What Does Acts 25:10 Mean in the King James?
Then said Paul, I stand at Cæsar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
A judgment seat is where guilt must be decided, not proof that guilt is already settled.
THE MEANING
You can stand before judgment without an accusation becoming truth. A hearing remains a place of decision, while the claim of innocence is spoken and examined. What an authority knows matters alongside what it has yet to rule.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The false belief is that being brought before judgment means you are already guilty; this verse keeps the hearing and the verdict distinct.
THE ROOT
κρίνεσθαι
krinesthai
GROWS FROM
κριν- / κρίνω (krin- / krinō)
To assess and decide; the word family also carries the sense of distinguishing or discerning.
The verse places Paul where a decision must be made; it does not say the decision has already been made. English can make “judged” sound like a settled verdict, while the Greek leaves the act of assessment in view.
ALSO GROWS
krisis: Judgment or decision.
κρίσις
It names the decision process that the judgment seat has not yet completed.
kritēs: A judge.
κριτής
This branch names the one who evaluates the matter, distinct from the person being judged.
ἠδίκησα
ēdikēsa
GROWS FROM
ἀδικ- (adik-), from δίκη (dikē)
To do wrong or act unjustly; the word is built on the δικ- family of justice and right, with a negating prefix.
Paul’s claim is specifically that he has acted unjustly toward no one among the Jews. The same δικ- family appears in δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē, alignment), so “wrong” carries an additional sense of being out of alignment with what is right.
ALSO GROWS
dikē: Justice, right, or a legal case.
δίκη
It shows the justice and right that the word for wrongdoing negates.
dikaiosynē: Alignment with what is right.
δικαιοσύνη
This related word makes the contrast in Paul’s claim clearer: he says he has not acted against justice.
ἐπιγινώσκεις
epiginōskeis
GROWS FROM
γινωσκ- (ginōsk-) within ἐπιγινώσκω (epiginōskō)
To know or recognize; the compound can carry the sense of fuller recognition.
“knowest” in this verse is epiginōskeis. The verse appeals to recognition, not just to a verdict yet to come: Paul says Festus already knows the claim he is making. The wording brings what is perceived into the hearing alongside the formal act of judgment.
ALSO GROWS
ginōskō: To know or recognize.
γινώσκω
This is the knowing at the heart of the compound used for Festus’s knowledge.
epignōsis: Recognition or fuller knowledge.
ἐπίγνωσις
This related form echoes the appeal to what is already recognized in the matter.
THE PATTERN
A judgment remains open until a claim is examined with discernment and evidence.
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.THE THREAD
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.“Judgment seat” translates the same Greek word, βῆμα (bēma, tribunal or raised platform), used for Caesar’s tribunal here. Romans extends that image to everyone, including the one who judges.
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