Acts 26:1

1 And Agrippa said to Paul, You may put your cause before us. Then Paul, stretching out his hand, made his answer, saying:

Acts 26:1 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 26:1

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.

Acts 26:1 In-Context

1 And Agrippa said to Paul, You may put your cause before us. Then Paul, stretching out his hand, made his answer, saying:

2 In my opinion I am happy, King Agrippa, to be able to give my answer before you today to all these things which the Jews say against me:

3 The more so, because you are expert in all questions to do with the Jews and their ways: so I make my request to you to give me a hearing to the end.

4 All the Jews have knowledge of my way of life from my early years, as it was from the start among my nation, and at Jerusalem;

5 And they are able to say, if they would give witness, that I was living as a Pharisee, in that division of our religion which is most regular in the keeping of the law.