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John Trapp Complete Commentary

Acts 26:11

And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.

Ver. 11. Compelled them to blaspheme] So the ancient persecutors compelled many not only to renounce their religion, but to curse Christ. (Plin. Epist. ad Trajan.) When the Emperor Heraclius sent ambassadors to Chosroes, king of Persia, to desire peace of him, he received this threatening answer: I will not spare you, till I have made you curse your crucified God, and adore the sun. He was afterwards (like another Sennacherib) deposed and murdered by his son Siroes.

And being exceedingly mad, I persecuted] He was not then so mad in persecuting, but when God turned the stream, he was judged by some as mad in preaching, 2 Corinthians 5:13, and pressing toward tbe high prize which he persecuted (that is, his word, διωκω, Php 3:14) with as much eagerness as ever he had done God's poor saints and servants.

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See also Acts 26:11 in other biblical comments:

  • Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

    Verse Acts 26:11. _BEING EXCEEDINGLY MAD AGAINST THEM_] Only a _madman_ will persecute another because of his differing from him in religious opinion; and the fiercest persecutor is he who should be d...

  • Albert Barnes' Bible Commentary

    AND I PUNISHED THEM OFT ... - See Acts 22:19. AND COMPELLED THEM TO BLASPHEME - To blaspheme the name of Jesus by denying that he was the Messiah, and by admitting that he was an impostor. This was th...

  • Annotated Bible by A.C. Gaebelein

    CHAPTER 26 __ 1. The Address of the Apostle Paul (Acts 26:2). 2. The Interruption by Festus and the Appeal to the King (Acts 26:24). 3. The Verdict (Acts 26:30). The opening words of the Apostle a...

  • Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

    PAUL SPEAKS BEFORE AGRIPPA. It is Agrippa the vassal king, not Festus the representative of the sovereign power, who calls on Paul to speak, and to whom Paul addresses himself throughout, even after t...

  • Barclay Daily Study Bible (NT)

    Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak on your own behalf." Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defence. "With regard to the charges made against me by the Jews, King Agrippa,...

  • Barclay Daily Study Bible (NT)

    THE DEFENCE OF A CHANGED MAN (Acts 26:1-11)...

  • Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

    I PUNISHED... AND. punishing them..., I. See Acts 22:5. IN. throughout. Greek. _kata._ App-104. SYNAGOGUE. App-120. COMPELLED. was compelling, or constraining, as in Acts 28:19. Greek. _anankazo._...

  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

    _And I punished them oft in every synagogue_ The Gk. continues with a participial construction, represented in _Rev. Ver._"and punishing … in all the synagogues." This closer representation of the ori...

  • Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary

    ΚΑῚ ΚΑΤᾺ ΠΆΣΑΣ ΤᾺΣ ΣΥΝΑΓΩΓᾺΣ ΠΟΛΛΆΚΙΣ ΤΙΜΩΡΩ͂Ν ΑΥ̓ΤΟΎΣ, _and punishing them often in all the synagogues_. This shews how zealous Saul’s labours against the Way had been. Of the synagogues as places wh...

  • Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary

    Acts 26:1-23. PAUL’S DEFENCE BEFORE AGRIPPA...

  • Charles Box Commentaries

    _PAUL HUMBLY ADDRESSED AGRIPPA ACTS 26:1-11:_ Agrippa gave Paul permission to speak for himself. As Paul began his defense he stretched forth his hand. This action was designed to gain their attention...

  • Charles Rose Commentaries

    ΚΑΤΆ ΠΆΣΑΣ ΤΆΣ ΣΥΝΑΓΩΓΆΣ из синагоги в синагогу. Распределительное значение предлога. О синагогах Иерусалима и Палестины _см._ Rainer Riesner, "Synagogues in Jerusalem" BAFCS, 4:179-211. ΤΙΜΩΡΏΝ _pra...

  • Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

    COMPELLED THEM TO BLASPHEME;— A known passage in Pliny, lib. 10: ep. 97 proves that the Heathen persecutors obliged Christians who fell under their trial, not only to renounce Christ, but also to curs...

  • College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

    f. Paul's defense before King Agrippa. Acts 25:13 bActs 26:32. Acts 25:13 Now when certain days were passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea, and saluted Festus....

  • Combined Bible Commentary

    See notes on verse 9...

  • Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

    And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. And I punished them oft in every synag...

