wild-horse tamer · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
said
φημίphēmí
G5346
to show or make known one's thoughts
unto
πρὸςpros
G4314
a preposition of direction · preposition
Paul
ΠαῦλονPaulon
G3972
(little · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
Almost
ὀλίγῳoligō
G3641
puny (in extent · adjective — dative singular neuter
persuadest
πείθειςpeitheis
G3982
to convince (by argument · verb — present active indicative, 2nd person singular
me
μεme
G3165
me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular
be
γίνομαιgínomai
G1096
to cause to be ("gen"-erate)
Christian
ΧριστιανὸνChristianon
G5546
a Christian · noun — accusative singular masculine, a title
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
Matthew 10:18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, an…
Ezekiel 33:31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for…
Mark 10:17-22 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may…
Acts 24:25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a…
Acts 26:29 And 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…
2 Corinthians 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestatio…
James 1:23-24 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
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…
Almost--or, "in a little time."
thou persuadest me to be a Christian--Most modern interpreters think the ordinary translation inadmissible, and take the meaning to be, "Thou thinkest to make me with little persuasion (or small trouble) a Christian"--but I am not to be so easily turned. But the apostle's reply can scarcely suit any but the sense given in our authorized version, which is that adopted by CHRYSOSTOM and some of the best scholars since. The objection on which so much stress is laid, that the word "Christian" was at that time only a term of contempt, has no force except on the other side; for taking it in that view, the sense is, "Thou wilt soon have me one of that despised sect…
Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian - Εν ολιγῳ με πειθεις ΧριϚιανον γενεσθαι. This declaration was almost the necessary consequence of the apostle's reasoning, and Agrippa's faith. If he believed the prophets, see Act 26:22, Act 26:23, and believed that Paul's application of their words to Christ Jesus was correct, he must acknowledge the truth of the Christian religion; but he might choose whether he would embrace and confess this truth, or not. However, the sudden appeal to his religious faith extorts from him the declaration, Thou hast nearly persuaded me to embrace Christianity. How it could have entered into the mind of any man, who carefully considered the circumstances of the…
The Church Fathers
In short, that is, with few words, in brief sayings, in a short teaching, without much labor and continuous discussion. Wherefore Paul also fittingly says to him: "I would pray to God even for a little while," and the things that follow. For example, that it is my earnest desire that all should become Christians, and this is my prayer to God. Since I am ready both for many words and for few to preach the faith in Christ, and with work and labor, and immediately. For work and labor in teaching and preaching are in no way counted against me, but it is the same to me to work or not, and to spend much time in proclaiming or little, provided that I see some turning to Christ. He said these things while at once showing his own eagerness and zeal, and at the same time calling to that man, as if he wished both to hear more and to receive more instruction; not only would he not shrink from anything, but he was so ready, providing readiness itself, that he would even perform an act of prayer, if only he should obtain the object. The phrase "even for a little while," Agrippa?—he took instead of "almost," that is, of what was required to be small. But if anyone else, like you, Paul, discourses about divine and human matters, using spoken delivery rather than the wording or what is signified for the advantage of the speech, he put "even for a little while but also in length of days" instead of "in a few words in the contest of words," and also "in more," and he offered "I would wish you to become a Christian." So that he might say, "Both by few words and by many words I would wish you to become a Christian." For the sake of everything I am ready to do all things for your salvation, not only for yours alone, but also for those associated with you.
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…
Christian — The name given by the Greeks or Romans, probably in reproach, to the followers of Jesus. It was first used at Antioch. The names by which the disciples were known among themselves were “brethren,”…
Herod — (hero-like). This family though of Idumean origin and thus alien by race, was Jewish in faith. I. HEROD THE GREAT was the second son of Antipater, an Idumean, who was appointed procurator of Judea by…
Christian · Believers — Believers
Irony · .Herod Agrippa II to Paul — .Herod Agrippa II to Paul
Kings · The gospel to be preached to — The gospel to be preached to
Sarcasm · .Herod Agrippa II to Paul — .Herod Agrippa II to Paul
Titles And Names Of Saints · Christians — Christians
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).
Then Agrippa said unto Paul,.... Either seriously or ironically; rather the former, arising from the convictions of his mind, which he could not stifle nor conceal:
almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian; to profess faith in Jesus as the Messiah, to embrace his doctrine, and submit to his ordinances, which is to be a Christian, at least externally: and when he says "almost", or "in a little", his meaning is, that within a little, or very near, he was of being persuaded to embrace Christianity; or in a little matter, and in some respects; or rather in a few words, and in a small space of time, Paul had strangely wrought upon him to incline to the Christian religion; though the first sen…
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…
“Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?”: This enigmatic remark might have been ironic, incredulous, scoffing, or brushing off Paul’s challenge. It also might have been a direct statement of Paul’s persuasiveness, or a direct statement about or genuine question of Paul’s intention. It seems best to take Agrippa’s reply as deliberately evasive: He didn’t want to admit that he believed the prophets (26:27), for Paul had just made a strong case, and the next step would be to believe in Jesus as the promised Messiah to whom the prophets pointed. Agrippa didn’t want to take that step. On the other hand, he didn’t want to say that he didn’t believe the prophets, for tha…
