Acts 8:32

The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — An Ethiopian eunuch, reading Isaiah 53 aloud, has just asked Philip to explain the passage. Philip is about to begin his explanation, starting from this verse.

The words — "περιοχή" (periochē) literally means "a bounded district," here applied to a section of Scripture, implying a defined, coherent unit of meaning rather than isolated words. The imperfect "ἀνεγίνωσκεν" (aneginōsken) marks continuous action: he was in the act of reading, not merely looking at the text.

The thread — This is a verbatim quotation of Isaiah 53:7, the suffering servant passage. Jeremiah 51:40 uses the same lamb-to-slaughter image but for nations, not a single figure; 1 Peter 2:21 picks up the thread by calling Christ's suffering an example to follow.

Why it lands — The eunuch's next question ("Who is the prophet speaking of?") is the only honest response to this text: it presents a silent, sacrificed figure and refuses to name him. The reader is left to decide whether the silence is passivity or submission, and whether the one who was led can be followed.

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

The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

Cross-references

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.
1 Peter 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:
Jeremiah 51:40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.
Jeremiah 11:19 For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”
Romans 8:36 As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Psalms 44:11 You have given us up as sheep to be devoured; You have scattered us among the nations.
Psalms 39:9 I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.
Psalms 39:2 I was speechless and still; I remained silent, even from speaking good, and my sorrow was stirred.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Matthew 26:62 So the high priest stood up and asked Him, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?”