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Acts 25:11

in Acts 25

If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

If then I am a wrong-doer, and have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die; but if none of those things is true whereof these accuse me, no man can give me up unto them. I appeal unto Cæsar.

KJV

For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Cesar.

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This verse in Acts 25

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Acts · Written before 550.

"I appeal to Caesar," said Paul, wishing to escape the hands of the Jews, that is, in Rome I desire to go to the emperor and there to be tried. "I appeal to you," he says. For the name "Caesar," in Roman usage, signifies "king," …

This site's exposition

I appeal unto Cesar

Paul's appeal, I appeal unto Cesar, invokes provocatio, the ancient right of a Roman citizen to have his case transferred from a provincial governor to the emperor's own court, a right no governor could refuse once formally claimed. He states the appeal's condition plainly first, if I be an offender, I refuse not to die, showing the appeal is a demand for a court immune to local pressure rather than flight from justice, no man may deliver me unto them. The single sentence sets in motion everything that follows through the end of Acts, the voyage, the shipwreck, and Paul's arrival in Rome itself, fulfilling the word spoken over him at 23:11.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For if I be an offender,.... Against the law of Moses, or the temple at Jerusalem, or Caesar the Roman emperor: or have committed anything worthy of death; by the laws of the Romans, as sedition, murder, &c.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
For if I be an offender - If I have injured the Jews so as to deserve death. If it can be proved that I have done injury to anyone. I refuse not to die - I have no wish to escape justice. I do not wish to evade the laws, or to take advantage of any circumstances to screen me from just punishment. Paul’s whole course showed that this was the noble spirit which actuated him. No true Christian wishes to escape from the laws. He will honor them, and not seek to evade them.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

But when the only other alternative offered him was to give his own consent to be transferred to the great hotbed of plots against his life, and to a tribunal of unscrupulous and bloodthirsty ecclesiastics whose vociferous cries for his death had scarcely subsided, no other course was open to him.

The words behind it

28 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Acts 28:19But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, even though I have no charge to bring against my nation.6 worksDaniel 6:16So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”6 worksPsalms 7:3–5O LORD my God, if I have done this, if injustice is on my hands,5 worksActs 25:25But I found he had done nothing worthy of death, and since he has now appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.4 worksActs 26:32And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”4 worksActs 25:21But when Paul appealed to be held over for the decision of the Emperor, I ordered that he be held until I could send him to Caesar.”3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Joshua 22:22“The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! He knows, and may Israel also know. If this was in rebellion or breach of faith against the LORD, do not spare us today.3 worksActs 23:29I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.3 worksActs 27:24and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’3 worksJeremiah 37:18Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you have put me in prison?3 worksActs 18:15But since it is a dispute about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”3 worksJob 31:21if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,2 works1 Samuel 27:1David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”2 worksActs 22:25But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?”2 worksActs 18:14But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “If this matter involved a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to hear your complaint.2 works1 Samuel 12:3–5Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”2 worksJob 31:38–40if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together,2 worksActs 25:10Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Acts 28:19

    But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, even though I have no charge to bring against my nation.

    it leads to

    • Acts 26:32

      And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Acts 25:25

      But I found he had done nothing worthy of death, and since he has now appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Acts 25:10–12

      Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.

  • Through

    Acts 25:25

    But I found he had done nothing worthy of death, and since he has now appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.

    it leads to

    • Acts 25:11–12

      If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one has the right to hand…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Acts 23:29

      I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.

    • Acts 23:9

      A great clamor arose, and some scribes from the party of the Pharisees got up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken…

  • Through

    Acts 26:32

    And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

    it leads to

    • Acts 28:18

      They examined me and wanted to release me, because there was no basis for a death sentence against me.

  • Through

    Acts 25:21

    But when Paul appealed to be held over for the decision of the Emperor, I ordered that he be held until I could send him to Caesar.”

    it leads to

    • 2 Timothy 4:16

      At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.

Where this verse is studied

About Acts

The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
Acts: the study guide →Read Acts 25 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.

Read on in Acts 25 →