the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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King James Version
Acts 26:28
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
Agrippa shot back angrily, "Do you think I'm some tavern girl who can be persuaded with a nice tale of adventure? Do you think I will just become a Christian in the blink of an eye?"
Agrippa replied to Paul, "In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian."
But Agrippa replied to Paul, "In such short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?"
And Agrippa said to Paul, A little more and you will be making me a Christian.
And Agrippa [said] to Paul, In a little thou persuadest me to become a Christian.
Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian."
Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so easily?"
Agrippa said to Paul, "With a little persuasion are you trying to make me a Christian?"
Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
Agrippa answered, "In brief, you are doing your best to persuade me to become a Christian."
Then Agrippa saide vnto Paul, Almost thou perswadest mee to bee a Christian.
And Agrippa said to Paul, Do you persuade me to become a Christian in but a little?
Agrippa sayde vnto Paul: Thou persuadest me in a parte to become a Christen.
but Agrippa reply'd to Paul, you almost persuade me I shall be a christian!
But Agrippa did answer: "Keep this up much longer and you'll make a Christian out of me!"
Then Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time [and with so little effort] you [almost] persuade me to become a Christian."
And Agrippa said unto Paul, With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian.
And Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time you think to make me a Christian!"
Agrippa sayde vnto Paul: Sumwhat thou bringest me in mynde for to be come a Christen.
And Agrippa [said] to Paul, With but little persuasion you would make me a Christian.
Then Agrippa said to Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
And Agrippa said unto Paul, `In a little thou dost persuade me to become a Christian!'
King Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian in such a short time?"
Agrippa said to Paul, "In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?"
Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?"
Agrippa asked Paul, "In such a short time do you think you can talk me into being a Christian?"
Agrippa said to Sha'ul, "In this short time, you're trying to convince me to become Messianic?"
And Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?"
Then Agrippa said vnto Paul, Almost thou perswadest me to become a Christian.
Then King A-grip''pa said to him, With little effort you almost persuade me to become a Christian. *
Agrippa said to Sha'ul, "With a little persuasion are you trying to make me a Messianic?"
Agrippa said to Paul, "Can you so quickly persuade me to become a Christian?"
King Agripos said to him, (Within) a little thou persuadest me to become a Christian.
King Agrippa said to him: Almost, thou persuadest me to become a Christian.
Agrippa interrupted him. "Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?"
Then Agrippa said to Paul, "In this short time you have almost proven to me that I should become a Christian!"
And Agrippa said unto Paul, With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian.
Agrippa said to Paul, "Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?"
And, Agrippa, said unto Paul - Almost, art thou persuading, me, to become a, Christian!
And Agrippa said to Paul: In a little thou persuadest me to become a Christian.
But Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?"
Then Agrippa sayde vnto Paul: Somewhat thou perswadest me to be a christian.
King Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think you can persuade me to become a ‘Christ-follower' so easily?"
Agrippa replied to Paul, "In a short time you are going to persuade me to make a Christian of myself."
Agrippa said to Paul, "In this short time do you think you will make me a Christian?"
And Agrippa seide to Poul, In litil thing thou counseilist me to be maad a cristen man.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Almost: Acts 26:29, Acts 24:25, Ezekiel 33:31, Matthew 10:18, Mark 6:20, Mark 10:17-22, 2 Corinthians 4:2, James 1:23, James 1:24
Reciprocal: Mark 4:16 - which Luke 16:31 - be persuaded Luke 21:15 - which Acts 11:26 - were Acts 18:4 - persuaded Acts 25:13 - king 1 Corinthians 2:4 - enticing 1 Peter 2:9 - who 1 Peter 4:16 - as
Cross-References
And I will make thee swear by the Lord , the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.
And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
And he went up from thence to Beersheba.
And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.
And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.
