Literal Translation:
27) “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
28) and Agrippa was saying to Paul, “In brief, you are persuading me to become (to act)
a Christian.”
29) And Paul said, “I would wish to God, both in brief and in much (great), that not only
you but also all the ones hearing me this day might become such like I also am,
except these chains.”
[Translation Note: In verse 28, the Textus Receptus Greek text from which comes the King James translation has the word “to become”; while the Nestle Greek text, from which comes the NIV, NAS, and NRS, has the word “to act” or “to play the role.” In verse 29, the Textus Receptus reads “much” while the Nestle text reads “great.”]
Translation Problems
1) The NIV and NRSV present verse 28 as a question. The KJ, NASB, RHEIMS, and NAS present it as a statement. I will now discuss the reasons for the differences and the answer to the dilemma from the Greek texts.
There are 56-sentences in the Book of Acts that are presented as questions. 46-sentences do not require a yes or no answer. Two sentences presented as questions begin with the conditional clause EI, translated “if” and require no answer at all. There are eight sentences presented as questions that require a yes or no answer.
In Greek grammar, when the writer presents a sentence that requires a yes or no answer, he will put the answer in the question itself. If the writer presents that the answer is expected to be yes, he will put OU or OUXI in the sentence. If he is presenting that the answer is expected to be no, he will put MAY in the question. The questions that require yes or no answers are: Acts 2:7 [1]; Acts 5:4 [2]; Acts 5:28 [3]; Acts 7:50 [4]; Acts 9:21 [5]; Acts 10:47 [6]; Acts 13:10 [7]; and Acts 13:37 [8]. In each of the instance, Luke includes the expected answer.
Luke, being a physician and so a very educated man, follows the grammar rules exactly. If verse 28 was meant to be a question that expects a yes or no answer, Luke would have included either an OU or a MAY to designate what answer is expected. Neither of these yes or no designates are in the verse; hence, the earliest of English translations do not present this verse as a question, nor should it be.
The two English translations that present verse 28 as a question add extra words that are not in the Greek text in order to phrase it as a question. The NIV reads, “Do you think...” and the NRSV states, “Are you so quickly...” Neither “Do you think” nor “Are you” is in any Greek manuscript. These were added by the translators in order to present the verse as a question.
2) The first two words of Agrippa’s response to Paul read, “In brief,”
The NASB adds the word “time” to these two words. The NIV adds the word “short.” The Amplified Bible adds the word “small;” and the NAS reads “soon.” The NRSV adds “so quickly.” All of these phrases are add-on words as only “In brief” is in the Greek manuscripts. The translators have tried to convey what they think “in brief” represents. “In brief” is in response to Paul’s question in verse 27: “Do you believe the prophets?” If Agrippa answers yes, then he would have to believe what the prophets said about the Messiah, which would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. If he answers no, the Jewish leaders would be angry at Agrippa because of Agrippa’s Jewish heritage. So Agrippa responds to the question, “In brief, you are persuading me to become (or play the role of) a Christian.” In other words, briefly Paul attempted to persuade Agrippa to answer according to the Christian beliefs and participate like the role of a Christian in his answers.
3) Final Summary
In verse 27, Paul appeals to Agrippa and his belief in the prophets of old. Paul made this appeal to lead Agrippa into the second question which would be, “Since you believe the prophets, they spoke about the Messiah and His death and Resurrection, didn’t they?” Paul gave the answer to his question at the end of verse 27, “I know that you believe.” In verse 28, Agrippa stops the questioning by making the statement, “In brief, you are persuading me to play the role of the Christian.” In response Paul told Agrippa, “I would wish to God, both in brief and in much (great), that not only you but also all the ones hearing me this day might become such like I also am, except these chains.”