Acts 25:11
in Acts 25If, 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
10 notes on this verse"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 to Caesar
Paul's appeal to Caesar invokes provocatio, a Roman citizen's right to move his case from a provincial governor to the emperor's court. No governor could refuse it once claimed. It sets in motion the voyage to Rome, fulfilling the word spoken over him at 23:11.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Some one might say, How is it, that having been told, "Thou must also bear witness of Me in Rome", he, as if unbelieving, did this? God forbid: nay, he did it, because he so strongly believed. For it would have been a tempting of God to be bold on account of that declaration, and to cast himself into numberless dangers, and to say: "Let us see if God is able even thus to deliver me." But not so does Paul; no, he does his part, all that in him lies, committing the whole to God. Quietly also he reproves the governor: for, "If," says he, "I am an offender, thou doest well: but if not, why dost thou give me up?" "No man," he says, "may sacrifice me." He put him in fear, so that even if he wished, he could not sacrifice him to them; while also as an excuse to them he had Paul's appeal to allege.
"But Paul said, At Caesar's tribunal am I standing," etc.: he did not say, I will not, lest he should make the judge more vehement, but here again is his great boldness: They cast me out once for all, themselves, and by this they think to condemn me, by their showing that I have offended against Caesar: at his bar I choose to be judged, at the bar of the injured person himself. "To the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou also very well knowest." Here now he reproved him, that he too wished to sacrifice him to the Jews: then, on the other hand, he relaxes the sternness of his speech: "if then I be an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die." I utter sentence against myself. For along with boldness of speech there must be also justness of cause, so as to abash the hearer. "But if there be nothing in the things whereof these accuse me, no man" - however he may wish it - "no man may sacrifice me to please them." He said, not, I am not worthy of death, nor, I am worthy to be acquitted, but, I am ready to take my trial before Caesar. At the same time too, remembering the dream, he was the more confident to appeal. And he said not, Thou mayest not, but, neither any other man may sacrifice me, that it might be no affront to him.
The Medieval Church1 voice
No one can grant me to them. I appeal to Caesar. The reason he appeals to Caesar and hastens to go to Rome is so that he may persist longer in preaching, and when many believe from this, and with everyone he will be crowned …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
In our judgment before God those that by justifying themselves appeal to the law, to the law they shall go, and it will condemn them; but those that by repentance and faith appeal to the gospel, to the gospel they shall go, and it will save them.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 & Brown1802–1910
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.
For if I be an offender - If it can be proved that I have broken the laws, so as to expose me to capital punishment, I do not wish to save my life by subterfuges; I am before the only competent tribunal; here my business should be ultimately decided. No man may deliver me unto them - The words of the apostle are very strong and appropriate. The Jews asked as a favor, χαριν, from Festus, that he would send Paul to Jerusalem, Act 25:3. Festus, willing to do the Jews χαριν, this favor, asked Paul if he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged, Act 25:9. Paul says, I have done nothing amiss, either against the Jews or against Caesar; therefore no man με δυναται αυτοις χαρισασθαι, can make a Present of me to them; that is, favor them so far as to put my life into their hands, and thus gratify them by my death. Festus, in his address to Agrippa, Act 25:16, admits this, and uses the same form of speech: It is not the custom of the Romans, χαριζεσθαι, gratuitously to give up any one, etc. Much of the beauty of this passage is lost by not attending to the original words. See on Act 25:16 (note). I appeal unto Caesar - A freeman of Rome, who had been tried for a crime, and sentence passed on him, had a right to appeal to the emperor, if he conceived the sentence to be unjust; but, even before the sentence was pronounced, he had the privilege of an appeal, in criminal cases, if he conceived that the judge was doing any thing contrary to the laws. Ante sententiam appellari potest in criminali negotio, si judex contra leges hoc faciat. - Grotius. An appeal to the emperor was highly respected. The Julian law condemned those magistrates, and others having authority, as violaters of the public peace, who had put to death, tortured, scourged, imprisoned, or condemned any Roman citizen who had appealed to Caesar. […]
The words behind it
28 Greek wordsEvery 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.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἰ | ei | If | G1487 → | 508 times |
| μὲν | men | indeed | G3303 → | 176 times |
| οὖν | oun | therefore | G3767 → | 497 times |
| ἀδικῶ | adiko | I do wrong | G91 → | 28 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἄξιον | axion | worthy | G514 → | 41 times |
| θανάτου | thanatou | of death | G2288 → | 120 times |
| πέπραχά | pepracha | have done | G4238 → | 39 times |
| τι, | ti | anything, | G5100 → | 528 times |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| παραιτοῦμαι | paraitoumai | I do refuse | G3868 → | |
| τὸ | to | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀποθανεῖν· | apothanein | to die; | G599 → | 110 times |
| εἰ | ei | If | G1487 → | 508 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| οὐδέν | ouden | no [thing] | G3762 → | 232 times |
| ἐστιν | estin | there is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ὧν | hon | of which | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| οὗτοι | houtoi | they | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| κατηγοροῦσίν | kategorousin | [can] accuse | G2723 → | 22 times |
| μου, | mou | me, | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| οὐδείς | oudeis | no [one] | G3762 → | 232 times |
| με | me | me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| δύναται | dunatai | can | G1410 → | 207 times |
| αὐτοῖς | autois | to them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| χαρίσασθαι. | charisasthai | giving up. | G5483 → | 23 times |
| Καίσαρα | kaisara | To Caesar | G2541 → | 29 times |
| ἐπικαλοῦμαι.¶ | epikaloumai | I appeal! | G1941 → | 30 times |
εἰIf
eiG1487 →508 times
μὲνindeed
menG3303 →176 times
οὖνtherefore
ounG3767 →497 times
ἀδικῶI do wrong
adikoG91 →28 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἄξιονworthy
axionG514 →41 times
θανάτουof death
thanatouG2288 →120 times
πέπραχάhave done
peprachaG4238 →39 times
τι,anything,
tiG5100 →528 times
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
παραιτοῦμαιI do refuse
paraitoumaiG3868 →
τὸ<the>
toG3588 →19766 times
ἀποθανεῖν·to die;
apothaneinG599 →110 times
εἰIf
eiG1487 →508 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
οὐδένno [thing]
oudenG3762 →232 times
ἐστινthere is
estinG1510 →2333 times
ὧνof which
honG3739 →1405 times
οὗτοιthey
houtoiG3778 →1381 times
κατηγοροῦσίν[can] accuse
kategorousinG2723 →22 times
μου,me,
mouG3165 →1936 times
οὐδείςno [one]
oudeisG3762 →232 times
μεme
meG3165 →1936 times
δύναταιcan
dunataiG1410 →207 times
αὐτοῖςto them
autoisG846 →5565 times
χαρίσασθαι.giving up.
charisasthaiG5483 →23 times
ΚαίσαραTo Caesar
kaisaraG2541 →29 times
ἐπικαλοῦμαι.¶I appeal!
epikaloumaiG1941 →30 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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 28:19But 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.
- Acts 26:32
Through
Acts 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.
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…
- Acts 25:11–12
Through
Acts 26:32And 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.
- Acts 28:18
Through
Acts 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.”
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.
- 2 Timothy 4:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Acts
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Acts; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 51; 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.