Kisah Para Rasul 24:19

24:19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia ¹  who should be here before you and bring charges, ²  if they have anything against me.

Kisah Para Rasul 25:16

25:16 I answered them ³  that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone ⁴  before the accused had met his accusers face to face ⁵  and had been given ⁶  an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation. ⁷ 

[24:19]  ¹ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[24:19]  ² tn BDAG 533 s.v. κατηγορέω 1 states, “nearly always as legal t.t.: bring charges in court.” L&N 33.427 states for κατηγορέω (kathgorew), “to bring serious charges or accusations against someone, with the possible connotation of a legal or court context – ‘to accuse, to bring charges.’”

[24:19]  sn Who should be here…and bring charges. Paul was asking, where were those who brought about his arrest and claimed he broke the law? His accusers were not really present. This subtle point raised the issue of injustice.

[25:16]  ³ tn Grk “to whom I answered.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 16.

[25:16]  sn “I answered them.” In the answer that follows, Festus is portrayed in a more positive light, being sensitive to justice and Roman law.

[25:16]  ⁴ tn Grk “any man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos).

[25:16]  ⁵ tn Or “has met his accusers in person.”

[25:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “and receives.”

[25:16]  ⁷ tn Or “indictment” (a legal technical term). BDAG 273-74 s.v. ἔγκλημα 1 states, “legal t.t.…ἀπολογία περὶ τοῦ ἐ. defense against the accusation Ac 25:16.” L&N 56.6 defines ἔγκλημα (enklhma) as “(a technical, legal term) a formal indictment or accusation brought against someone – ‘indictment, accusation, case.’ …‘and might receive an opportunity for a defense against the indictment’ Ac 25:16.”