King James Version · Under Rome
Acts 25
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Now when was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Cesarea to . Then the and the chief of the informed him against , and besought him, And against him, that he would send for him to , laying wait in to kill him. But answered, that should be kept at Cesarea, and that he himself would depart shortly thither. Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him. And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Cesarea; and the next day sitting on the seat commanded to be brought. And when he was come, the which came down from stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against , which they could not prove. While he answered for himself, Neither against of the , neither against , nor yet against Cesar, have I offended any thing at all. But , willing to do the a pleasure, answered , and said, Wilt thou go up to , and there be judged of these things before me? Then said , I stand at Cesar’s seat, where I ought to be judged: to the have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of , I refuse not to : but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may me unto them. I appeal unto Cesar. Then , when he had conferred with , answered, Hast thou appealed unto Cesar? unto Cesar shalt thou go. And after certain days king and came unto Cesarea to salute . 14And when they had been there many days, declared ’s cause unto the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by : About whom, when I was at , the and the of the informed me, desiring to have against him. To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the to any man to , before that he which is accused have the accusers to , and have licence to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him. Therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on the morrow I sat on the seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth. 18Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed: But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one , which was , whom affirmed to be alive. And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to , and there be judged of these matters. But when had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of , I commanded him to be kept till I might send him to Cesar. Then said unto , I would also hear the man myself. To morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him. And on the morrow, when was come, and , with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at ’ was brought forth. And said, King , and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all of the have dealt with me, both at , and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer. But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of , and that he himself hath appealed to , I have determined to send him. Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my . Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king , that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write. For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.