Acts 25:5

Able. Gr. dunatoi, literally, “mighty [ones],” “powerful [ones],” that is, men of authority, or men of ability, men qualified to represent the Jewish nation. The same word is translated “mighty” in Luke 24:19; Acts 7:22; 1 Cor. 1:26; Rev. 6:15. They would be men of leadership and standing, probably members of the Sanhedrin.

Go down with me. The Jewish delegates should be men worthy to travel with the Roman governor. Festus was honoring these leading Jews and at the same time recognizing the importance of Paul’s case. The zeal of the Jewish leaders against Paul had not cooled perceptibly in the two years since his previous hearing (ch. 24:1, 27).

Any wickedness. Textual evidence attests (cf. p. 10) the reading “anything improper,” “any impropriety,” “any wrong.” The word for “wickedness” is not in the Greek text, but apparently was inserted by the translators from the Latin Vulgate, which reads crimen.