Acts
25:13-27
5. The Gospel Reaches Rome, 21:1-28:31
x] Paul before Agrippa and Bernice
SynopsisWhen king Agrippa II and his sister Bernice came to Caesarea to welcome Festus, the new governor, Festus, lays out before them the events surrounding the recent hearing he held for Paul and his accusers. Festus indicates that the charges made against Paul by his accusers are primarily religious, rather than civil, but that Paul appealed to Caesar rather than face his accusers in Jerusalem. Agrippa indicates that he would like to hear from Paul himself. On the next day, with Agrippa, Bernice, Paul and a number of prominent citizens present, Festus summarises Paul's case so far, and expresses a desire to finalise the charges against Paul for Caesar's tribunal in Rome.
Teaching
Even a weak politician recognises Paul's innocence.
Issues
i] Context: See 21:1-16.
ii] Background:
•i Herod Agrippa II and the Roman province of Judea, 25:1-12.
iii] Structure: Paul before Agrippa and Bernice:
Agrippa's meeting with Festus, v13-22;
Paul's meeting with Agrippa and Bernice, v23-27.
iv] Interpretation:
Luke's detailed restatement of events continues in this chapter, and sets the ground for a restatement of Paul's conversion to the Way in chapter 26. Johnson makes the point that the chapters are "unusually elaborate" - if not repetitive! Luke's intention to again record the events of Paul's trial, and his conversion and early ministry, is unclear. Some argue that Luke's intent is a literary one, although as many a reader of Acts has noted, the here we go again nature of these chapters is somewhat ho-hum.
Tannehill takes the view that Luke uses a narrative technique whereby Festus' account of events differs from that of the narrator, so exposing his flawed character. The reader knows well enough why Paul had to appeal to a higher court; Festus was intent on doing the Jewish authorities a favour at Paul's expense.
Of course, the immediacy of the events for Luke may have prompted his expansive record at this point, and there is still the possibility that we have here an initial brief of evidence for Paul's appeal to Caesar's tribunal. To this end, Luke has Festus make the point that the charges presented by the Jewish authorities are not as expected; they are religious in nature, 25:18-19. The assessment of Paul's supposed criminality made by Agrippa to Festus, also carries weight: "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to the emperor", 26:32, ie., even king Agrippa recognises that Paul is not guilty of any charges under Roman law.
If Luke's purpose in restating these events is unclear, so too is the purpose behind Festus' co-opting of Agrippa. It is generally felt that Festus gets Agrippa involved in Paul's case to either endear himself, or to shift some of the responsibility for his willingness to accept Paul's appeal to Caesar. Agrippa carries weight with the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, and so his knowledge of the issue, and legal opinion, removes some of the pressure that Festus may be feeling at this moment in time. Whatever Festus is up to, it is unlikely that he is staging a retrial of Paul's case, such that Paul's speech in chapter 27 is a defence statement. Paul has appealed to Caesar, so the trial is ended, but Festus needs to document the charges made against Paul, and Agrippa can be of some help in this regard.
We do find a new slant in Festus' summary of the trial. He makes the point that the argument between the religious authorities and Paul was over "a certain Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul asserted to be alive", v19. Up to this point, Luke has Paul using the issue of resurrection - "a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous", 24:15 - as a tool to divide his accusers (Pharisees against Sadducees) and to convince the Roman authorities that the charges are religious, not civil. As for the religious authorities, their charges are both civil (riot, insurrection) and religious (the desecration of the temple). Of course, behind these charges is a fearful hatred for the leader of the Gentile sect of the Way, his proselytising of devout Jews, condemning them to ritual impurity by associating them with unclean Gentiles. The Jewish hierarchy in Jerusalem has tended to put up with the claim made by the church of the Way that Jesus rose from the dead. The sceptical acceptance of the sect of the Way within Judaism is down to both racial purity (Stephen and his Greek friends didn't tick the box) and ritual purity (the reason why Paul was encouraged by James and the elders of the church to undertake purification in the temple). Of course, given the martyrdom of James the Just at the hand of the high priest Ananus ben Ananus in AD 62, the willingness of the Jewish authorities to put up with the sect of the Way is wearing thin. So anyway, why does Luke now summarise the issue at hand as a dispute over the resurrection of Jesus?
