Acts 8:34

Christian Standard Bible ®

The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?”

Parallel Translations

King James Version (1611)
And the Eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the Prophet this? of himselfe, or of some other man?

King James Version
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

English Standard Version
And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?"

New American Standard Bible
The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?"

New Century Version
The officer said to Philip, "Please tell me, who is the prophet talking about—himself or someone else?"

Amplified Bible
The eunuch replied to Philip, "Please tell me, about whom does the prophet say this? About himself or about someone else?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?"

Legacy Standard Bible
And the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you earnestly, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?"

Berean Standard Bible
"Tell me," said the eunuch, "who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"

Contemporary English Version
The official said to Philip, "Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or about someone else?"

Complete Jewish Bible
The eunuch said to Philip, "Here's my question to you — is the prophet talking about himself or someone else?"

Darby Translation
And the eunuch answering Philip said, I pray thee, concerning whom does the prophet say this? of himself or of some other?

Easy-to-Read Version
The official said to Philip, "Please, tell me, who is the prophet talking about? Is he talking about himself or about someone else?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the Eunuche answered Philippe, and saide, I pray thee of whome speaketh the Prophet this? of himselfe, or of some other man?

George Lamsa Translation
And the eunuch said to Philip. I pray you, of whom does this prophet speak? of himself or of some other man?

Good News Translation
The official asked Philip, "Tell me, of whom is the prophet saying this? Of himself or of someone else?"

Lexham English Bible
And the eunuch answered and said to Philip, "I ask you, about whom does the prophet say this—about himself or about someone else?"

Literal Translation
And answering the eunuch said to Philip, I ask you, about whom does the prophet say this? About himself, or about some other one?

American Standard Version
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other?

Bible in Basic English
And the Ethiopian said to Philip, About whom are these words said by the prophet? about himself, or some other?

Hebrew Names Version
The eunuch answered Pilipos, "Please tell who the prophet is talking about: about himself, or about some other?"

International Standard Version
The eunuch said to Philip, "I ask you, about whom is the prophet speaking - about himself or about someone else?"

Etheridge Translation
That eunuch said Unto Philipos, I pray thee, of whom speaketh this the prophet ? of himself, or of another man ?

Murdock Translation
And the eunuch said to Philip: I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other person?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the Eunuche aunswered Philip, and sayde: I pray thee of whom speaketh the prophete this? Of hym selfe, or of some other man?

English Revised Version
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other?

World English Bible
The eunuch answered Philip, "Please tell who the prophet is talking about: about himself, or about some other?"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And the eunuch answering Philip, said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself, or of some other man?

Weymouth's New Testament
"Pray, of whom is the Prophet speaking?" inquired the eunuch; "of himself or of some one else?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the gelding answeride to Filip, and seide, Y biseche thee, of `what profete seith he this thing? of him silf, ethir of ony othere?

Update Bible Version
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray you, of whom does the prophet speak this? of himself, or of some other?

Webster's Bible Translation
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

New English Translation
Then the eunuch said to Philip, "Please tell me, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?"

New King James Version
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?"

New Living Translation
The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?"

New Life Bible
The man from Ethiopia said to Philip, "Who is the early preacher talking about, himself, or someone else?"

New Revised Standard
The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the eunuch, making answer unto Philip, said - I pray thee! Of whom, is the prophet saying this? of himself, or, of some different person?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the eunuch answering Philip, said: I beseech thee, of whom doth the prophet speak this? Of himself, or of some other man?

Revised Standard Version
And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, pray, does the prophet say this, about himself or about some one else?"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
The chamberlayne answered Philip and sayde: I praye the of whom speaketh the Prophet this? of him selfe or of some other man?

Young's Literal Translation
And the eunuch answering Philip said, `I pray thee, about whom doth the prophet say this? about himself, or about some other one?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then answered the chamberlayne vnto Philippe, and sayde: I praye the, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himselfe, or of some other man?

Mace New Testament (1729)
and the eunuch answered Philip, and said, pray, of whom does the prophet say this? of himself, or of some other?

THE MESSAGE
The eunuch said, "Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?" Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.

Simplified Cowboy Version
The gelded man asked Phil, "Who in the world is Isaiah talking about? Is he talking about himself or someone else?"

