And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
- KJV Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.
- BSB And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
- NKJV Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
- NLT And Agrippa said to Festus, “He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Agrippa concludes that Paul could have been freed had he not appealed to Caesar—yet that appeal carries him toward Rome.
Overview
The officials recognize Paul is innocent, but his appeal to Caesar must now run its course. What looks like a missed chance at freedom is in fact God's appointed means to bring Paul, and the gospel, to Rome, as Christ had promised. The verse displays divine providence working through human legal processes to advance the mission of the church.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Acts 28:18who, when they had examined me, desired to set me free, because there was no cause of death in me.
- Acts 25:11–12For if I have done wrong, and have committed anything worthy of death, I don’t refuse to die; but if none of those things is true that they accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
- Acts 25:25But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and as he himself appealed to the emperor I determined to send him,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 26:32 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.