I do not want to take up too much of your time is understood in this same fashion by most other translations, though it is faintly possible that the meaning may be “I do not want to tire you out.” Ancient orators, as well as modern, felt it advisable to promise their hearers only a short speech. To be kind and listen (literally “to listen with kindness”) is an expression which appears frequently in the papyri and is often used in complimentary addresses to officials. Our brief account may be rendered as “but we shall say briefly,” “what I shall say briefly,” or “what I shall say briefly on behalf of us here.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .