Acts 8:31

Acts 8:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
• New International Version (NIV)“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.

Context of Acts 8:31

29The Holy Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and walk beside it.’ 30So Philip ran to the cart as it went along. The officer was reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah's book and Philip heard him. So Philip asked the man, ‘Do you understand the things that you are reading about?’ The man answered, ‘I cannot understand it. I need someone to explain it to me.’ Then he said to Philip, ‘Come up here and sit with me in the cart.’ 32The officer was reading these words from the book of Isaiah: ‘He was like a sheep that people were leading away to kill. He was like a lamb when they are cutting off its wool, but it makes no noise. In the same way, he did not say anything. 33People did not respect him at all. They refused to judge him in a fair way. Nobody can say anything about his descendants, because his life on earth came to an end.’

Acts 8:31 word by word

ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· πῶς γὰρ ἂν δυναίμην, ἐὰν μή τις με; παρεκάλεσέν τε τὸν Φίλιππον ἀναβάντα καθίσαι σὺν αὐτῷ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andδέde · thenG1161
• he saidὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• he saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• Howπῶςpōs · how?!G4459
• ·γάρgar · forG1063
• ·ἄνan · ifG302
• can Iδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
• exceptἐάνean · ifG1437
• exceptμήmē · notG3361
• some manτιςtis · oneG5100
• should guideὁδηγέωhodēgeō · to guideG3594
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• Andτεte · and/bothG5037
• he desiredπαρακαλέωparakaleō · to plead/comfortG3870
• PhilipΦίλιπποςPhilippos · PhilipG5376
• that he would come upἀναβαίνωanabainō · to ascendG305
• and sitκαθίζωkathizō · to seatG2523
• withσύνsun · withG4862
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846

Cross-references for Acts 8:31

• Psalms 25:8The Lord is good and he does what is right. Because of that, he teaches sinners the right way to live.
• Psalms 73:16When I thought about all this, it was so hard for me to understand.
• Proverbs 30:2I feel more stupid than any other person. I do not understand things as other people do.
• Isaiah 29:18At that time, deaf people will be able to hear when someone is reading words from a book. Blind people who have been living in a dark place will be able see what is happening.
• Isaiah 35:8There will be a great road there. It will be called ‘The Holy Way’. People who are unclean will not travel on it. It will be for those people who know God's way. Evil fools will not walk on it.
• Matthew 18:3He said, ‘I tell you this: You must change and become like little children. If not, you will never come into the kingdom of heaven.
• Mark 10:15I tell you this: A person must become like a little child for God to rule in his life. If he does not become like a child, he will not come into the kingdom of God.’
• Romans 10:14But people will never ask Christ to help them if they have not believed in him. And they will never believe in him if they have not heard about him. And they will not hear about him unless somebody tells God's message to them.
• 1 Corinthians 3:18Be careful! Do not think that you are better than you really are. Maybe you think that you are wise, like people today want to be wise. But if you want to become truly wise, be ready for other people to think that you are a fool.
• 1 Corinthians 8:2Some people may think that they know everything. People like that do not know as much as they ought to know.
• 1 Corinthians 14:36Remember that God's message did not start from you in Corinth! You are not the only people who have heard it, either.
• James 1:10And the believers who are rich should also be happy. Why? Because God has shown them that they are not so great. Rich people should remember that they will die, like a wild flower quickly dies.
• 1 Peter 2:1So you must refuse to do any evil things. Do not tell lies to deceive people. Do not be hypocrites. Do not be jealous of other people. Do not say bad things against other people.
• 2 Kings 5:9So Naaman went to see Elisha. He took with him his horses and his chariots. He stood outside the door of Elisha's house.
• 2 Kings 10:15When Jehu left Beth Eked, he met Rekab's son Jehonadab. He was coming to meet Jehu. Jehu said, ‘Hello! Do you trust me, as I trust you?’ Jehonadab answered, ‘Yes, I do!’ Jehu replied, ‘Then hold your hand out to me.’ So he did that and Jehu pulled him up into his chariot.

Commentaries on Acts 8:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31How can I, except some man should guide me? - This is no proof that "the Scriptures cannot be understood without an authorized interpreter," as some of the papistical writers assert. How could the eunuch know any thing of the Gospel dispensation, to which this scripture referred? That dispensation had not yet been proclaimed to him; he knew nothing about Jesus. But where that dispensation has been published, where the four Gospels and the apostolic…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31And he said … - This was a general acknowledgment of his need of direction. It evinced a humble state of mind. It was an acknowledgment, also, originating probably from this particular passage which he was reading. He did not understand how it could be applied to the Messiah; how the description of his humiliation and condemnation Acts 8:33 could be reconciled to the prevalent ideas of his being a prince and a conqueror. The same sentiment is expressed by…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 26-40Verses 26-40 Philip was directed to go to a desert. Sometimes God opens a door of opportunity to his ministers in very unlikely places. We should study to do good to those we come into company with by travelling. We should not be so shy of all strangers as some affect to be. As to those of whom we know nothing else, we know this, that they have souls. It is wisdom for men of business to redeem time for holy duties; to fill up every minute with something…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26-40Philip obeyed the Holy Spirit and followed the Spirit’s direction. He then took the opportunity to share the message of the gospel with an Ethiopian eunuch (a trusted male official who served a king or queen) on the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza. This event shows how effective Philip was in explaining and sharing the Christian message. It also shows his strong commitment to bringing the good news to all people, no matter their social position or…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 29-3129-31. the Spirit said--by an unmistakable voice within, as in Ac 10:19; 16:6, 7. go near and join this chariot--This would reveal to Philip the hitherto unknown object of his journey, and encourage him to expect something.Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 8:31

• Ethiopia
• Gaza
• Philip
• Preaching

In the dictionaries

• Believe
• Bitterness
• Consent
• Devout
• Havock
• Join
• Pray
• Regard
• Separate
• Acts of the Apostles

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