Luke has only ever summarised Paul's legal proceedings, identifying the key elements of the case. This is particularly evident in 25:1-12. During the proceedings, we would expect that the core beliefs of the Way are going to get an airing, but given that doctrinal matters don't go to the issue of innocence or guilt, there is no need to record the full range of matters raised. The legal proceedings are now ended and so we move back to Paul's testimony for the Way, and its central proposition - Jesus is risen from the dead (and because he lives, we can live also); first, as summarised by Festus in v19; and second, in Paul's own words, 26:23, words which prompt Festus to reply "You are out of your mind, Paul!"
v] Homiletics: Breaking Bad
When Festus gaslit Paul, implying that Paul's appeal to Caesar was unnecessary given that he was innocent of any criminal offence, he forgot to mention the fact that he was out to do the Jewish authorities a favour at Paul's expense. Weasel words, to say the least.
![[Raygun]](images/acts32.jpg)
There was an interesting side-note to the Paris Olympics in 24 for Australia. An Australian breakdancer, Raygun, entertained us with a rather unique performance, but one that earned no points. Now, of course, this prompted heated debate, stirring up the folk who believe everyone is a winner. Soon, the naysayers were silenced and Raygun became a hipster hero.
Morality - the rights and wrongs of an issue - is shaped by a community's ethical criteria. In Festus' day it was probably never give a sucker an even break. Superman said it was Truth, Justice and the American Way; although I don't know what that means. Today, the emerging criteria is Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice. I have to say, I'm not quite sure about Justice; it's like beauty, all in the eye of the beholder. Of course, believers still think Love is the criteria, Compassion - a love of God and a love of neighbour, as sketched out in the Ten Commandments.
When Love is the criteria, instead of a credo like Equity and Inclusion, we are simply able to say of Raygun's performance that it was below par for the international breaking scene, and so she didn't win any points, but that doesn't mean her hip-hop routine wasn't entertaining. She sure had the moves! The kangaroo hop is now part of Australian sporting history.
Text - 25:13
Paul before Agrippa and Bernice, v13-27; i] Agrippa's meeting with Festus, v13-22. Agrippa comes to Caesarea to greet the new governor - "Josephus narrates at length how Agrippa II preserved good relations with the procurator Festus", Fitzmyer.
de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.
diagenomenwn (diaginomai) gen. aor. part. "[days] later" - [certain days] having passed time. The genitive participle and its genitive subject "certain days", forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal; "Now when some days had passed", ESV.
aspasamenoi (aspazomai) aor. part. "to pay their respects [to Festus]" - [agrippa, the king, and bernice arrived into caesarea] having paid their respects to [festus]. The intended sense of this participle here has prompted an ongoing debate, covered by both Kellum and Culy. Although an attendant circumstance participle usually precedes the main verb, sometimes participles are used to indicate coincidental action, or subsequent action (although not so an aorist participle, according to Zerwick #265) - Bruce and Barrett opt for a coincidental use; "arrived .... and greeted ...". The most common use of a participle placed after a main verb is adverbial, and purpose is likely intended here, as NIV, although a future tense would be expected. Future variants exist, but they are obviously corrections. There is academic support for the use of an aorist participle to express purpose; "in order to pay a courtesy visit to Festus".
v14
Luke resorts to what we could call poetic licence to record the conversation between Festus and Agrippa that led to Paul's appearance before Agrippa and Bernice. Of course, there is always the possibility that Festus has recorded the exchange as part of the legal documentation that would accompany Paul to Rome. In Paul's trial, such documentation would be available to his defence team. Anyway, it is noticeable how Luke's record of Festus' account of events is slightly different to that of Luke the narrator.
wJV "since" - [but/and] as [they were spending many days there]. Temporal use of the conjunction, "After spending many days there", but note how the NIV has opted for causal. A temporal construction often has a causal sense lurking in the background.
ta + acc. "[Paul's] case" - [festus set up = laid out] the things [according to paul]. The article serves as a nominalizer, turning the prepositional phrase "according to Paul" into a substantive, object of the verb "to set up". Here the preposition kata expresses reference / respect; "the matters with respect to Paul's case".
tw/ basilei (uV ewV) dat. "with the king" - to the king. Dative of indirect object.
legwn (legw) "he said" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle serving to introduce direct speech; see legonteV 19:28.
