Bible Strands
Acts 25:27
For it seems unreasonable to me to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Festus addresses King Agrippa and other officials at Caesarea, explaining his delay in sending Paul to Rome. He states he lacks definite charges to write to Caesar, which is why he brought Paul before the assembly.
The words — ἄλογον (alogon) translates literally as "absurd" or "unreasonable," describing the act of forwarding a prisoner without listing the accusations. This term grounds Festus’s statement in procedural necessity rather than personal opinion.
The thread — The requirement to hear charges before rendering judgment appears in John 7:51 and Proverbs 18:13. These passages establish a consistent biblical standard that legal conclusions must follow established inquiry.
Why it lands — It requires readers to separate stated evidence from unverified assumption before forming conclusions. The text demands explicit charges as a prerequisite for any judgment about a person’s guilt.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.
Cross-references
- John 7:51 “Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”
- Proverbs 18:13 He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.