  • Concordant Commentary on the New Testament by A. E. Knoch

    1 King Agrippa was a notable figure throughout the closing period of Jewish national life. He was the last prince of the Herodian line. Unlike the Roman governors, who were frequently replaced and mos...

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    DEFENCE BEFORE AGRIPPA 1-32. St. Paul before Agrippa. This speech, though in form a defence to the Jews, is really intended by St. Luke to be St. Paul's defence to the world—an apology for his whole...

  • EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

    GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE ACTS _MARION ADAMS_ CHAPTER 26 PAUL SPEAKS TO KING AGRIPPA, 26:1-11 V1 Agrippa told Paul, ‘You may now speak for yourself.’ Paul waved his hand. He said, V2 ‘King Agrippa,...

  • Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

    COMPELLED THEM TO BLASPHEME. — The verb is in the imperfect tense, which may express either continued or incomplete action. It does not follow, therefore, that any of the believers yielded to the pres...

  • Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

    τιμωρῶν (_cf._ Acts 22:5), more usually in the middle voice in this sense, although the active is so used sometimes in classical Greek, Soph., _O. T._, 107, 140, Polyb., ii., 56, 15. For ecclesiastial...

  • Frederick Brotherton Meyer's Commentary

    PAUL PERMITTED TO SPEAK FOR HIMSELF Acts 26:1 Though Paul's defense before Agrippa is in substance the same as that from the castle stairs at Jerusalem, it differs in the extended description of the...

  • G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

    Agrippa intimated to Paul that he might speak, and the apostle spent a moment in introductory words, and then uttered his great apologia, in which a twofold purpose is evident, first, his own defense,...

  • Gary Hampton Commentaries

    Paul's Description of His Actions as a Persecutor When Paul took actions to stop the teachings about Jesus and His followers, he was directed by his conscience. Just as Agrippa's family had pursued an...

  • Geneva Study Bible Commentary

    And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and (e) compelled [them] to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted [them] even unto strange cities. (e) By extreme punishment....

  • Hawker's Poor man's commentary

    Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. (4) My manner of life from my youth, which was at the...

  • Introductory Lectures - Commentary by William Kelly

    The closing Chapter s from 21 to the end of the book are devoted to an episode full of interest and profit Paul's course from Jerusalem to Rome. And here we find ourselves in an atmosphere considerabl...

  • John Darby's Synopsis

    Paul's address to king Agrippa furnishes us with the most complete picture of the entire position of the apostle, as he himself looked at it when his long service and the light of the Holy Ghost illum...

  • John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

    AND I PUNISHED THEM OFT IN EVERY SYNAGOGUE,.... In Jerusalem, where there were many; Acts 24:12; by beating and scourging them there, as the manner was; see Matthew 10:17. AND COMPELLED THEM TO BLASP...

  • Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    _Why should it be thought a thing incredible_ (It was thought so by Festus, Acts 25:19, to whom Paul answers as if he had heard him discourse;) _that God_ A Being of infinite perfections, and the orig...

  • Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament (1851)

    COMPELLED THEM; that is, used violent means to induce them. It does not follow that his efforts were successful. BLASPHEME; the name of Jesus, by denying him to be the Messiah. STRANGE CITIES; citie...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    Paul's earlier position toward Jesus:...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    AND I PUNISHED THEM OFT IN EVERY SYNAGOGUE, AND COMPELLED THEM TO BLASPHEME; AND BEING EXCEEDINGLY MAD AGAINST THEM, I PERSECUTED THEM EVEN UNTO STRANGE CITIES. Paul here makes a frank confession of h...

  • Leslie M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible

    At Agrippa's invitation to him to speak, Paul is fully prepared. He expresses his happiness at being privileged to answer for himself to the king, especially because he knew Agrippa to be an expert in...

  • Manly Luscombe Commentary on New Testament

    THIS I ALSO DID IN JERUSALEM, AND MANY OF THE SAINTS I SHUT UP IN PRISON, HAVING RECEIVED AUTHORITY FROM THE CHIEF PRIESTS; AND WHEN THEY WERE PUT TO DEATH, I CAST MY VOTE AGAINST THEM. 11 And I puni...

  • Mark Dunagan Commentaries

    "And punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues,. strove to make them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them,. persecuted them even unto foreign cities"And punishing them oftentimes in...

  • Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible

    1-11 Christianity teaches us to give a reason of the hope that is in us, and also to give honour to whom honour is due, without flattery or fear of man. Agrippa was well versed in the Scriptures of t...

  • Matthew Poole's Concise Commentary On The Bible

    Paul confesses that he COMPELLED THEM TO BLASPHEME, either: 1. By the torments he made them to be put unto; or: 2. By his own example; for he confessed that he had been a blasphemer himself, 1 TIMOT...

  • Patchworkid's Personal Study Bible Notes

    Acts 26:11 And G2532 punished G5097 (G5723) them G846 often G4178 in G2596 every G3956 synagogue G4864 compelled...

  • Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

    “I truly thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, and this I also did in Jerusalem. And I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having receiv...

  • Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary on the NT (4 vols)

    Acts 26:11. AND I PUNISHED THEM OFT IN EVERY SYNAGOGUE, AND COMPELLED THEM TO BLASPHEME. This alludes, no doubt, not only to the many synagogues in Jerusalem (see chap. Acts 6:9, and note), but also t...

  • Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary on the NT (4 vols)

    _Paul's Defence of Christianity before King Agrippa, his Sister, and the Procurator Festus,_ 1-23. This famous _apologia_ of St. Paul consists of four divisions. The first, Acts 26:2-3, consists of a...

  • Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament

    PUNISHING (τιμωρων). Old word τιμωρεω originally to render help, to succor (τιμωρος, from τιμη and ουρος), then to avenge (for honour). In N.T. only here and Acts 22:5.I STROVE TO MAKE THEM BLASPHE...

  • Sermon Bible Commentary

    Acts 26 St. Paul's Defence before Agrippa. Observe: I. What is the central truth of the Christian system. It is a very suggestive fact that Festus had got hold of the kernel of the whole subject, as...

  • Spurgeon's Bible Commentary

    Three times we have in Holy Writ a graphic report of the conversion of Paul. This may be accounted for partly from its being one of the most remarkable events of early sacred history, Paul having had...

  • Spurgeon's Bible Commentary

    Acts 26:1. _Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:_ I do not suppose Agrippa imagined that Paul would take...

  • Summarized Bible Commentary

    CONTENTS: Paul's defense before Agrippa. CHARACTERS: God, Jesus, Paul, Agrippa, Satan, Festus, Bernice, Caesar. CONCLUSION: When God's servant is given a chance to speak for himself, it is well if h...

  • Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    Acts 26:1. _Then Paul stretched forth the hand,_ the usual signal to gain attention; it indicates presence of mind in the speaker, and that his auditory is large. Though the notice was short, the cour...

  • The Bible Study New Testament

    I MYSELF THOUGHT. He shows his motivation as it had been when he persecuted the Christians. He did it, thinking that he honored God by doing it. I ALSO VOTED FOR IT. This may only mean that Paul appro...

  • The Biblical Illustrator

    _Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself._ PAUL BEFORE AGRIPPA Here is all that Christianity ever asked for: an opportunity to speak for itself; and its answer is the one...

  • The Biblical Illustrator

    _I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth._ ST. PAUL’S THOUGHT WITH HIMSELF 1. Emerson verily thought with himself that every subject was...

  • The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary

    _CRITICAL REMARKS_ Acts 26:9. Commences the second part of Paul’s apology. Paul would not despair of converting his countrymen from doubt to belief, since he himself had undergone a similar mental rev...

  • The Pulpit Commentaries

    EXPOSITION ACTS 26:1 And for _then, _A.V.; _his _for _the, _A.V.; _made his _defense_ _for _answered for himself, _A.V. AGRIPPA SAID. It was by the courtesy of Festus that Agrippa thus took the chief...

  • Through The Bible C2000 Serie by Chuck Smith

    Let's open our Bibles to the twenty-sixth chapter of Acts. Paul was rescued by Lysias, the captain of the Roman guard from the mob that was attempting to beat him to death in Jerusalem on the temple m...

  • Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

    2 Peter 2:16; Acts 13:45; Acts 18:6; Acts 22:19; Acts 26:24;...

  • Wesley's Explanatory Notes

    I compelled them — That is, some of them; to blaspheme — This is the most dreadful of all! Repent, ye enemies of the Gospel. If Spira, who was compelled, suffered so terribly, what will become of thos...

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