Acts 1:24

Amplified Bible

They prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know all hearts [their thoughts, motives, desires], show us which one of these two You have chosen

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
They prayed, "Lord, you know the minds of all people. Show us which one of these two men you choose to do this work. Judas turned away from it and went where he belongs. Lord, show us which man should take his place as an apostle!"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And they prayed sayinge: thou Lorde which knowest the hertes of all me shewe whether of these two thou hast chosen

Hebrew Names Version
They prayed, and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen

International Standard Version
Then they prayed, "Lord, you know the hearts of all people. Show us which one of these two men you have chosen1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 29:17; Jeremiah 11:20; 17:10; Acts 15:8; Revelation 2:23;">[xr]

New American Standard Bible
And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all people, show which one of these two You have chosen

New Century Version
The apostles prayed, "Lord, you know the thoughts of everyone. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to do this work. Show us who should be an apostle in place of Judas, who turned away and went where he belongs."

Update Bible Version
And they prayed, and said, You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show of these two the one whom you have chosen,

Webster's Bible Translation
And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all [men], show which of these two thou hast chosen,

English Standard Version
And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen

World English Bible
They prayed, and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And they prayed and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all, shew which of these two thou hast chosen,

Weymouth's New Testament
And the brethren prayed, saying, "Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all, show clearly which of these two Thou hast chosen

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thei preieden, and seiden, Thou, Lord, that knowist the hertis of alle men, schewe whom thou hast chosun of these tweyne,

English Revised Version
And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew of these two the one whom thou hast chosen,

Berean Standard Bible
And they prayed, "Lord, You know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen

Contemporary English Version
Then they all prayed, "Lord, you know what everyone is like! Show us the one you have chosen

American Standard Version
And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show of these two the one whom thou hast chosen,

Bible in Basic English
And they made prayers and said, Lord, having knowledge of the hearts of all men, make clear which of these two has been marked out by you,

Complete Jewish Bible
Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen

Darby Translation
And they prayed, and said, Thou Lord, knower of the hearts of all, shew which one of these two thou hast chosen,

Etheridge Translation
And praying, they said, Thou, Lord, (who) knowest the hearts of all, show the one whom thou choosest of these two,

Murdock Translation
And when they had prayed, they said: Thou, Lord, knowest what is in the hearts of all, manifest which thou hast chosen of these two,

King James Version (1611)
And they prayed, and said, Thou Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

New Living Translation
Then they all prayed, "O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen

New Life Bible
Then the followers prayed, saying, "Lord, You know the hearts of all men. Show us which of these two men You have chosen.

New Revised Standard
Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen

Geneva Bible (1587)
And they praied, saying, Thou Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shewe whether of these two thou hast chosen,

George Lamsa Translation
And as they prayed, they said, O LORD, you know what is in the hearts of all men; show which of these two you choose,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, praying, they said - Thou Lord! observer of the hearts of all men! shew forth whom thou hast chosen, - of these two, one; -

Douay-Rheims Bible
And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, who knowest the heart of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

Revised Standard Version
And they prayed and said, "Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two thou hast chosen

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they prayed, saying: Thou Lord which knowest the heartes of all men, shewe whether of these two thou haste chosen,

Good News Translation
Then they prayed, "Lord, you know the thoughts of everyone, so show us which of these two you have chosen

Christian Standard Bible®
Then they prayed, “You, Lord, know everyone’s hearts; show which of these two you have chosen

King James Version
And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

Lexham English Bible
And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show clearly which one of these two you have chosen

Literal Translation
And having prayed, they said, You, Lord, knower of all hearts, show which one You chose from these two,

Young's Literal Translation
and having prayed, they said, `Thou, Lord, who art knowing the heart of all, shew which one thou didst choose of these two

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
makinge their prayer and sayenge: Thou LORDE, which knowest the hertes of all men, shewe whether of these two thou hast chosen,

Mace New Testament (1729)
saying, "thou Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show us which of these two thou hast chosen,

New English Translation
Then they prayed, "Lord, you know the hearts of all. Show us which one of these two you have chosen

New King James Version
And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen

Simplified Cowboy Version
Then all the people prayed, "God, you know all of us inside and out. Pick which of these two men you would have

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen

Legacy Standard Bible
And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen

Contextual Overview

¹⁵Now on one of these days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty believers was there) and he said, ¹⁶"Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the Scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the lips of David [king of Israel] about Judas [Iscariot], who acted as guide to those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷"For he (Judas) was counted among us and received his share [by divine allotment] in this ministry." ¹⁸(Now Judas Iscariot acquired a piece of land [indirectly] with the [money paid him as a] reward for his treachery, and falling headlong, his body burst open in the middle and all his intestines poured out. ¹⁹All the people in Jerusalem learned about this, so in their own dialect—Aramaic—they called the piece of land Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) ²⁰"For in the book of Psalms it is written, 'LET HIS PLACE OF RESIDENCE BECOME DESOLATE, AND LET THERE BE NO ONE TO LIVE IN IT'; and [again], 'LET ANOTHER TAKE HIS POSITION AS OVERSEER.' ²¹"So of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus spent with us, ²²beginning with the baptism by John [at the outset of Jesus' ministry] until the day when He was taken up from us—one of these men must become a witness with us [to testify] of His resurrection." ²³And they put forward two men, Joseph, the one called Barsabbas (who was surnamed Justus), and Matthias. ²⁴They prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know all hearts [their thoughts, motives, desires], show us which one of these two You have chosen

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

they: Acts 13:2, Acts 13:3, Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 3:6, Luke 6:12, Luke 6:13