kataleleimmenoV (kataleipw) perf. mid. part. "left" - [there is a certain man, a prisoner,] having been left. It is possible that this participle, with the verb to-be estin, forms a perfect paraphrastic construction, but it may also serve an adjectival function, attributive, limiting "a certain man"; "There is a certain man here, a prisoner, who has been left behind by Felix". The nominative noun desmioV, "prisoner", serves as the nominative complement of "a certain man", asserting a fact about his man, namely that he is a prisoner; see "Mark" 12:25. "'There is a prisoner here', he said, 'who was left behind by Felix'", Barclay.
uJpo + gen. "-" - by [felix]. Instrumental, expressing agency.
v15
Luke provides us with a little extra insight on the meeting between Festus and the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem. The authorities didn't just bring charges against Paul, they were anitoumenoi, "requesting", his katadikhn, "condemnation". As far as the religious authorities are concerned, Paul is guilty and needs to be punished.
genomenou (ginomai) gen. aor. part. "when I went" - [concerning whom, i] having become = gone [into jerusalem]. The genitive participle and its subject, the genitive personal pronoun mou, forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal, as NIV; "Concerning whom, while I was in Jerusalem".
twn Ioudaiwn (oV) gen. "of the Jews" - [the chief priests and the elders] of the jews. The genitive is adjectival, descriptive, idiomatic / subordination, "who rule over the Jews", or attributive, "the chief priests and the Jewish elders", Phillips.
aitoumenoi (aitew) pres. mid. part. "asked" - [explained, informed, made known] asking, requesting [a condemnation against him]. The participle is adverbial, modal, explaining the manner of their approach to Festus, ie., they explained / laid out their case against Paul, "asking for a sentence of condemnation against him". The preposition kata + gen. expresses opposition, "against"; they "demanded his condemnation", Moffatt.
v16
Roman law forbade arbitrary punishment, although the provincial justice system was less rigorous than that of Rome itself. None-the-less, Luke has Festus affirm proper process, of the right of a person to defend themselves in a court of law, and this in accord with Roman eqoV, "habit" = "custom" = "legal practice".
oJti "that" - [toward whom i answered] that. Introducing an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what Festus said in reply.
RwmaioiV adj. "Roman [custom]" - [it is not a custom] to romans. The dative is probably possessive, "a custom of (pertaining to) the Romans".
carizesqai (crizomai) pres. inf, "to hand over" - to give = give up / hand over [certain = any man]. The infinitive is epexegetic, specifying the custom of the Romans.
prin h] + opt. "before" - before [the one being accused should have the accusers]. A temporal construction used in classical Greek, expressing a temporal reference point; "Romans are not in the habit of surrendering any man until the defendant has been brought (should have) face to face with his accusers, and has had (might receive) the opportunity of clearing himself of the charge which has been preferred against him", Cassirer.
kata + acc. "have faced" - according to [face]. Here with a distributive sense; "face to face".
apologiaV (a) gen. "to defend themselves" - [and might receive an opportunity] of a defence. The genitive is adjectival, probably best taken as verbal, objective, "an opportunity for a defence against the charges".
peri + gen. "against" - concerning [the charge, accusation]. Reference / respect, "with respect to / concerning / with reference to the charges brought against him", the sense being "given the opportunity to clear himself of the charge", Knox.
v17
The Jewish authorities came to Caesarea because Festus refused to hear the case in Jerusalem, but he did agree to prioritise it.
oun "-" - therefore. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion; "So when they came together here", ESV.
sunelqontwn (sunercomai) aor. part. "when they came" - [they] having come together [here]. The genitive participle and its genitive subject autwn, "they" (a variant, likely added), forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal.
poihsamenoV (poiew) aor. mid. part. "I did [not] delay [the case]" - having made [no delay]. The participle, with its object "no delay", is adverbial, modifying the attendant participle "having sat [upon the dais / judgment seat]"; "on the next day, I convened the tribunal without delay, and ordered the man to be brought in".
kaqisaV (kaqizw) aor. part. "convened" - having sat [upon the dais = judgment seat]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to order, command"; "convened the court ...... and ordered ...."
th/ dat. art. "the [next day]" - on the [next]. The article serves as a nominalizer turning the adverb "next" into a substantive, "the next day", with the dative being temporal, "on the next day".
