Bible Strands
Acts 26:24
At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Festus addresses Paul during an ongoing stage of his defense, not at its conclusion, as Paul immediately continues speaking in Acts 26:25. Festus speaks to Paul while Paul is presenting his case before the royal audience.
The words — The Greek ἀπολογουμένου (apologoumenou) marks the ongoing defense, while μεγάλῃ (megalē) describes Festus’s loud voice. Ταῦτα (Tauta) directly references the preceding claims about Christ’s suffering and resurrection that triggered the outburst.
The thread — Paul’s response in Acts 26:25 directly counters the madness charge by affirming he speaks words of truth and sobriety. This tension between perceived folly and divine truth recurs in 1 Corinthians 1:23, 2:13, and 4:10, where apostolic teaching is dismissed as foolishness but grounded in Spirit-taught revelation.
Why it lands — The verse forces a reader to examine whether spiritual proclamation is judged by human standards of sanity or by the content of its message. It demands a clear-eyed assessment of how truth is received by those bound to worldly frameworks.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
- 1 Corinthians 4:10 We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.
- 2 Corinthians 5:13 If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.
- Mark 3:21 When His family heard about this, they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.”
- 2 Kings 9:11 When Jehu went out to the servants of his master, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?” “You know his kind and their babble,” he replied.
- Jeremiah 29:26 ‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet—you must put him in stocks and neck irons.
- Hosea 9:7 The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived—let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility.
- Acts 17:32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.”
- Acts 26:11 I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.