Lord: Acts 15:8, Numbers 27:16, 1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Kings 8:39, 1 Chronicles 28:9, 1 Chronicles 29:17, Psalms 7:9, Psalms 44:21, Proverbs 15:11, Jeremiah 11:20, Jeremiah 17:10, Jeremiah 20:12, John 2:24, John 2:25, John 21:17, Hebrews 4:13, Revelation 2:23

Reciprocal: Numbers 16:5 - even him Joshua 7:14 - the tribe Joshua 18:8 - that I may here Joshua 22:22 - he knoweth 1 Samuel 10:20 - caused 1 Samuel 14:41 - Give a perfect lot Nehemiah 11:1 - cast lots Mark 3:14 - he ordained Mark 11:3 - and straightway John 15:16 - have not Acts 6:6 - when Acts 15:7 - God Romans 8:27 - And he

Cross-References

Genesis 1:9
Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place [of standing, pooling together], and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.

Genesis 1:10
God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that this was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it.

Genesis 6:20
"Of fowls and birds according to their kind, of animals according to their kind, of every crawling thing of the ground according to its kind—two of every kind shall come to you to keep them alive.

Genesis 7:14
they and every animal according to its kind, all the livestock according to their kinds, every moving thing that crawls on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every winged thing of every sort.

Genesis 8:19
Every animal, every crawling thing, every bird—and whatever moves on the land—went out by families (types, groupings) from the ark.

Job 39:1
"Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock give birth [to their young]? Do you observe the calving of the deer?

Job 39:5
"Who sent out the wild donkey free [from dependence on man]? And who has loosed the bonds of the wild donkey [to survive in the wild],

Job 39:9
"Will the wild ox be willing to serve you, Or remain beside your manger at night?

Job 39:19
"Have you given the horse his might? Have you clothed his neck with quivering and a shaking mane?

Job 40:15
"Behold now, Behemoth, which I created as well as you; He eats grass like an ox.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they prayed and said,.... Having proposed the above two persons, and not well knowing which to pitch upon, they being both very agreeable and fit for such service; they chose not to determine the affair without seeking to God for direction; a method to be taken in all cases, and especially in matters of importance: and the substance of their petition, though perhaps not in just the same words, was,

thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men; which is a character peculiar to the one only living, and true God; for none knows the hearts of men, but God, who is the Maker of them; and he knows all the thoughts, counsels, and purposes of them, and the good or bad that is in them:

shew whether of these two thou hast chosen; being desirous of having their choice directed by the choice God had made, in his eternal mind; and which they desired might be signified and pointed out to them, in some way or another, that they might be certain of the mind and will of God, and act according to it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And they prayed - As they could not agree on the individual, they invoked the direction of God in their choice - an example which should be followed in every selection of an individual to exercise the duties of the sacred office of the ministry.

Which knowest the hearts of all men - This is often declared to be the special prerogative of God, Jeremiah 17:10, “I, Yahweh, search the heart,” etc.; Psalms 139:1, Psalms 139:23; 1 Chronicles 28:9. Yet this attribute is also expressly ascribed to Jesus Christ, Revelation 2:18; compare 23, “These things saith the Son of God - I am he which searcheth the reins and the hearts”; John 2:25; John 6:64; John 16:19. There are strong reasons for supposing that the apostles on this occasion addressed this prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ:

1. The name Lord - Κύριος Kurios - is the common appellation which they gave to him, Acts 2:36; Acts 7:59-60; Act 10:36; 1 Corinthians 2:8; Philippians 2:11; Revelation 11:8, et al.

(2)We are told that they worshipped him, or rendered him divine honors after his ascension, Luke 24:52.

(3)The disciples were accustomed to address him after his crucifixion by the names Lord or God indifferently, Acts 1:6; John 20:28; Acts 7:59.

(4)This was a matter pertaining especially to the church which the Lord Jesus had redeemed, and “to his own arrangement” in regard to it. He had chosen the apostles; he had given them their commission; he had fixed their number; and, what is worthy of special remark here, he had been the companion of the very men here designated as candidates for the office, and knew their qualifications for this work. If the apostles ever called on the Lord Jesus after his ascension, this was a case in which they would be likely to do it. That it was done is clear from the account of the death of Stephen, Acts 7:59-60. And in this important matter of ordaining a new apostle to be a witness for Jesus Christ, nothing was more natural than that they should address him, though bodily absent, as they would assuredly have done if he were present. But if on this occasion they did actually address Christ, then two things clearly follow. First, that it is proper to render him divine homage, agreeably to the uniform declarations of the Scripture: John 5:23, “That all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father”; Hebrews 1:6, “And let all the angels of God worship him”; Philippians 2:10-11; Rev 5:8-14; 1 Thessalonians 3:11-12. Secondly, he must be divine. To none other but God can religious homage be rendered; and none other can be described as knowing the hearts of all people. The reason why they appealed to him on this occasion as the searcher of the heart was doubtless the great importance of the work to which the successor of Judas was to be called. One apostle of fair external character had proved a traitor; and, with this fact before them, they appealed to the Saviour himself to select one who would be true to him, and not bring dishonor upon his cause.

Show whether ... - Show which of them.

Thou hast chosen - Which of the two thou hast judged to be best qualified for the work.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 1:24. Thou Lord, which knowest the hearts — Συ, κυριε, καρδιογνωστα. The word καρδιογνωστης, the searcher of hearts, seems to be used here as an attribute of God; he knows the hearts, the most secret purposes, intentions, and dispositions of all men; and because he is the knower of hearts, he knew which of these men he had qualified the best, by natural and gracious dispositions and powers, for the important work to which one of them was now to be appointed.