complete verse (Acts 25:25)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 25:25:

  • Uma: “But I do not find any wrong that he has done for which it is appropriate to condemn him to death. But after that also, he requested that his case be taken-up to Kaisar. That also is why I decided to send him to Kaisar.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But when I examined/investigated, I did not find any reason for him to be killed. And because he wanted to be judged by the Leader King, I have decided/I am thinking to have him brought there.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However when I investigated him, I could not find out about anything that he had done that was worthy of killing him. And since he has appealed for help to our king there in Rome, I decided that I would send him to the king.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “As for me, I have come-to-know of no crime of his that would suffice for his being-killed, but since he has appealed his case to the Emperor in Roma, I decided to have-him-be-taken there.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But since there’s nothing which I have found that he has done for which it’s essential that he be sentenced to death, and since, also, he wants to appeal to the Impiradur, therefore I decided to send him to Roma.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 25:25

But I is very emphatic in the Greek sentence.

Anything for which he deserved the death sentence may be rendered as “any crime which would cause him to be killed” or “any crime for which it would be right for us to execute him.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 25:25

25:25a

I found he had done nothing worthy of death: Festus examined the accusations of the Jews and what they said to support those accusations. He also heard Paul’s defense against those accusations. When they finished, he realized that according to Roman law Paul had committed no crime requiring the death penalty. Other ways to translate this clause are:

I realized that he has not committed any crime worthy of someone executing/killing him
-or-
but I for my part discovered nothing that he has done which deserves the death penalty (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
When I judged him, I found no reason to order his death. (New Century Version)

I: This pronoun is emphatic in the Greek clause. For example:

I myself
-or-
as for me, I

worthy of death: In Roman law, breaking certain laws required that the lawbreaker be killed for breaking that law. See the examples above.

25:25b

and since he has now appealed: This clause in Greek is literally “but this one himself having appealed” or “but when this one himself appealed.” It explains the situation for Festus deciding to send Paul to the Emperor (25:25c). Other ways to translate this clause are:

since he himself made an appeal (Good News Translation)
-or-
when he appealed (NET Bible)

See how you translated the word appealed in 25:21.

the Emperor: This phrase in Greek is literally “the revered one.” See how you translated this phrase in 25:21.

25:25c

I decided to send him: This clause in Greek is literally “I decided to send” The word him is clearly implied in the Greek so the Berean Standard Bible adds it.

You may also want to make it clear that Paul was being sent to Rome because that was where the Emperor lived. For example:

I decided to send him to Rome (New International Version)

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