Thus saith the Lord , The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
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 sense, that he was almost, or within a little of being a Christian, seems to be the best, as appears by the apostle's reply to it: what it is to be a real Christian, :-. An almost Christian is one that has much light and knowledge, but no grace; he may know something of himself and of sin, of its being a violation of the law of God, and of the bad consequences of it, but has not true repentance for it; he may know much of Christ in a speculative way, concerning his person and offices, as the devils themselves do, and of the good things which come by him, as peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation; but has no application of these things to himself; he may have a large notional knowledge of the doctrines of the Gospel, but has no experience of the power, sweetness, and comfort of them in his own soul; all his knowledge is unsanctified, and without practice: he is one that has a taste of divine things, but has not the truth of them; he may taste of the heavenly gift, of the good word of God, and of the powers of the world to come; yet it is but a taste, a superficial one, which he has; he does not savour and relish these things, nor is he nourished by them: he has a great deal of faith in the historical way, and sometimes a bold confidence and assurance of everlasting happiness; but has not faith of the right kind, which is spiritual and special, which is the faith of God's elect, the gift of God, and the operation of his Spirit; by which the soul beholds the glory, fulness, and suitableness of Christ, under a sense of need, and goes forth to him, renouncing everything of self, and lays hold upon him, and trusts in him for salvation; and which works by love to Christ and his people, and has with it the fruits of righteousness: he may express a great deal of flashy affectation to the word, and the ministers of it, for a while, but has nothing solid and substantial in him; he may partake of the Holy Ghost, of his gifts largely, but not of special and internal grace; and indeed he can only be an almost Christian, that becomes one merely through the persuasion of men: it is one part of the Gospel ministry to persuade men, but this of itself is ineffectual; a real Christian is made so by the power of divine grace. Agrippa was only persuaded, and but almost persuaded by the apostle to be a Christian, but not by the Lord, nor altogether, who persuades Japheth to dwell in the tents of Shem.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Then Agrippa said unto Paul - He could not deny that he believed the prophecies in the Old Testament. He could not deny that the argument was a strong one that they had been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. He could not deny that the evidence of the miraculous interposition of God in the conversion of Paul was overwhelming; and instead, therefore, of charging him, as Festus had done, with derangement, he candidly and honestly avows the impression which the proof had made on his mind.
Almost - Except a very little - ἐν ὀλίγῳ en oligō. Thou hast nearly convinced me that Christianity is true, and persuaded me to embrace it. The arguments of Paul had been so rational; the appeal which he had made to his belief of the prophets had been so irresistible, that he had been nearly convinced of the truth of Christianity. We are to remember:
(1) That Agrippa was a Jew, and that he would look on this whole subject in a different manner from the Roman Festus.
(2) That he does not appear to have partaken of the violent passions and prejudices of the Jews who had accused Paul.
(3) Pits character, as given by Josephus, is that of a mild, candid, and ingenuous man. He had no particular hostility to Christians; he knew that they were not justly charged with sedition and crime; and he saw the conclusion to which a belief of the prophets inevitably tended. Yet, as in thousands of other cases, he was not quite persuaded to be a Christian. What was included in the “almost”; what prevented his being quite persuaded, we know not. It may have been that the evidence was not so clear to his mind as he would profess to desire; or that he was not willing to give up his sins; or that he was too proud to rank himself with the followers of Jesus of Nazareth; or that, like Felix, he was willing to defer it to a more convenient season. There is every reason to believe that he was never quite persuaded to embrace the Lord Jesus, and that he was never nearer the kingdom of heaven than at this moment. It was the crisis, the turning-point in Agrippa’s life, and in his eternal destiny; and, like thousands of others, he neglected or refused to allow the full conviction of the truth on his mind, and died in his sins.
Thou persuadest me - Thou dost convince me of the truth of the Christian religion, and persuadest me to embrace it.
To be a Christian - On the name Christian, see the notes on Acts 11:26. On this deeply interesting case we may observe:
(1) That there are many in the same situation as Agrippa- many who are almost, but not altogether, persuaded to be Christians. They are found among:
- Those who have been religiously educated;
- Those who are convinced by argument of the truth of Christianity;
- Those whose consciences are awakened, and who feel their guilt, and the necessity of some better portion than this world can furnish.
(2) Such persons are deterred from being altogether Christians by the following, among other causes:
- By the love of sin - the love of sin in general, or some particular sin which they are not willing to abandon;
- By the fear of shame, persecution, or contempt, if they become Christians;
- By the temptations of the world - its cares, vanities, and allurements- which are often presented most strongly in just this state of mind;
- By the love of office, the pride of rank and power, as in the case of Agrippa;
- By a disposition, like Felix, to delay to a more favorable time the work of religion, until life has wasted away, and death approaches, and it is too late, and the unhappy man dies almost a Christian.
(3) This state of mind is one of special interest and special danger. It is not one of safety, and it is not one that implies any certainty that the “almost Christian” will ever be saved. There is no reason to believe that Agrippa ever became fully persuaded to become a Christian. To be almost persuaded to do a thing which we ought to do, and yet not to do it, is the very position of guilt and danger. And it is no wonder that many are brought to this point - the turning-point, the crisis of life - and then lose their anxiety, and die in their sins. May the God of grace keep us from resting in being almost persuaded to be Christians! May every one who shall read this account of Agrippa be admonished by his convictions, and be alarmed by the fact that he then paused, and that his convictions there ended! And may every one resolve by the help of God to forsake every thing that prevents his becoming an entire believer, and without delay embrace the Son of God as his Saviour!
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Acts 26:28. 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 Acts 26:22; Acts 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 case, to suppose that these words of Agrippa are spoken ironically, is to me unaccountable. Every circumstance in the case proves them to have been the genuine effusion of a heart persuaded of the truth; and only prevented from fully acknowledging it by secular considerations.