acqhnai (ago) aor. pas. inf. "to be brought in" - [i commanded the man] to be led, brought. The infinitive introduces the object of the verb "to command" / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what Festus commanded. "The man" serves as the accusative subject of the infinitive.
v18
Most translations agree with the NIV, "When his accusers got up to speak", but this ignores the introductory peri ou|, "about whom". We probably should follow Knox, "His accusers, as they stood round him, .....", given the original description that had the religious authorities periesthsan, "stand around, surround [him]", 25:7, ie., they pressed in on him in a threatening manner. Of course, the preposition peri should take an accusative when spatial, but even so, a spatial sense is likely here. So, taking the participle staqenteV, "having been standing", as concessive, we end up with the sense: "Although his accusers pressed in on him with their accusations, they brought no charge that I would regard as criminal".
staqenteV (iJsqhmi) aor. pas. part. "got up" - [the accusers] having been standing [about him]. The participle is adverbial, probably concessive, as above.
ponhrwn gen. pro. "with any crimes" - [were bringing no charge] of evil things. The adjective serves as a substantive, the genitive being adjectival, attributive, limiting aitian, "blame, cause = charge"; "no criminal charge".
w|n gen. pro. "-" - which [i was expecting / was regarding]. Serving to introduce a relative clause, genitive by attraction to ponhrwn, "evils = crimes, misdemeanours"; "they did not charge him with misdemeanours such as I had expected", Weymouth. The pronoun egw, "I", is emphatic by use.
v19
Luke has Festus disregard the civil accusations against Paul, and identify the nub of the dispute as one of deisidaimonia, "religion, superstition". So, through a civil administrator of the Empire, Luke again stresses Paul's innocence of any crime under Roman law.
As noted above, it's fascinating how the doctrinal argument over the resurrection of the dead (23:6, 24:15, 21), accepted by Pharisees, but rejected by Sadducees, now shifts to whether Jesus rose from the dead. As evident in 23:6-9, the Pharisees may accept the resurrection of the dead as a theological construct, but they certainly don't believe that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. So, Luke has moved from palliation to proclamation. See "Interpretation" above.
de "instead" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the discourse.
peri + gen. "about" - [they had certain things toward him] concerning [one's own religion, superstition, and] concerning [a certain jesus]. The preposition expresses reference / respect; "with respect to". Note how "religion / superstition" is fronted in the Gk. text for emphasis. The coordinate kai, "and [concerning a certain Jesus]", is possibly epexegetic, in that the clause specifies the dispute, "namely, about a certain dead man called Jesus whom Paul said was alive" - at least "it adds more content", Kellum.
teqnhkotoV (qnhskw) gen, perf. part. "dead man" - having died. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "Jesus"; "who was dead".
zhn (zaw) pres. inf. "was alive" - [whom paul was saying] to live. The infinitive acts as the direct object of the imperfect verb "to live", serving as a dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what Paul claimed; "Paul asserted that he was alive", Berkeley.
v20
As Barrett notes, Luke is not trying to reproduce verbatim Festus' original proposal to Paul, although what is notable, is that his words are somewhat deceptive. Festus has now admitted that Paul is innocent of any charge under Roman law, so the only reason to send him to Jerusalem, and there face a hearing over religious matters, is to do the Jewish authorities a favour. Whether or not Festus was at a loss concerning zhthsin, "an investigation / a dispute", of such things, Paul should have been released because he hadn't committed a criminal offence.
aporoumenoV (aporew) pres. part. "I was at a loss" - [but/and, i] being at a loss. The participle is adverbial, best treated as causal; "Because I was at a loss". Note the emphatic use of the personal pronoun egw, "I".
thn ... zhthsin (iV ewV) acc. "how to investigate" - about an investigation / a dispute. Accusative of reference / respect. The exact sense of this noun in the context is unclear. As Johnson notes, it is ether "I was at a loss in a dispute on these things", or "I was at a loss how to investigate such matters". Johnson opts for the latter, but either way, the matter is religious and should be of no concern to the Roman authorities.
peri + gen. "such [matters]" - concerning [an investigation / a dispute]. Reference / respect, "concerning, about, with respect to [these matters]". Culy notes that the position of the preposition in the Gk. sentence indicates that the prepositional phrase "concerning such things" is attributive, limiting / modifying the noun zhthsin.
