Acts 25:14 kjv
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:
Acts 25:14 nkjv
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,
Acts 25:14 niv
Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul's case with the king. He said: "There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.
Acts 25:14 esv
And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, "There is a man left prisoner by Felix,
Acts 25:14 nlt
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.
Acts 25 14 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Acts 25:19 | "but had questions about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul asserted to be alive" | Acts 17:18 |
| Acts 25:14 | "When they had been there many days, Festus took his case to the king, saying..." | Acts 18:12; Acts 24:27 |
| Acts 18:12 | "But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat" | Acts 13:6-12 |
| Acts 24:27 | "When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but since Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison." | Acts 23:31-33 |
| 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 | "Now I bring to your attention, brothers, the gospel I proclaimed to you... that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" | Romans 1:4 |
| Romans 1:4 | "and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." | 1 Cor 15:4 |
| Luke 24:46 | "He told them, 'It is written that the Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,'" | John 20:24-29 |
| John 20:27 | "Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side; do not doubt but believe.'" | Acts 1:3 |
| Acts 1:3 | "After his suffering, he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs that lasted forty days..." | 1 Cor 15:5-8 |
| 1 Corinthians 15:14 | "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." | Acts 2:24 |
| 1 Corinthians 15:17 | "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." | Heb 9:22 |
| Matthew 28:6 | "'He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.'" | Mark 16:6 |
| Mark 16:1-2 | "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb." | Luke 24:1 |
| Luke 24:1-3 | "On the first day of the week, very early morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared..." | John 19:41-42 |
| John 11:25 | "'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.'" | Ps 16:10 |
| Psalm 16:10 | "For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption." | Acts 2:27 |
| 1 Peter 3:18 | "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit;" | 1 Pet 1:3 |
| Acts 26:6 | "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers," | Acts 26:23 |
| Acts 26:8 | "Why should it be thought incredible by you that God should raise the dead?" | Rom 4:17-21 |
| 1 Thessalonians 1:9 | "For they themselves report concerning us what manner of entrance we had to you; and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God," | Phil 2:15-16 |
Acts 25 verses
Acts 25 14 Meaning
When Festus, the Roman governor, presented Paul's case to King Agrippa, he described the accusation as relating to "a certain Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul asserted to be alive." This highlights the core of Paul's witness – the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Acts 25 14 Context
This verse occurs during Paul's appeal to Caesar. The Jewish leaders had failed to prove any crime against Paul, so they brought new charges before Felix. Felix, hoping to gain favor, left Paul imprisoned. Two years later, Festus replaced Felix as governor. Festus, wishing to please the Jews, wanted to shift Paul’s trial back to Jerusalem. Paul, recognizing this as a move against him, appealed to Caesar's court. King Agrippa II and his sister Bernice arrived in Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. Festus took this opportunity to present Paul's case to Agrippa, outlining the accusations and Paul’s defense, thus setting the stage for Agrippa’s interrogation of Paul in Acts 25:13-26:32. This specific verse provides Festus' summary of the core accusation against Paul.
Acts 25 14 Word analysis
When: Introduces the temporal setting for the subsequent action.
they: Refers to Festus and the delegation, or the accusers themselves who presented the case to Festus.
had been: Indicates the duration of Paul's stay or the proceedings that had taken place in Caesarea.
there: Specifies the location as Caesarea, where Paul was imprisoned and awaiting trial.
many: Implies a considerable amount of time had passed since Festus took office or since Paul's arrival.
days: A unit of time, signifying a period.
Festus: The Roman governor of Judea (A.D. 58-62), succeeding Felix.
took: Executed the action of presenting or referring the case.
his: Possessive pronoun, referring to Paul's case.
case: The legal or judicial matter concerning Paul.
to: Indicates the direction of the action.
the king: Refers to King Herod Agrippa II, who was visiting Festus.
saying: Introduces Festus' words to Agrippa.
group: "many days": This phrase suggests a significant, not brief, period of time, emphasizing the drawn-out nature of Paul's imprisonment and legal proceedings.
group: "took his case to the king": This signifies Festus seeking a higher authority's opinion or intervention, either out of respect for Agrippa's royal status, for political reasons, or perhaps to offload a complex legal matter.
group: "certain Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul asserted to be alive": This is the crux of Festus' summary, distilling the core of the "charge" into a singular, seemingly inexplicable assertion from the perspective of pagan Roman officials and even many Jewish contemporaries who had no knowledge of Jesus or his resurrection. It frames the accusation in a way that, to the outsider, appears as a strange religious dispute rather than a state crime.
Acts 25 14 Bonus section
Festus' statement reflects a common Gentile perspective towards the gospel. They encountered claims of resurrection as a "strange doctrine" (Acts 17:32), or as an absurd assertion, especially given their philosophical and polytheistic backgrounds which did not readily incorporate bodily resurrection. Paul’s task, and the task of the early church, was to make this apparently foolish message of a crucified and resurrected Messiah understandable and credible to a world that valued logic, power, and observable reality above all. Agrippa's later interaction with Paul (Acts 26) demonstrates the governor's attempt to understand this central tenet of Christianity and how it motivated Paul's actions.
Acts 25 14 Commentary
Festus, as a Roman official, presents Paul's situation to King Agrippa by highlighting the central, and to Festus, peculiar claim of the Christian faith. The accusation revolves around Paul's unwavering assertion of the resurrection of Jesus. This is framed by Festus as a point of religious dispute, not a civil offense. For Festus, and for many in his audience, the idea of someone being literally "alive" after death would have been outlandish, a belief that characterized this new movement as simply another exotic Eastern cult or superstition. Paul, however, preached this "dead, but alive" Jesus as the absolute foundation of his message and the hope of eternal life.