the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
thus
ταῦταtaûta
G5023
these things
himself
ἀπολογουμένουapologoumenou
G626
to give an account (legal plea) of oneself · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, genitive singular masculine
Festus
ΦῆστοςPhēstos
G5347
festal · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
said
φησιν·phēsin
G5346
to show or make known one's thoughts · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
loud
μεγάλῃmegalē
G3173
big (literally or figuratively · adjective — dative singular feminine
voice
φωνῇphōnēa
G5456
a tone (articulate · noun — dative singular feminine
Paul
Παῦλε·Paule
G3972
(little · noun — vocative singular masculine, a proper name
thyself
μαίνῃmainē
G3105
through the idea of insensate craving) · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 2nd person singular
much
πολλάpolla
G4183
(singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) many · adjective — nominative plural neuter
learning
γράμματαgrammata
G1121
a writing · noun — nominative plural neuter
make
περιτρέπει.peritrepei
G4062
to turn around · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
thee
σέsé
G4571
thee
mad
μανίανmanian
G3130
craziness · noun — accusative singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Corinthians 2:13-14 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with…
1 Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1 Corinthians 4:10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
2 Corinthians 5:13 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
Mark 3:21 And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
2 Kings 9:11 Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said un…
Jeremiah 29:26 The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that…
Hosea 9:7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 26:24–end
We have reason to think that Paul had a great deal more to say in defence of the gospel he preached, and for the honour of it, and to recommend it to the good opinion of this noble audience; he had just fallen upon that which was the life of the cause - the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and here he is in his element; now he warms more than before, his mouth is opened towards them, his heart is enlarged. Lead him but to this subject, and let him have leave to go on, and he will never know when to conclude; for the power of Christ's death, and the fellowship of his sufferings, are with him inexhaustible subjects. It was a thousand pities then that he should be interrupted, as he is h…
Festus said with a loud voice--surprised and bewildered.
Paul, thou art beside thyself, much learning doth make thee mad--"is turning thy head." The union of flowing Greek, deep acquaintance with the sacred writings of his nation, reference to a resurrection and other doctrines to a Roman utterly unintelligible, and, above all, lofty religious earnestness, so strange to the cultivated, cold-hearted skeptics of that day--may account for this sudden exclamation.
Adam Clarke on Acts 26:24
Paul, thou art beside thyself - "Thou art mad, Paul!" "Thy great learning hath turned thee into a madman." As we sometimes say, thou art cracked, and thy brain is turned. By the τα πολλα γραμματα it is likely that Festus meant no more than this, that Paul had got such a vast variety of knowledge, that his brain was overcharged with it: for, in this speech, Paul makes no particular show of what we call learning; for he quotes none of their celebrated authors, as he did on other occasions; see Act 17:28. But he here spoke of spiritual things, of which Festus, as a Roman heathen, could have no conception; and this would lead him to conclude that Paul was actually deranged. This is not an uncomm…
Since he was always conversing with the king, as if Festus had suffered something, and seeing the boldness, from anger and outrage, he says, "You are mad."
Festus saw the boldness, and what says he? For Paul was all along addressing himself to the king-he was in a manner annoyed, and says to him, "Thou art beside thyself, Paul:" for, "while he thus discoursed, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself: much learning doth make thee mad." What then says Paul? With gentleness, "I am not mad," says he, "most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness."
Festus said in a loud voice: You are insane, Paul. He deemed it insanity that a man in chains, instead of just defending himself from external accusations, made a speech about the conscience by which he gloried inside and reviewed all the miracles of the revelation by which he was transformed from a persecutor into an apostle, and discussed the dispensation of our Redeemer and argued vehemently about the resurrection of the dead. Indeed, just as there is the foolish madness of the prodigal son feeding pigs after abandoning his father, so there is spiritual madness, that is, true madness, about which the Apostle says: "For whether we are out of our mind, it is for God; or whether we be sober, it is for you." And in comparison to this, the Psalmist sings: "Blessed is the man who has the name of the Lord as his hope, and has not looked to vanities and false insanities" (Psalm 39).
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Agrippa II. — Son of the foregoing, was born at Rome, A.D. 27. He was the brother of Bernice and Drusilla. The Emperor Claudius (A.D. 48) invested him with the office of superintendent of the Temple of Jerusalem,…
Call — (1.) To cry for help, hence to pray (Gen. 4:26). Thus men are said to “call upon the name of the Lord” (Acts 2:21; 7:59; 9:14; Rom. 10:12; 1 Cor. 1:2). (2.) God calls with respect to men when he…
Insanity · Paul’s alleged — Paul’s alleged
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
on Acts 26:24
And as he thus spake for himself,.... Asserting the integrity and innocence of his past life and conversation, in proof of which he appealed to the Jews themselves; setting forth the prejudices to the Christian religion he had been under; declaring the heavenly vision that had appeared to him, and the divine orders he had received; alleging, that in his ministry there was an entire harmony between him, and the writings of Moses, and the prophets, for which the Jews professed a veneration; as he was thus vindicating himself, ere he had well finished his apology,
Festus said with a loud voice; that all might hear, and being moved with resentment at what he had heard; and it may be, he was dis…
Acts 26:24-32
24. And as Paul answered for himself, Festus saith with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. 25. And Paul said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and sobriety. 26. For the king knoweth of these things, before whom I also speak freely: for I think that none of these things are hidden from him; for this was not done in a corner. 27. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. 28. And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou briefly persuadest me to become a Christian. 29. And Paul saith, Would to God that not only thou, but also all which hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether…
Paul, you are insane: Festus, a Roman, thought all this talk about the prophets and resurrection was crazy (cp. 17:18, 32), and he concluded that Paul must have driven himself mad with too much study.
