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Acts 26

KJV · Chapter 26/28

1Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:

2I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews:

3Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.

4My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;

5Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

6And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:

7Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.

8Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?

9I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

10Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.

11And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.

12Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,

13At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.

14And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

15And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

16But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

17Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

18To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

19Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

20But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

21For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.

22Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:

23That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.

24And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

25But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.

26For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.

27King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.

28Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

29And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.

30And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:

31And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

32Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Cesar.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul presents his defense before King Agrippa, recounting his conversion and his calling to preach to the Gentiles. Festus interrupts him, saying he has gone mad, but Agrippa acknowledges that Paul has done nothing worthy of imprisonment.

Explanation

This is Paul's fullest and most eloquent defense speech in Acts, weaving his personal biography together with the central message of the gospel: that the Messiah's suffering and resurrection fulfill the Jewish Scriptures. Festus's reaction, calling him mad because of so much learning, and Paul's calm response show maturity in the face of public mockery. Agrippa's line — 'Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian' — captures the tension of someone close to faith who nonetheless draws back before the personal cost of following it.

Fun facts

  • Bernice, mentioned alongside Agrippa, was his sister, and rumors from the period (recorded even by the Roman historian Tacitus) suggested an incestuous relationship between the two, making the scene even more charged with social tension for the original readers.
  • The expression 'to kick against the pricks,' used by Jesus when he appeared to Paul, was a common Greek proverb about the futility of an ox fighting against the farmer's goad — a cultural image, not a literal Hebrew phrase.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Acts 26:1Agrippa formally gives Paul the floor, and he begins his defense with a hand gesture — a common way to call for attention before an important speech in that era.
  2. Acts 26:2Paul calls himself fortunate to defend himself before Agrippa, since the king, unlike Festus, actually understood the Jewish customs involved in the case.
  3. Acts 26:3Paul reinforces his praise of the king, asking for patience to hear a more detailed explanation, since Agrippa understood Jewish religious controversies better than any ordinary Roman.
  4. Acts 26:4Paul begins recounting his life from his youth, noting that it was well known among the Jews themselves, both in his childhood and later in Jerusalem.
  5. Acts 26:5Paul describes the Pharisees as the strictest group in observing Jewish law at the time, underscoring that his life before believing in Jesus was already one of serious religious observance, not carelessness.
  6. Acts 26:6Paul argues that he is being judged precisely because of his hope in the ancient promise God made to the Jewish ancestors — the messianic promise.
  7. Acts 26:7That same hope, Paul says, was shared by the twelve tribes of Israel through their constant religious devotion — ironic that he should be accused for believing exactly that.
  8. Acts 26:8Paul poses a rhetorical question to the audience: why should it seem so hard to believe that God could raise the dead?
  9. Acts 26:9Paul openly admits that he once was convinced he ought to act aggressively against the name of Jesus, without any doubt at the time.
  10. Acts 26:10He details that violent past: he imprisoned many Christians with official authorization from the priests, and voted in favor of their death when they were condemned.
  11. Acts 26:11Paul confesses that he forced Christians to blaspheme through punishment in synagogues, even pursuing people into foreign cities outside Jewish territory.
  12. Acts 26:12It was on exactly one of these persecution missions, on the road to Damascus with official authorization, that the encounter that would change everything took place.
  13. Acts 26:13This time Paul describes the scene in more detail: a light from heaven brighter than the sun itself, surrounding both him and his traveling companions.
  14. Acts 26:14He adds a new detail not mentioned in the earlier accounts of the story: the voice spoke in Hebrew and included the phrase “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks,” a reference to the goad used to drive oxen, symbolizing useless resistance.
  15. Acts 26:15Paul repeats the central dialogue: he asks who is speaking, and receives the answer that it is Jesus, the very person he was persecuting through the Christians.
  16. Acts 26:16This time Jesus explains right there in the scene the purpose of the encounter: to make Paul a servant and witness, both of what he had already seen and of what He would still reveal to him in the future.
  17. Acts 26:17Jesus promises to deliver Paul from both his own Jewish people and the Gentiles — precisely the group to whom he was being sent to preach.
  18. Acts 26:18The detailed mission includes opening people’s eyes, turning them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, offering forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus.
  19. Acts 26:19Paul declares that, faced with such a clear vision from heaven, he had no way to disobey the call he received.
  20. Acts 26:20He sums up his preaching from then on: calling people to repentance and to turn to God, first in Damascus and Jerusalem, then throughout Judea and among the Gentiles.
  21. Acts 26:21Paul points out that it was precisely because of this preaching that the Jews seized him in the temple and tried to kill him — the episode that set the whole legal process in motion.
  22. Acts 26:22Paul credits his survival up to that moment to God’s help, and insists that his message never contradicted what Moses and the prophets had already announced.
  23. Acts 26:23He sums up the central message: that the Messiah had to suffer and, being the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to both the Jewish people and the Gentiles.
  24. Acts 26:24Festus interrupts Paul’s speech, thinking that all his learning had driven him “mad.” It is a common reaction from educated Romans faced with Jewish ideas about resurrection, which sounded bizarre outside that religious context.
  25. Acts 26:25Faced with Festus’s interruption calling him mad, Paul calmly replies that he was not raving, but speaking words of truth and soberness.
  26. Acts 26:26Paul stakes his credibility on Agrippa as a witness, arguing that the facts about Jesus were public and well known, not something done “in a corner.”
  27. Acts 26:27Paul directly presses the king with a personal question about his faith in the prophets, trying to lead him to publicly admit a position on the matter.
  28. Acts 26:28King Agrippa’s reply is an ambiguous line that can be read as sarcasm, polite irony, or even a genuine reaction of being almost persuaded. Translators and scholars still disagree on its exact tone today.
  29. Acts 26:29Paul replies, wishing that everyone present would become like him, “except these bonds” — a remark that blends seriousness with a touch of humor, pointing literally to the chains binding him as he spoke.
  30. Acts 26:30The formal hearing ends with the king, the governor, Bernice, and the others present standing up, closing the session in proper protocol.
  31. Acts 26:31As they withdraw, they talk among themselves and unanimously conclude that Paul had done nothing deserving death or imprisonment.
  32. Acts 26:32Even recognizing Paul’s innocence, neither Agrippa nor Festus has the power to release him anymore, because the appeal to Caesar was already underway and had to run its full course.

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