Acts 8:1

Acts 8:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
• New International Version (NIV)And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Context of Acts 8:1

Saul was standing there while the Jewish leaders killed Stephen. He agreed with what they did. On the same day that Stephen died, the group of believers who lived in Jerusalem began to have great trouble. People did bad things to them. All the believers left Jerusalem and went to other places in Judea and Samaria. Only Jesus' 12 apostles stayed in Jerusalem. 2Some good men who loved God buried Stephen's dead body. They were very sad and they cried with loud voices. 3But Saul brought great trouble to the believers. He wanted to destroy their whole group. So he went to all their houses. He took hold of the believers and he put them into prison. He did that to both men and women.

Acts 8:1 word by word

Σαῦλος δὲ ἦν συνευδοκῶν τῇ ἀναιρέσει αὐτοῦ.¶ Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ διωγμὸς μέγας ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τὴν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις· πάντες δὲ διεσπάρησαν κατὰ τὰς χώρας τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ Σαμαρείας πλὴν τῶν ἀποστόλων.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andδέde · thenG1161
• SaulΣαῦλοςSaulos · SaulG4569
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• consenting untoσυνευδοκέωsuneudokeō · to agree toG4909
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• deathὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• deathἀναίρεσιςanairesis · murderG336
• atἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• thatἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
• timeἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• there wasγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• a greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• persecutionδιωγμόςdiōgmos · persecutionG1375
• againstἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the churchἐκκλησίαekklēsia · assemblyG1577
• JerusalemἹεροσόλυμαHierosoluma · JerusalemG2414
• andτεte · and/bothG5037
• they wereδιασπείρωdiaspeirō · to scatterG1289
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• throughoutκατάkata · according toG2596
• the regionsχώραchōra · countryG5561
• of JudeaἸουδαίαIoudaia · JudeaG2449
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• SamariaΣαμάρειαSamareia · SamariaG4540
• exceptπλήνplēn · but/howeverG4133
• the apostlesἀπόστολοςapostolos · apostleG652

Cross-references for Acts 8:1

• Acts 7:58They took hold of Stephen and they pulled him out of the city. They removed their coats. They gave them to a young man to keep them safe. This young man was called Saul. Then they began to throw stones at Stephen to kill him.
• Acts 22:20I myself was there when the people killed Stephen. He was your servant who told people your message. But I agreed that it was right to kill him. I even held the coats of the people while they killed him.”
• Acts 5:33The group of Jewish leaders heard what the apostles said to them. They were so angry that they wanted to kill the apostles.
• Acts 7:54The group of Jewish leaders listened to Stephen. What he said made them very angry. They bit their teeth together because they were so angry.
• Matthew 10:25A student should be happy if he becomes like his teacher. A servant should be happy if he becomes like his master. People have called me, the master of the house, Beelzebul. You are like those people who live in my house. So do not be surprised when people call you even worse names than they call me.
• Matthew 22:6Other people took hold of the king's servants. They hurt them and then they killed them.
• Matthew 23:34So listen to this. God says, “I will send prophets to you. I will also send to you people who know many things. And I will send people to teach you what is true. But you will kill some of these people. You will kill some of them on a cross. In the places where you meet to pray, you will hit some of them with whips. They will run from one town to another town, but you will follow them.”
• Luke 11:49God is wise. Because you do not obey what is true, he said, “I will send my prophets and apostles to go to them. But they will kill some of my servants. They will hurt others of them.”
• John 15:20Remember what I told you: “No servant is more important than his master is.” If they have caused trouble for me, they will also cause trouble for you. But if they have obeyed my message, they will also obey your message.
• John 16:2People will send you away from their meeting places. There will be a time when people will want to kill you. When they do this, they will even think that they are doing what God wants.
• Acts 2:47All the time, they praised God. All the other people thought that the believers were good people. Every day, the Lord saved more people so that the group of believers grew bigger.
• Acts 7:38This is the same Moses who was leader of our people in the wilderness. He was there with our ancestors when the angel spoke to him on Sinai mountain. He received the message from God to give to us. Those words from God bring life to us.
• Acts 11:22The believers in Jerusalem heard about what had happened in Antioch. So they decided to send Barnabas there.
• Acts 13:1There were some prophets among the group of believers in Antioch. They taught the other believers more about Jesus. Barnabas and Simeon were two of these men. (People also called Simeon ‘Niger’.) There was Lucius who had lived in Cyrene. There was also Manaen who had lived together with the ruler Herod when they were children. And there was Saul.
• Acts 8:4The believers who had left Jerusalem went to many different towns. In each place, they told the people the message about Jesus.
• Acts 11:19After the Jewish leaders had killed Stephen, the believers had a lot of trouble. The believers left Jerusalem and they went to many different places. Some of them went away as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. They told God's message to people in these places. But they only told the message to Jews.

Commentaries on Acts 8:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Saul was consenting unto his death - So inveterate was the hatred that this man bore to Christ and his followers that he delighted in their destruction. So blind was his heart with superstitious zeal that he thought he did God service by offering him the blood of a fellow creature, whose creed he supposed to be erroneous. The word signifies gladly consenting, being pleased with his murderous work! How dangerous is a party spirit; and how destructive may…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1And Saul was consenting … - Was pleased with his being put to death and approved it. Compare Acts 22:20. This part of the verse should have been connected with the previous chapter. And at that time. - That is, immediately following the death of Stephen. The persecution arose on account of Stephen, Acts 11:19. The tumult did not subside when Stephen was killed. The anger of his persecutors continued to be excited against all Christians. They had become so…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Saul persecutes the church. (1-4) Philip's success at Samaria. Simon the sorcerer baptized. (5-13) The hypocrisy of Simon detected. (14-25) Philip and the Ethiopian. (26-40) Verses 1-4 Though persecution must not drive us from our work, yet it may send us to work elsewhere. Wherever the established believer is driven, he carries the knowledge of the gospel, and makes known the preciousness of Christ in every place. Where a simple desire of doing good…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4Saul was there: Compare 9:1–2; 22:4; 26:9–11; Galatians 1:13–14. This major attack against the church caused all believers except the apostles to flee. Instead of losing enthusiasm, they preached the good news about Jesus wherever they went.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-41. Saul was consenting unto his death--The word expresses hearty approval. they were all scattered abroad--all the leading Christians, particularly the preachers, agreeably to their Lord's injunctions (Mt 10:23), though many doubtless remained, and others (as appears by Ac 9:26-30) soon returned. except the apostles--who remained, not certainly as being less exposed to danger, but, at whatever risk, to watch over the infant cause where it was most needful…Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 8:1

• Church
• Intolerance, Religious
• Jerusalem
• Paul
• Persecution
• Stephen

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Judea
• Samaria
• Saul
• Judaea, or Judea
• Judea, Judah
• Paul, Saul
• Samaria, Samaritan
• Scattered Abroad
• Believe

Commentaries on Acts 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings