Acts 19:31

And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
certain	τινὲς tines	G5100	some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — nominative plural masculine
Asia	Ἀσιαρχῶν Asiarchōn	G775	an Asiarch or president of the public festivities in a… · noun — genitive plural masculine, a title
were	ὤν ṓn	G5607	being
his	αὐτῷ autō	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
friends	φίλοι, philoi	G5384	actively · adjective — nominative plural masculine
sent	πέμψαντες pempsantes	G3992	to dispatch (from the subjective view or point of depar… · verb — aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
unto	πρὸς pros	G4314	a preposition of direction · preposition
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
desiring	παρεκάλουν parekaloun	G3870	to call near · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural
would	δοῦναι dounai	G1325	to give (used in a very wide application · verb — second aorist active infinitive
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
himself	ἑαυτὸν he'auton	G1438	him- (her- · reflexive pronoun
into	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
theatre	θέατρον. theatron	G2302	a place for public show ("theatre") · noun — accusative singular neuter

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Acts 19:10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Acts 16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
Acts 21:12 And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 19:21–end

I. Paul is here brought into some trouble at Ephesus, just when he is forecasting to go thence, and to cut out work for himself elsewhere. See here, 1. How he laid his purpose of going to other places, Act 19:21, Act 19:22. He was a man of vast designs for God, and was for making his influences as widely diffusive as might be. Having spent above two years at Ephesus, (1.) He designed a visit to the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, especially of Philippi and Corinth, the chief cities of those provinces, Act 19:21. There he had planted churches, and now is concerned to visit them. He purposed in the spirit, either in his own spirit, not communicating his purpose as yet, but keeping it to hims…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 19:31

And certain of the chief of Asia--literally, "And certain also of the Asiarchs." These were wealthy and distinguished citizens of the principal towns of the Asian province, chosen annually, and ten of whom were selected by the proconsul to preside over the games celebrated in the month of May (the same month which Romanism dedicates to the Virgin). It was an office of the highest honor and greatly coveted. Certain of these, it seems, were favorably inclined to the Gospel, at least were Paul's "friends," and knowing the passions of a mob, excited during the festivals, "sent (a message) to him desiring him not to adventure himself into the theater."

Adam Clarke on Acts 19:31

Certain of the chief of Asia - Τινες των Ασιαρχων; Some of the Asiarchs. The Asiarchs were those to whom the care and regulation of the public games were intrusted: they were a sort of high priests, and were always persons of considerable riches and influence. These could not have been Christians; but they were what the sacred text states them to have been, αυτῳ φιλοι, his friends; and foreseeing that Paul would be exposed to great danger if he went into the theater, amidst such a tumultuous assembly, they sent a message to him, entreating him not to go into danger so apparent. Query: Did he not go, and fight with these wild beasts at Ephesus? Co1 15:32.

John Gill

The Church Fathers

"And certain of the Asiarchs besought him that he would not enter into the theatre." Knowing his eagerness, they "besought him:" so much did all the believers love him.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 42

"And certain of the Asiarchs, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre" to a disorderly populace and tumult. And Paul complies, for he was not vainglorious, nor ambitious.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 42

"They urged him not to hand himself over" to the disorderly mob and the violence in the theatre, and Paul was persuaded, since he was neither vainglorious nor ostentatious.… Knowing his eagerness, they begged him, since all these faithful loved him so much.
— John Chrysostom, CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 19.30-31

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Asia — Is used to denote Proconsular Asia, a Roman province which embraced the western parts of Asia Minor, and of which Ephesus was the capital, in Acts 2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10, 22; 20:4, 16, 18, etc., and…
Asiarchae — (chief of Asia) (Authorized Version; (Acts 19:31)), officers chosen annually by the cities of that part of the province of Asia of which Ephesus was, under Roman government, the metropolis. They had…
Chiefs of Asia — “Asiarchs,” the title given to certain wealthy persons annually appointed to preside over the religious festivals and games in the various cities of proconsular Asia (Acts 19:31). Some of these…
Diana — So called by the Romans; called Artemis by the Greeks, the “great” goddess worshipped among heathen nations under various modifications. Her most noted temple was that at Ephesus. It was built…
John, Third Epistle of — Is addressed to Caius, or Gaius, but whether to the Christian of that name in Macedonia (Acts 19: 29) or in Corinth (Rom. 16:23) or in Derbe (Acts 20:4) is uncertain. It was written for the purpose…
Theatre — Only mentioned in Acts 19:29, 31. The ruins of this theatre at Ephesus still exist, and they show that it was a magnificent structure, capable of accommodating some 56,700 persons. It was the largest…
Demetrius · 1. A silversmith, noted for raising a riot — 1. A silversmith, noted for raising a riot
Mob · At Ephesus — At Ephesus
Theater · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Acts 19:31

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 19:21–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 19:31

Adam Clarke on Acts 19:31

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 19:31

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 19:21–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 19:31

Adam Clarke on Acts 19:31

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Acts 19:29-34

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 19:31