Acts 25:26

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this examination is over, I may have something to write.

King James Version (1611)
Of whom I haue no certaine thing to write vnto my Lord: Wherefore I haue brought him foorth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that after examination had, I might haue somewhat to write.

King James Version
Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write.

English Standard Version
But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write.

New American Standard Bible
"Yet, I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore, I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write.

New Century Version
But I have nothing definite to write the emperor about him. So I have brought him before all of you—especially you, King Agrippa. I hope you can question him and give me something to write.

Amplified Bible
"But I have nothing specific about him to write to my lord. So I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I will have something to put in writing.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write.

Legacy Standard Bible
Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write.

Berean Standard Bible
I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign one about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this inquiry I may have something to write.

Contemporary English Version
I have to write some facts about this man to the Emperor. So I have brought him before all of you, but especially before you, King Agrippa. After we have talked about his case, I will then have something to write.

Complete Jewish Bible
However, I have nothing specific to write to His Majesty about him. This is why I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa — so that after we have examined him, I might have something to write.

Darby Translation
concerning whom I have nothing certain to write to my lord. Wherefore I have brought him before you, and specially before thee, king Agrippa, so that an examination having been gone into I may have something to write:

Easy-to-Read Version
However, I don't really know what to tell Caesar that this man has done wrong. So I have brought him before all of you—especially you, King Agrippa. I hope that you can question him and give me something to write to Caesar.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Of whome I haue no certaine thing to write vnto my Lord: wherefore I haue brought him forth vnto you, and specially vnto thee, King Agrippa, that after examination had, I might haue somewhat to write.

George Lamsa Translation
But I do not know what to write Caesar concerning him, therefore I was pleased to bring him before you, and especially before you, O King A-grip''pa, so that when he is questioned, I may find somewhat to write.

Good News Translation
But I have nothing definite about him to write to the Emperor. So I have brought him here before you—and especially before you, King Agrippa!—so that, after investigating his case, I may have something to write.

Lexham English Bible
I do not have anything definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all—and especially before you, King Agrippa—so that after this preliminary hearing has taken place, I may have something to write.

Literal Translation
about whom I have nothing certain to write to my lord. Because of this I brought him before you, and most of all before you, king Agrippa, so as the examination taking place, I may have somewhat to write.

American Standard Version
Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I may have somewhat to write.

Bible in Basic English
But I have no certain account of him to send to Caesar. So I have sent for him to come before you, and specially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the business has been gone into, I may have something to put in writing.

Hebrew Names Version
Of whom I have no certain thing to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him forth before you, and especially before you, king Agrippa, that, after examination, I may have something to write.

International Standard Version
I have nothing reliable to write our Sovereign about him, so I have brought him to all of you,to you (pl.)">[fn] and especially to you, King Agrippa, so that I will have something to write after he is cross-examined.

Etheridge Translation
But (as) I know not what to write of him unto Caesar, therefore have I willed to bring him before you, and especially before thee, king Agripos, that, having inquired into his case, I may find what to write.

Murdock Translation
And I know not what I can write to Caesar, in regard to him: and therefore I wished to bring him before you, and especially before thee, king Agrippa; that when his case shall have been heard, I may find what to write.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Of whom I haue no certayne thyng to write vnto my Lorde. Wherfore, I haue brought hym foorth vnto you, and specially vnto thee, O kyng Agrippa, that after examination had, I myght haue somewhat to write.

English Revised Version
Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I may have somewhat to write.

World English Bible
Of whom I have no certain thing to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him forth before you, and especially before you, king Agrippa, that, after examination, I may have something to write.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Of whom I have nothing certain to send to my lord: wherefore I have brought him before you, and especially before thee, O king Agrippa, that after examination taken, I may have somewhat to write.

Weymouth's New Testament
I have nothing very definite, however, to tell our Sovereign about him. So I have brought the man before you all--and especially before you, King Agrippa--that after he has been examined I may find something which I can put into writing.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Of which man Y haue not certeyne, what thing Y schal write to the lord. For which thing Y brouyte hym to you, and moost to thee, thou king Agrippa, that whanne axing is maad, Y haue what Y schal write.

Update Bible Version
Of whom I have no certain thing to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him forth before you, and especially before you, king Agrippa, that, after having the examination, I may have somewhat to write.

Webster's Bible Translation
Of whom I have no certain thing to write to my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that after examination had, I may have somewhat to write.

New English Translation
But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this preliminary hearing I may have something to write.

