21But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of his Imperial Majesty, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to the emperor.”
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 25:21:
Uma: “But he requested that his case be taken-up to Kaisar. And he also requested to be guarded until his case was taken-up to Kaisar. That is why I left him jailed until I have opportunity to send him to Kaisar.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But he wanted to be judged by the Leader King in Roma. He asked to be detained yet and it must be the Leader King ko’ who will cut-off/bring-to-its-conclusion the judgment on his case. So I commanded him to be guarded as long as he is not yet brought to the Leader King.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However he said that he appealed for investigation to our king in Rome so that the king might be the one to settle this. Therefore I commanded that he not be taken out of the prison until I could send him to the king.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But he refused. He said that instead (lit. even-if) he would wait for the appeal of his case to the Emperor to that he would be the one to render-a-verdict. Therefore I have had-him -guarded until I have-opportunity to have-him -escorted to the Emperor.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But he replied that he wanted to appeal to the Impiradur, that he be the one to judge this. Therefore I ordered him to be imprisoned again until I can have him delivered to the Impiradur in Roma.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The clause but Paul appealed must be amplified in some languages to read “but Paul appealed to the Emperor” or “but Paul insisted that he be tried by the Emperor.”
In reality, of course, Paul did not directly ask to be kept under guard. However, by appealing to the Emperor, he indirectly placed himself under guard until his case could be tried in Rome.
The clause I gave orders for him to be kept under guard may be rendered as direct discourse: “I ordered the soldiers, Guard him.”
The Good News Translation has transformed the noun phrase “for the decision of the Emperor” into a verbal expression: let the Emperor decide his case.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Paul appealed: The Greek words here are literally “having called (to someone) on his own behalf.” See how you translated a similar clause in 25:11 (“I appeal to Caesar”). For example:
appealed his case (God’s Word) -or-
asked to be tried by the Emperor -or-
wanted/demanded the Emperor to hear his case
to be held over: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to be held over could be glossed as “to be kept.” It is the opposite to being handed over. Paul wanted Caesar to hear his case rather than Festus handing him over to the Jews. He was already a prisoner, so this request meant that the Romans would continue to guard him while he waited to be sent to Caesar. Other ways to translate this Greek word are:
to be kept in custody (Revised Standard Version) -or-
to be kept under guard (Good News Translation) -or-
to remain under arrest -or-
for me to continue to have him guarded -or-
for me to order someone to continue guarding him
for the decision of the Emperor: This phrase refers to the Emperor, as judge, deciding for or against the accusations in court. For example:
to let the Emperor decide his case (Good News Translation)
Emperor: The Greek word is literally “revered one.” Here it is a title for Caesar. The Romans honored and revered their gods, and they also honored and revered their leader. Other ways to translate this word are:
His Majesty’s -or-
our revered leader’s
Your translation should clearly indicate that this word refers to Caesar (25:21b). In some languages, a separate title (Emperor) and name (“Caesar”) would indicate two people. If so combine both terms here. For example:
our revered leader Caesar’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar/him
25:21b
I ordered that he be held: This clause indicates that Festus ordered soldiers to continue to guard Paul. For example:
I gave orders for him to be kept under guard (Good News Translation)
held: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as held refers to guarding someone. It is the same Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates “held over” in 25:21a. See how you translated the Greek word there.
until I could send him to Caesar: Festus would wait until he had a sufficient number of prisoners who needed to go to Rome. Then he would send them as a group with a centurion and soldiers to guard them (27:1). This was what the Romans usually did.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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