Acts 26:24–26:32, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Acts 26:24–26:32
Festus, Agrippa, and Paul contest the meaning of the testimony
Madness, almost, and a case already locked by appeal
Festus interrupts with a loud voice that much learning has made Paul mad. Paul answers that he is not mad but speaking true and rational words, and that the king knows these things, for they were not done in a corner. He asks Agrippa whether he believes the prophets, then says he knows that he does. Agrippa replies, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Paul wishes that all who hear, whether almost or altogether, might become as he is, except for these chains. The king, the governor, Bernice, and the rest rise, confer, and agree that this man is doing nothing worthy of death or bonds. Agrippa tells Festus he could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.
Agrippa's reply is grammatically ambiguous among near-persuasion, irony, and resistance. The scene should keep that uncertainty rather than script a conversion. Elite agreement that Paul deserves neither death nor bonds does not undo the appeal that now drives him toward Rome, and it is not complete justice. Chains remain in the room.
How this should shape us
Answer dismissal without contempt, and invite honest consideration without trapping a hearer. Keep legal innocence distinct from a ruler's spiritual response, and do not stigmatize madness or invent Agrippa's faith.
Teach it back
Explain Acts 26:24–26:32 in your own words, naming its movement, speaker or narrator role, one source-controlled detail, one uncertainty, one affected person, and one conclusion the passage does not authorize.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible interpreters differ?
Best judgment: Agrippa's famous reply is grammatically ambiguous between near-persuasion, irony, and resistance; the scene should preserve that uncertainty rather than script a conversion.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Acts 26:24–26:32, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
SBLGNT official text, Acts 26:24-26:32
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 26:24-26:32
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 26:24–26:32
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'The Gospel, the Romans, the Jews,' Acts 24-28 study guide
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 26:24–26:32
Supports: Abstract-supported control for Jewish continuity and Gentile inclusion in Acts 26:24–26:32, not a settlement of every conflict scene.
Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), pp. 738-765, official abstract and bibliographic record
Supports: Roman law-enforcement comparison with explicit local variation and limits on reconstructing procedure.
Brelaz, JSNT 43.4 (2021), complete open HTML, section 1 and the named provincial, custody, citizenship, hearing, or conclusion paragraphs bearing on Acts 26:24–26:32
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Exact location: Acts 26:24–26:32, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text, Acts 26:24-26:32
Open the Acts Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 26:24-26:32
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Acts
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 26:24–26:32
Open source ↗open university bible study course
Acts of the Apostles Course and Study Guides
Yale Divinity School faculty
Yale Bible Study, 2019
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'The Gospel, the Romans, the Jews,' Acts 24-28 study guide
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
The Acts of the Apostles
Alan J. Thompson
The Gospel Coalition, 2023
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Exact location: Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 26:24–26:32
Open source ↗peer reviewed article abstract and metadata
The Jewishness of Luke-Acts: How Recent Scholarship Has Challenged the View that Luke-Acts Is Pro-Gentile and Anti-Jewish
Joshua Paul Smith
The Journal of Theological Studies 72.2, 2021
Supports: Abstract-supported control for Jewish continuity and Gentile inclusion in Acts 26:24–26:32, not a settlement of every conflict scene.
Exact location: Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), pp. 738-765, official abstract and bibliographic record
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
The Provincial Contexts of Paul's Imprisonments: Law Enforcement and Criminal Procedure in the Roman East
Cedric Brelaz
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 43.4, 2021
Supports: Roman law-enforcement comparison with explicit local variation and limits on reconstructing procedure.
Exact location: Brelaz, JSNT 43.4 (2021), complete open HTML, section 1 and the named provincial, custody, citizenship, hearing, or conclusion paragraphs bearing on Acts 26:24–26:32
Open source ↗