Bible Strands
Acts 26:7
the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses King Agrippa during his trial defense, stating that the Jews accuse him because of the hope Israel maintains regarding God’s promise.
The words — The supplied Greek terms ἐκτενεῖα (ekteneia) and νύκτα (nukta) translate literally as “earnestness” and “night,” describing the twelve tribes’ continuous devotion.
The thread — James 1:1 addresses the twelve tribes of the Dispersion, while 1 Timothy 5:5 describes a widow’s night-and-day petitions to God. Philippians 3:11 and Acts 26:6–8 anchor this hope in the resurrection from the dead.
Why it lands — The verse explicitly links Paul’s accusation to the Jews’ shared expectation that God will fulfill His promise to the twelve tribes. It demands the reader acknowledge that the conflict centers on Israel’s collective hope rather than a rejection of that hope.
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
Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.
Cross-references
- James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.
- Philippians 3:11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
- 1 Timothy 5:5 The widow who is truly in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers.
- Ezra 6:17 For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel.
- Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Luke 22:30 so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.
- Ezra 8:35 Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and a sin offering of 12 male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.
- Psalms 134:1 A song of ascents. Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who serve by night in the house of the LORD!
- Psalms 135:2 who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God.