ei + opt. "[so I asked] if" - [was saying] if [he may want]. Serving to introduce an indirect question, as NIV, although a verb like "seeking", rather than "saying", would be expected; see Barrett p.1140.
poreuesqai (poreuomai) pres. inf. "to go" - to go [into jerusalem and there to be judged concerning these things]. This infinitive, along with "to be judged", is classified as complementary, completing the sense of the verb "to will, want".
v21
"Paul, however, resorted to bringing forward an appeal, to the effect that he was to be kept in custody and that his case was to be reserved for His August Majesty's decision", Cassirer. The adjective ZebastoV, "Emperor", NIV, is translated in numerous ways, but it is actually a reverential title, so when used as a substantive, it means "the one worthy of reverence" = "His Majesty". The Latin equivalent "Augustus" was used by all the Roman emperors.
epikalesamenou (epikalew) aor. mid. part. "when [Paul] appealed" - [but/and paul] having called upon = appealed. The genitive participle and its genitive subject "Paul", forms a genitive absolute construction, usually taken as temporal, as NIV, ESV, ....., but a causal sense may also be intended, "but since Paul made appeal that his case be retained for examination by Augustus", Berkeley.
thrhqhnai (threw) aor. pas. inf. "to be held over" - that [he] to be kept (held in custody). The infinitive introduces an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what Paul called for.
eiV + acc. "for" - into [the decision of his majesty]. Adverbial use of the preposition, final, expressing purpose; "for the decision of His Majesty". The genitive "Emperor / His Majesty", is adjectival, verbal, subjective.
e{wV ou| + subj. "until" - up to which [i may send him toward caesar]. This construction introduces a temporal clause expressing an indefinite time up to a point in the future; "until such time as I could send him to Caesar", Phillips.
v22
proV + acc. "to [Festus]" - [but/and agrippa said] toward [festus]. Again, we have the preposition used to introduce an indirect object instead of a dative, although of course, Luke may just have direction in mind.
kai "-" - [i was wanting = desiring] and = also. Adverbial, adjunctive; "I have also myself wanted to hear this man".
autoV pro. "myself" - he = myself. The personal pronoun is intensive.
akousai (akouw) aor. inf. "to hear" - to hear. Complementary infinitive completing the sense of the verb "to want". "I have been wanting to hear this man myself", Phillips.
tou anqrwpou (oV) gen. "this man" - the man. [tomorrow, he says, you will hear him]. Genitive of direct object after the verb "to take heed of, hear, obey".
v23
ii] Paul's meeting with Agrippa and Bernice, v23-27. The next day a procession of dignitaries files into the akroathrion, "audience chamber" - the largest and most decorated room in the governor's residence, a room used for administrative meetings and the reception of dignitaries. The procession is one of great fantasia, "appearance", here with the sense of "ostentation, pageantry". Although Agrippa and Bernice are mentioned first, in Roman custom, lower ranks precede higher ranks (eg., slaves first), so the order would likely be "tribunes (military officials)", then "high ranking citizens and officials", in order of merit, and finally Agrippa and Bernice. I have always liked the argument used in the Anglican church that higher ranks process last as an expression of humility -"the first shall be last"??? Really!
oun "-" - therefore. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion; "So on the next day", ESV.
th/ dat. art. "the [next day]" - on the [tomorrow]. The article serves as a nominalizer turning the adverb "tomorrow" into a substantive, the dative being adverbial, temporal, as ESV above.
elqontoV (ercomai) gen. aor. part. "came" - [agrippa and bernice] having come. The genitive participle with its genitive subject "Agrippa and Bernice" forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal. It is coordinate with two other genitive absolute constructions linked by kai, "having entered" and "[Festus] having given orders"; "On the next day, after Agrippa and Bernice had come ....... and entered ............ and after Festus had given his orders, Paul was brought into the reception hall."
meta + gen. "with [great pomp]" - with [great appearance]. The preposition is adverbial here, modal, expressing the manner of their coming to the audience chamber / reception hall.
sun + dat. "with [high-ranking military officers]" - [and having entered into the audience chamber] with. The preposition expresses association / accompaniment.
