Acts 26:1

1 Agrippa said to Paul, "You may now speak to defend yourself." Then Paul raised his hand and began to speak.

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 Agrippa said to Paul, "You may now speak to defend yourself." Then Paul raised his hand and began to speak.

2 He said, "King Agrippa, I am very happy to stand before you and will answer all the charges the Jewish people make against me.

3 You know so much about all the Jewish customs and the things the Jews argue about, so please listen to me patiently.

4 "All the Jewish people know about my whole life, how I lived from the beginning in my own country and later in Jerusalem.

5 They have known me for a long time. If they want to, they can tell you that I was a good Pharisee. And the Pharisees obey the laws of the Jewish religion more carefully than any other group.