Bible Strands
Acts 8:30
So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Philip approaches a chariot after the Spirit directs him to remain beside it, and asks the Ethiopian eunuch if he understands the Isaiah passage he is reading.
The words — προσδραμὼν (prosdramōn) translates literally as "having run up," marking Philip’s urgent approach, while ἀναγινώσκοντος (anaginōskontos) indicates the ongoing action of "reading" the prophetic text.
The thread — The necessity of divine explanation for Scripture appears in Luke 24:44, where Jesus clarifies fulfilled prophecy, and John 5:39, which links Scripture study to eternal life, alongside Ephesians 5:17, which commands understanding the Lord's will.
Why it lands — The text records Philip’s direct question about comprehension before any interpretation is given, requiring readers to acknowledge that spiritual understanding precedes human explanation.
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
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Cross-references
- Luke 24:44 Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
- John 5:39 You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,
- Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
- Matthew 13:23 But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”
- Matthew 15:10 Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.
- Matthew 13:51 Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered.
- Matthew 24:15 So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),
- Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
- Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
- Mark 13:14 So when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.