the whole plain of the Jordan spread out, well watered (this was before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah), like God 's garden, like Egypt, and stretching all the way to Zoar. Lot took the whole plain of the Jordan. Lot set out to the east. That's how they came to part company, uncle and nephew. Abram settled in Canaan; Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent near Sodom. The people of Sodom were evil—flagrant sinners against God . After Lot separated from him, God said to Abram, "Open your eyes, look around. Look north, south, east, and west. Everything you see, the whole land spread out before you, I will give to you and your children forever. I'll make your descendants like dust—counting your descendants will be as impossible as counting the dust of the Earth. So—on your feet, get moving! Walk through the country, its length and breadth; I'm giving it all to you." Abram moved his tent. He went and settled by the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There he built an altar to God .

Genesis 14:10
The Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into the tar pits, but the rest escaped into the mountains. The four kings captured all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their food and equipment, and went on their way. They captured Lot, Abram's nephew who was living in Sodom at the time, taking everything he owned with them.

Genesis 20:1
Abraham traveled from there south to the Negev and settled down between Kadesh and Shur. While he was camping in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She's my sister." So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. But God came to Abimelech in a dream that night and told him, "You're as good as dead—that woman you took, she's a married woman." Now Abimelech had not yet slept with her, hadn't so much as touched her. He said, "Master, would you kill an innocent man? Didn't he tell me, ‘She's my sister'? And didn't she herself say, ‘He's my brother'? I had no idea I was doing anything wrong when I did this." God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that's why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man's wife back to him. He's a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don't give her back, know that it's certain death both for you and everyone in your family." Abimelech was up first thing in the morning. He called all his house servants together and told them the whole story. They were shocked. Then Abimelech called in Abraham and said, "What have you done to us? What have I ever done to you that you would bring on me and my kingdom this huge offense? What you've done to me ought never to have been done." Abimelech went on to Abraham, "Whatever were you thinking of when you did this thing?" Abraham said, "I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they'd kill me to get my wife. Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she's my father's daughter but not my mother's. When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father's home, I told her, ‘Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I'm your brother.'" Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and along with her sent sheep and cattle and servants, both male and female. He said, "My land is open to you; live wherever you wish." And to Sarah he said, "I've given your brother a thousand pieces of silver—that clears you of even a shadow of suspicion before the eyes of the world. You're vindicated." Then Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his maidservants, and they started having babies again. For God had shut down every womb in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Genesis 21:14
Abraham got up early the next morning, got some food together and a canteen of water for Hagar, put them on her back and sent her away with the child. She wandered off into the desert of Beersheba. When the water was gone, she left the child under a shrub and went off, fifty yards or so. She said, "I can't watch my son die." As she sat, she broke into sobs.

Genesis 25:24
When her time to give birth came, sure enough, there were twins in her womb. The first came out reddish, as if snugly wrapped in a hairy blanket; they named him Esau (Hairy). His brother followed, his fist clutched tight to Esau's heel; they named him Jacob (Heel). Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

1 Samuel 15:7
Then Saul went after Amalek, from the canyon all the way to Shur near the Egyptian border. He captured Agag, king of Amalek, alive. Everyone else was killed under the terms of the holy ban. Saul and the army made an exception for Agag, and for the choice sheep and cattle. They didn't include them under the terms of the holy ban. But all the rest, which nobody wanted anyway, they destroyed as decreed by the holy ban.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Against whom when the accusers stood up,.... As they were obliged to do, whilst they were exhibiting their charges, bearing their testimonies, and producing their proofs; Acts 25:7.

They brought none accusation of such things as I supposed: for by his being left in bonds, and by the information of the chief priests and elders, and their violence against him, he imagined he must be chargeable with some notorious capital crime.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

None accusation ... - No charge as I expected of a breach of the peace; of a violation of the Roman law; of atrocious crime. It was natural that Festus should suppose that they would accuse Paul of some such offence. He had been arraigned before Felix; had been two years in custody; and the Jews were exceedingly violent against him. All this, Festus would presume, must have arisen from some flagrant and open violation of the laws.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 25:18. They brought none accusation of such things as I supposed — It was natural for Festus, at the first view of things, to suppose that Paul must be guilty of some very atrocious crime. When he found that he had been twice snatched from the hands of the Jews; that he had been brought to Caesarea, as a prisoner, two years before; that he had been tried once before the Sanhedrin, and once before the governor of the province; that he had now lain two years in bonds; and that the high priest and all the heads of the Jewish nation had united in accusing him, and whose condemnation they loudly demanded; when, I say, he considered all this, it was natural for him to suppose the apostle to be some flagitious wretch; but when he had tried the case, and heard their accusations and his defence, how surprised was he to find that scarcely any thing that amounted to a crime was laid to his charge; and that nothing that was laid to his charge could be proved!