Contextual Overview

²⁶An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.) ²⁷So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem ²⁸and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud. ²⁹The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.” ³⁰When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” ³¹“How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³²Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this: ³³In his humiliation justice was denied him.Who will describe his generation?For his life is taken from the earth. ³⁴The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?” ³⁵Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

of whom: Matthew 2:2-4, Matthew 13:36, Matthew 15:15

Reciprocal: Daniel 9:2 - understood

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the eunuch answered Philip, and said,.... After he had read the passage out, and Philip had put the question to him, whether he understood it; and after he had taken him up into his chariot to sit with him, and instruct him:

I pray thee, of whom speakest the prophet this? being desirous of knowing who was the subject of this famous prophecy: which to know was very useful and edifying, and was not a matter of mere indifference and speculation, but of great moment and concern. A like way of speaking, in order to know the sense of a passage, is used by the Jews w: thus upon reading Proverbs 31:2, it is asked,

"of whom does Solomon say this Scripture? he does not say it but of his father David.''

Does he speak

of himself or of some other man? which is very properly and pertinently put; since there might be some appearance of its application to Isaiah, who suffered under Manasseh; and it might be applied to different persons, as it has been since by the Jews; as to Josiah, Jeremiah in particular, and to the people of Israel in general, though very wrongly: Josiah could never be intended, as one of their noted commentators x expounds the paragraph; since it was not the sins of the people that were the cause of his death, but his own, and his vanity in meddling with what he had nothing to do with, and had no real call unto; nor can it be said of him that he did no violence, or that he bore the sins of others, and died for them, and made his soul an offering for sin; nor were his days prolonged; nor did the pleasure of the Lord prosper in his hand: nor is the passage applicable to Jeremiah, as another of their writers y would have it; he was not free from sin; nor was he wounded for the sins of his people; nor did he undergo his sufferings with patience; nor had he a large number of disciples; nor was he extolled and exalted, as this person is said to be: much less, as others z say, is the whole body of the people of Israel in captivity intended; since one single individual as spoken of throughout the whole; and is manifestly distinguished from the people of Israel, whose sins and sorrows he was to bear, and for whose transgressions he was to be stricken and wounded. In all which they go contrary to their Targum a, Talmud b, and other ancient writings c, which interpret many things in this section or paragraph of the Messiah d: however, as it might be differently understood, or difficult to be understood, the eunuch very appropriately puts this question.

w T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 10. 1. x Abarbinel in Isa. liii. y Sandiah Gaon in Aben Ezra in ib. z Jarchi, Aben Ezra, & Kimchi in ib. a In Isa. lii. 13. and liii. 10. b T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 98. 2. c Zohar in Exod. fol. 85. 2. Midrash Ruth, fol. 33. 2. d See my Book of the Prophecies of the Messiah, p. 161. &c.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Answered Philip - That is, “addressed” Phil The Hebrews often use the word “answer” as synonymous with “addressing” one, whether he had spoken or not.

Of himself ... - This was a natural inquiry, for there was nothing in the text itself that would determine to whom the reference was. The ancient Jews expressly applied the passage to the Messiah. Thus, the Targum of Jonathan on Isaiah 52:13, “Behold my servant shall deal prudently,” etc., renders it, “Behold, my servant, the Messiah, shall be prospered,” etc. But we should remember that the eunuch was probably not deeply versed in the Scriptures. We should remember, further, that he had just been at Jerusalem, and that the public mind was agitated about the proceedings of the Sanhedrin in putting Jesus of Nazareth, who claimed to be the Messiah, to death. It is by no means improbable that This passage had been urged as a proof that he was the Messiah; and that the Jews, to evade the force of it, had maintained that it referred to Isaiah or Jeremiah - as they have done since. Yet the subject was so important and so difficult that it had occupied the attention of the traveler during his journey; and his question shows that he had been deeply pondering the inquiry whether it could refer to Isaiah himself or any of the prophets, or whether it must have reference to the Messiah. In this state of suspense and agitation, when his mind was just suited to receive instruction, God sent a messenger to guide him. He often thus prepares, by His Providence, or by a train of affecting and solemn events, the minds of people for a reception of the truth; and then He sends his messengers to guide the thoughtful and the anxious in the way of peace and salvation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 34. Of whom speaketh the prophet this — This was a very natural inquiry: for in the text itself, and in its circumstances, there was nothing that could determine the meaning, so as to ascertain whether the prophet meant himself or some other person; and the very inquiry shows that the eunuch had thought deeply on the subject.