Bible Strands
Acts 26:30
Then the king and the governor rose, along with Bernice and those seated with them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text records King Agrippa, the Roman governor Festus, Bernice, and their accompanying officials rising from their seats immediately after Paul’s defense concludes. This action occurs at the moment of judicial deliberation, marking the formal end of the hearing.
The words — The Greek phrase ἀνέστη τε ὁ βασιλεὺς (anestē te ho basileus) translates literally as "then the king rose up." It captures the immediate physical response of the ruling authorities to the conclusion of the testimony.
The thread — This moment of judicial departure parallels the procedural dismissals in Acts 18:15 and the formal hearings in Acts 25:23, where secular authorities repeatedly conclude proceedings without condemning the accused. The pattern continues in Acts 28:22, where Roman officials defer to hearing Paul’s views rather than issuing immediate verdicts.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that human authority often acknowledges the lack of legal grounds against a defendant, even when it refuses spiritual conviction. It asks the reader to observe how political and judicial processes operate independently of divine truth.
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
And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:
Cross-references
- Acts 18:15 But since it is a dispute about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”
- Acts 25:23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the auditorium, along with the commanders and leading men of the city. And Festus ordered that Paul be brought in.
- Acts 28:22 But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”