Bible Strands
Acts 13:51
So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul and Barnabas have just been expelled from a district after local leaders incited persecution against them. They perform a physical gesture before departing for Iconium.
The words — The participle ἐκτιναξάμενοι (ektinaxamenoi) literally means "having shaken off," applied to the κονιορτὸν (koniorton) or dust of the ποδῶν (podōn) or feet.
The thread — This action mirrors the directive in Matthew 10:14 and Luke 9:5 regarding departure from unwelcoming towns, and it precedes Paul's similar gesture in Acts 18:6.
Why it lands — The text records the gesture as a formal separation from those who rejected the message, leaving the consequences of that rejection to the recipients.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
Cross-references
- Matthew 10:14 And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
- Luke 9:5 If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”
- Acts 18:6 But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
- Mark 6:11 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them.”
- Acts 14:21 They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
- Acts 14:1 At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
- Acts 14:19 Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.
- Acts 16:2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
- 2 Timothy 3:11 my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.