New King James Version
I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write.

New Living Translation
"But what shall I write the emperor? For there is no clear charge against him. So I have brought him before all of you, and especially you, King Agrippa, so that after we examine him, I might have something to write.

New Life Bible
When I write to Caesar, I have nothing to say against him. For this reason, I brought him in front of you all and in front of you, King Agrippa. After we ask him questions, I may have something to write about.

New Revised Standard
But I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write—

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Concerning whom, anything certain to write unto my lord, I have not; wherefore, I have brought him forth before you, - and especially before thee, King Agrippa! in order that, after examination had, I might have something I could write;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Of whom I have nothing certain to write to my lord. For which cause, I have brought him forth before you, and especially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, examination being made, I may have what to write.

Revised Standard Version
But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you, and, especially before you, King Agrippa, that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Of whom I have no certayne thinge to wryte vnto my lorde. Wherfore I have brought him vnto you and specially vnto the kynge Agrippa that after examinacion had I myght have sumwhat to wryte.

Young's Literal Translation
concerning whom I have no certain thing to write to [my] lord, wherefore I brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, king Agrippa, that the examination having been made, I may have something to write;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
of who I haue no certayne thinge to wryte vnto my lorde. Therfore haue I caused hi to be broughte forth before you, specially before the (O kynge Agrippa) that after examinacion had, I might haue somwhat to wryte.

Mace New Testament (1729)
as I have no certain account to communicate to the emperor my master, I caus'd him to appear before this assembly, and before you, king Agrippa, in particular, that after he is examin'd, I may know how to represent the affair;

Simplified Cowboy Version
But the question is this, what am I supposed to tell the emperor? What charge am I supposed to bring that will be both the truth and one that won't make me look like an idiot for sending him all the way to Rome? So I let you hear his story, King Agrippa. Maybe after you hear it, you can tell me how to proceed.

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

specially: Acts 26:2, Acts 26:3

Reciprocal: Luke 7:8 - under Acts 18:14 - If Acts 21:34 - know Acts 24:22 - When 2 Corinthians 6:9 - unknown

Cross-References

Genesis 27:36
Esau said, "Not for nothing was he named Jacob, the Heel. Twice now he's tricked me: first he took my birthright and now he's taken my blessing." He begged, "Haven't you kept back any blessing for me?"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Of whom I have no certain thing,.... No certain crime, charge, or accusation; nothing of any moment or consequence, no particular thing, nothing but a heap of confused notions, of I know not who or what:

to write unto my lord; meaning the Roman emperor, under whom he served as governor of Judea:

wherefore I have brought him before you; the whole company then present:

and especially before thee, O King Agrippa; as being not only a man of eminence, dignity, and authority, but of knowledge in such matters, which the Jews accused Paul of; see Acts 26:2.

That after examination had; of Paul, and his case;

I might have somewhat to write; concerning him, and the charges exhibited against him to the emperor.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Of whom - Respecting his character, opinions, and manner of life; and respecting the charges against him.

No certain thing - Nothing definite and well established. They had not accused Paul of any crime against the Roman laws; and Festus professes himself too ignorant of the customs of the Jews to inform the emperor distinctly of the nature of the charges and the subject of trial.

Unto my lord - To the emperor - to Caesar. This name Lord the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius had rejected, and would not suffer it to be applied to them. Suetonius (Life of Augustus, v. 53) says “the appellation of Lord he always abhorred as abominable and execrable.” See also Suetonius’ Life of Tiberius, v. 27. The emperors that succeeded them, however, admitted the title, and suffered themselves to be called by this name. Nothing would be more satisfactory to Nero, the reigning emperor, than this title.

I might have somewhat to write - As Agrippa was a Jew, and was acquainted with the customs and doctrine of the Jews, Festus supposed that, after hearing Paul, he would be able to inform him of the exact nature of these charges, so that he could present the case intelligibly to the emperor.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 25:26. I have no certain thing to write — Nothing alleged against him has been substantiated.

Unto my Lord — The title κυριος, Dominus, Lord, both Augustus and Tiberius had absolutely refused; and forbade, even by public edicts, the application of it to themselves. Tiberius himself was accustomed to say that he was lord only of his slaves, emperor or general of the troops, and prince of the senate. See Suetonius, in his life of this prince. The succeeding emperors were not so modest; they affected the title. Nero, the then emperor, would have it; and Pliny the younger is continually giving it to Trajan in his letters.