Then Agrippa said unto Paul
After Festus had made the above speech to him, and to all
present, and had introduced the affair of Paul, who now stood
before them:
thou art permitted to speak for thyself;
which a prisoner might not do, until he had leave; and this leave
was granted by Festus the Roman governor, who was properly the
judge, and not Agrippa, though the permission might be by both;
and so the Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, "we have ordered",
or "permitted thee"
Then Paul stretched forth the hand;
as orators used to do, when they were about to speak; or else to
require silence; or it may be to show the freedom of his mind,
and how ready he was to embrace the opportunity of pleading his
own cause; being conscious to himself of his innocence, and
relying on the ingenuity and integrity of his judge; and
especially of the king, before whom he stood:
and answered for himself;
or made an apology, or spoke in vindication of himself, in order
to remove the charges brought against him.