te ... kai "and" - both [tribunes] and. Coordinate construction, "both .... and"
toiV "the [prominent men]" - the ones [in accord with high status men]. The article serves as a nominalizer turning the prepositional phrase "in accord with high status men" into a substantive. The preposition kata expresses a standard, and with the noun "high status", ends up functioning as an attributive adjective, "prominent, important", limiting the noun "men".
thV polewV (iV ewV) gen. "of the city" - of the city [and festus having given orders, paul was brought]. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, expressing a derivative characteristic, "pertaining to the city", or descriptive, idiomatic / source, "from the city".
v24
The NIV suggests that "the whole Jewish community" is calling for Paul's execution, but to plhqoV twn Ioudaiwn, "the whole of Israel", is either hyperbole, or a reference to the Temple mob, ie., the religious authorities and their supporters. The demand of the Temple mob is specified; they want Paul's execution. Of course, this statement may also be hyperbole - a statement like "this man doesn't deserve to live", doesn't necessarily mean the same as "he must not be allowed to live a day longer", Knox, as most translations. Again, we note a deafening silence from the Jerusalem church; like Sergeant Schultz, they know nothing.
The Western text expands the account somewhat; "The whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, that I should hand him over to them for punishment. But I was unable to hand him over without defence, on account of the instructions which we have from the Emperor. So, I said that, if anyone was going to accuse him, he should follow me to Caesarea where he was in custody. And, when they arrived, they cried out that he should be put to death. But when I heard both sides, I found that he was in no respect worthy of death, But when I said, 'Are you willing to be tried before them in Jerusalem?' he appealed to Caesar". Just what we need, a little more padding to Luke's padding!!
suparonteV (sumpareimi) pres. part. "who are present with" - [and festus says, king agrippa and all the men] being present with. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "men", as NIV. Given that "King Agrippa" is vocative, the nominative "all the men being present" would also be vocative, so "King Agrippa and all those present".
hJmin dat. pro, "us" - us. Dative of direct object after the sun prefix verb "to be present with".
twn Ioudaiwn gen. adj. "[the whole] Jewish community" - [you see this one concerning whom all the multitude] of the jews. The adjective serves as a substantive, the genitive being adjectival, possibly descriptive, idiomatic / identification, "The whole nation of (known as) the Jews", Weymouth, "the whole Jewish people", Phillips, as NIV, although a partitive sense is more likely, taking plhqoV, "multitude", to refer to the religious authorities and their supporters = the mob, rather than all the people of Israel.
moi dat. pro. "[partitioned] me" - [turned to, appealed to] me [in both jerusalem and here]. Dative of direct object after the en prefix verb "to turn to".
bownteV (boaw) aor. part. "shouting" - crying out. The participle is adverbial, best treated as modal, expressing the manner of the appeal of "the mob", but possibly instrumental, expressing means.
deiv (dei) "that [he ought not] to live" - [him to live] is not necessary = fitting. The infinitive introduces an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what "the mob" cried out. The subject of the infinitive is the infinitive zhn, "to live", and the accusative subject of the infinitive zhn is auton, "him" - for this construction see eiselqein, 14:22.
v25
We now have a second declaration by a Roman official that Paul is innocent, with a third declaration in 26:31. Johnson comments that Luke, in his gospel, records that Jesus is exonerated three times by Roman justice. It is unclear whether Luke is making a point, but maybe he is. Given that Paul has insisted that his trial be held before Caesar's tribunal in Rome, Festus ekrina pempein, "judged to send". The phrase is handled in numerous ways, but the point is that, given Paul's appeal, Festus has made a legal determination to hold Paul on remand as he awaits transportation to Rome for trial before Caesar's tribunal.
egw pro. "I" - [but/and] i [i have reached = apprehended, perceived, found]. The personal pronoun is emphatic by use and position.
pepracenai (prassw) perf. inf. "had done" - [him] to have done. The infinitive introduces an object clause / dependent statement of perception, expressing what Festus has found in Paul's case. The accusative subject of the infinitive is auton, "him".
qanatou (oV) gen. "of death" - [nothing worthy] of death. The genitive is adjectival, probably best classified as epexegetic, specifying in what sense Paul is not worthy, namely, of execution.
