Acts 24:16

And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void to offence toward God, and toward men.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δέ dé	G1161	but
herein	τούτῳ toútōi	G5129	to (in
exercise	ἀσκῶ askō	G778	to elaborate · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
myself	αὐτὸς autos	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — nominative singular masculine
have	ἔχειν echein	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active infinitive
always	διαπαντός diapantós	G1275	through all time
conscience	συνείδησιν suneidēsin	G4893	co-perception · noun — accusative singular feminine
offence	ἀπρόσκοπον aproskopon	G677	actively · adjective — accusative singular feminine
toward	πρὸς pros	G4314	a preposition of direction · preposition
God	θεὸν theon	G2316	figuratively · noun — accusative singular masculine, a title
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
men	ἀνθρώπους anthrōpous	G444	from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — accusative plural masculine

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 23:1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
2 Corinthians 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestatio…
Hebrews 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed wi…
Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or…
2 Corinthians 1:12 For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grac…
1 Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good consc…
1 Corinthians 4:4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 24:10-21

We have here Paul's defence of himself, in answer to Tertullus's charge, and there appears in it a great deal of the spirit of wisdom and holiness, and an accomplishment of Christ's promise to his followers that when they were before governors and kings, for his sake, it should be given them in that same hour what they should speak. Though Tertullus had said a great many provoking things, yet Paul did not interrupt him, but let him go on to the end of his speech, according to the rules of decency and the method in courts of justice, that the plaintiff be allowed to finish his evidence before the defendant begins his plea. And when he had done, he did not presently fly out into passionate exc…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 24:16

And herein--On this account, accordingly; that is, looking forward to that awful day (compare Co2 5:10). I exercise myself--The "I" here is emphatic; "Whatever they do, this is my study." to have always a conscience void of offence, &c.--See Act 23:1; Co2 1:12; Co2 2:17, &c.; that is, "These are the great principles of my life and conduct--how different from turbulence and sectarianism!"

Adam Clarke on Acts 24:16

And herein do I exercise myself - And this very tenet is a pledge for my good behavior; for as I believe there will be a resurrection, both of the just and unjust, and that every man shall be judged for the deeds done in the body, so I exercise myself day and night, that I may have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men. Toward God - In entertaining no opinion contrary to his truth; and in offering no worship contrary to his dignity, purity, and excellence. Toward men - In doing nothing to them that I would not, on a change of circumstances, they should do to me; and in withholding nothing by which I might comfort and serve them.

John Gill on Acts 24:16

And herein do I exercise myself,.... Or because of this; on account of this doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, which is a doctrine according to godliness, and promotes and engages to a holy life and conversation, as the contrary tends to encourage a dissolute and sinful manner of living; see 1 Corinthians 15:32 The apostle studied, and laboured, and bent himself, and employed his thought, care, and time, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward man; that is, to discharge every duty which God requires, and to give to every man what is due to him; so as to please God, and not offend men, neither Jew nor Gentile, nor the church of God; and so as that conscience…

The Church Fathers

And in this, do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men. This is the perfection of virtue, when even to men we give no handle against us, and are careful to be void of offence with God. Having, he says, a conscience void of offence both toward God, and toward men.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 50

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

Conscience — That faculty of the mind, or inborn sense of right and wrong, by which we judge of the moral character of human conduct. It is common to all men. Like all our other faculties, it has been perverted…
Conscience · 20:12; — 20:12;
Defense · Of PaulAc 22; — Of PaulAc 22;
Heresy · D — D
Holiness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Honesty · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Integrity · 3:13,14;6:31;11:42;16:10; — 3:13,14;6:31;11:42;16:10;
Offence · Saints should: Have a conscience void of — Saints should: Have a conscience void of
Self-Defense · 23:3; — 23:3;
Sinlessness · 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 24:16

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 24:10-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 24:16

Adam Clarke on Acts 24:16

John Gill on Acts 24:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 24:16

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 24:10-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 24:16

Adam Clarke on Acts 24:16

John Gill on Acts 24:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Acts 24:10-21

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 24:16