Acts 26:32

32 Agrippa told Festus, "He could be set free right now if he hadn't requested the hearing before Caesar."

Acts 26:32 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 26:32

Then said Agrippa unto Festus
As declaring his sense, and by way of advice and counsel; but not as determining anything himself, for that lay in the breast of Festus, the Roman governor and judge:

this man might have been set at liberty;
from his bonds and imprisonment; for ought that appears against him, or any law to the contrary:

if he had not appealed unto Caesar;
wherefore an inferior judge could not release him; but so it was ordered in divine Providence, that he should appeal to Caesar, that he might go to Rome, and there bear a testimony for Christ; however, this declaration of Agrippa, and what he and the governor and the rest said among themselves, are a considerable proof of the innocence of the apostle.

Acts 26:32 In-Context

30 The king and the governor, along with Bernice and their advisors, got up
31 and went into the next room to talk over what they had heard. They quickly agreed on Paul's innocence, saying, "There's nothing in this man deserving prison, let alone death."
32 Agrippa told Festus, "He could be set free right now if he hadn't requested the hearing before Caesar."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.