epikalesamenou (epikalew) gen. aor. part. "because [he] made [his] appeal" - [but/and this one he = himself] having appealed to [the emperor]. The genitive participle, with its genitive subject, "this one himself", forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal, "but when he himself appealed to the Emperor", Barclay, or causal, as NIV.
pempein (pempw) pres. inf. "to send him to Rome" - [i decided] to send. The infinitive serves as the object of the verb "I decided" / dependent statement of perception expressing what Festus decided; "that I sent him". "When he appealed to Caesar Augustus, I complied with his request."
v26
We are now presented with the purpose for allowing Paul to restate his case before King Agrippa and the gathering of high-ranking officials. Festus is required to set out the case against a prisoner who is about to be remanded to a higher court, and in this case, a prisoner who, at face value, hasn't committed a criminal offence. None-the-less, given that Paul has appealed to a higher court before judgment, Festus is bound to set out the charges against him, and so he looks to Agrippa, a person well acquainted with Jewish religious affairs, to provide assistance. This statement by Festus certainly presents as a literary ploy by Luke to introduce Paul's Apologia pro Vita Sua, but that doesn't mean it isn't a true account of what he said on the day. Yet more importantly, this statement by Festus nicely avoids why Paul was forced to appeal to Caesar, namely because Festus was intent on doing the Jewish authorities a favour rather than properly adjudicates on Paul's case.
grayai (grafw) aor. inf. "to write" - [i do not have a certain certainty (something definite)] to write. Culy suggests that the infinitive is complementary and Kellum that it is epexegetic. Rogers Gk. suggests epexegetic, but also that it may serve as an object, ie., form a nominal phrase, object of the verb "to have". In this case, "a certain certainty = something definite" would serve as the accusative subject of the infinitive. This seems the best classification; "I do not have anything definite to write to our sovereign about this prisoner".
tw/ kuriw/ (oV) dat. "to His Majesty" - to the lord. Dative of indirect object. Probably more than just a title of honour, as NIV. By the time of Nero, the term had taken on a sense of divinity, such that Emperor worship was becoming a political tool to unite the many different peoples of the Empire.
dio "therefore" - therefore [i brought forward him upon = before you people, and especially upon = before ye, king agreippa]. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion.
o{twV + subj. "so that" - that [....... i may have]. This construction serves to introduce a final clause expressing purpose; "in order that ..... I may have something to report".
genomenhV (ginomai) gen. aor. part. "as a result of [this investigation]" - [the investigation] having happened. The genitive participle, with its genitive subject "the investigation", forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal; "after due examination", Berkeley.
tiv interrogative pro. + subj. / fut. "something [to write]" - what [may / shall i write]. This construction serves to introduce an indirect question. Taking grayw as a subjunctive, the question is indefinite, but if taken as future, the question is definite, giving the sense "that I may have some definite information to include in my report", Barclay.
v27
In this clause, the adjective alogoV, "unreasonable, without basis, absurd", is emphatic by position, and so, sets the tone for Festus' statement. Yet, a Procurator does not dokew, "choose to prefer", detailing the charges for a citizen on remand, he does it because it is a necessary requirement. So either, a translation like "it seems to me unreasonable", ESV, does not properly reflect the sense of alogon and dokei here, or Festus is being overly gracious to hide his mishandling of Paul's case.
The Greek clause is difficult, due to the case of the participle pemponta, "sending"; see Kellum for his choice of options. "For me, it would be highly questionable, when arraigning (sending) a prisoner, not to also signify the charges against him".
gar "for" - for. Here more reason than cause, introducing an explanation which identifies the purpose of the meeting, namely, to assemble the appropriate charges against Paul.
moi dat. pro. "[I think]" - to = for me. The dative is adverbial, reference / respect; "with respect to me = for me".
memponta (pempw) acc. pres. part. "to send" - sending = remanding [a prisoner]. The participle is adverbial, best taken as temporal, modifying the infinitive "to signify, indicate", accusative in agreement with the assumed accusative subject of the infinitive, "I", namely, Festus.
mh ... shmanai (shmainw) aor. inf. "signifying" - I to not signify [and = also the charges against him seems = would be questionable]. The infinitive, with its modifying participial phrase, "sending a prisoner", and its object, "the charges against him", serves as the subject of the impersonal use of the verb "it seems = it would be [questionable]".
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