Discovery BoxActs 26:1 
Context26:1 So Agrippa 1 said to Paul, “You have permission 2 to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand 3 and began his defense: 4
Acts 26:27-28
Context26:27 Do you believe the prophets, 5 King Agrippa? 6 I know that you believe.” 26:28 Agrippa 7 said to Paul, “In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?” 8
1 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
2 tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”
3 tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).
4 tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”
5 sn “Do you believe the prophets?” Note how Paul made the issue believing the OT prophets and God’s promise which God fulfilled in Christ. He was pushing King Agrippa toward a decision not for or against Paul’s guilt of any crime, but concerning Paul’s message.
6 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
7 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
8 tn Or “In a short time you will make me a Christian.” On the difficulty of the precise nuances of Agrippa’s reply in this passage, see BDAG 791 s.v. πείθω 1.b. The idiom is like 1 Kgs 21:7 LXX. The point is that Paul was trying to persuade Agrippa to accept his message. If Agrippa had let Paul persuade him, he would have converted to Christianity.
sn The question “In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?” was probably a ploy on Agrippa’s part to deflect Paul from his call for a decision. Note also how the tables have turned: Agrippa was brought in to hear Paul’s defense, and now ends up defending himself. The questioner is now being questioned.
