to hear (in various senses) · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
things
ταῦταtaûta
G5023
these things
cut
διεπρίοντοdieprionto
G1282
to saw asunder · verb — imperfect passive indicative, 3rd person plural
heart
καρδίαιςkardiais
G2588
the heart · noun — dative plural feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
gnashed
ἔβρυχονebruchon
G1031
to grate the teeth (in pain or rage) · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural
on
ἐπ᾽ep᾽
G1909
properly · preposition
him
αὐτῶνautōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
with
ὀδόνταςodontas
G3599
a "tooth" · noun — accusative plural masculine
teeth
ὀδούςodoús
G3599
a "tooth"
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 5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
Psalms 35:16 With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
Job 16:9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
Matthew 13:50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Luke 13:28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God,…
Psalms 112:10 The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
Lamentations 2:16 All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up: certainly this is…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 7:54–end
We have here the death of the first martyr of the Christian church, and there is in this story a lively instance of the outrage and fury of the persecutors (such as we may expect to meet with if we are called out to suffer for Christ), and of the courage and comfort of the persecuted, that are thus called out. Here is hell in its fire and darkness, and heaven in its light and brightness; and these serve as foils to set off each other. It is not here said that the votes of the council were taken upon his case, and that by the majority he was found guilty, and then condemned and ordered to be stoned to death, according to the law, as a blasphemer; but, it is likely, so it was, and that it was…
When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, &c.--If they could have answered him, how different would have been their temper of mind!
Adam Clarke on Acts 7:54
They were cut to the heart - Διεπριοντο, They were sawn through. See the note on Act 5:33.
They gnashed on him with their teeth - They were determined to hear him no longer; were filled with rage against him, and evidently thirsted for his blood.
John Gill on Acts 7:54
When they heard these things,.... How that Abraham, the father of them, was called before he was circumcised, or the law was given to Moses, or the temple was built, which they were so bigoted to, and charged with speaking blasphemously of; and how that Joseph and Moses were very ill treated by the Jewish fathers, which seemed to resemble the usage Christ and his apostles met with from them; and how their ancestors behaved in the wilderness when they had received the law, and what idolatry they fell into there, and in after times; and how that though there was a temple built by Solomon, yet the Lord was not confined to it, nor would he dwell in it always; and especially when they heard him c…
If they had wished to kill him, why did they not immediately kill him then? For they wished to put a credible cause upon the boldness. For to them the outrage was not a reasonable cause for execution, but perhaps for driving him away or chastising him, not for killing him. Otherwise the outrage would not have been his, but the prophet's accusation against them. And they did not wish to seem to be killing him because of the outrages against them, just as they did not wish to kill Christ. For they did not intend murder, but were eager to harm his honor. For they feared that if he were not put to death for insulting them, he might become the more revered.
See, once more, the wrong-doers in trouble. Just as the Jews are perplexed, saying, "What are we to do with these men?" so these also are "cut to the heart." And yet it was he that had good right to be incensed, who, having done no wrong, was treated like a criminal, and was spitefully calumniated. But the calumniators had the worst of it in the end. So true is that saying, which I am ever repeating, "Ill to do, is ill to fare." And yet he (in his charges against them) resorted to no calumny, but proved what he said. So sure are we, when we are shamefully borne down in a matter wherein we have a clear conscience, to be none the worse for it.
"Now hearing these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed with their teeth. "The unbelieving, unable to tolerate Stephen's preaching, were hastening unanimously to effect his death. Stephen, raising his eyes to heaven, saw the Son standing on the right hand of the Father. When he said this in pure truth, the crowd of madmen ran violently upon him and, having cast him out of the city, pelted him with stones. But Stephen, dying, prayed for them that this crime might not weigh down his persecutors. Paul too consented to his death, and he raised a great persecution against the church established in Jerusalem; for, after Stephen's body was buried with pious lamentation, this Paul made a havoc of the church with a hatred as great as the affection with which he would later defend it. Meanwhile Philip the deacon, another one of the seven, going down to the city of Samaria, earnestly preached the word of the Lord and performed by the power of Christ many miracles on the people who desired it, and the city was filled with great joy as a result.
Dictionary and topics
Gnash — Heb. harak, meaning “to grate the teeth”, (Job 16:9; Ps. 112:10; Lam. 2:16), denotes rage or sorrow. (See also Acts 7:54; Mark 9:18.)
Stephen — One of the seven deacons, who became a preacher of the gospel. He was the first Christian martyr. His personal character and history are recorded in Acts 6. “He fell asleep” with a prayer for his…
Tooth — One of the particulars regarding which retaliatory punishment was to be inflicted (Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21). “Gnashing of teeth” =rage, despair (Matt. 8:12; Acts 7:54); “cleanness of…
Anger · Sinful, Exemplified: High Priest, &c — Sinful, Exemplified: High Priest, &c
Court · ACCUSED SPOKE IN HIS OWN — ACCUSED SPOKE IN HIS OWN
Revenge · .By the chief priests — .By the chief priests
Stephen · Stoned — Stoned
Teeth · Gnashing (grinding) of, usually signifying anger or extreme pain — Gnashing (grinding) of, usually signifying anger or extreme pain
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).
John Calvin on Acts 7:54-57
Acts 7:54-58
54. Furthermore, when they heard these things, they were cut asunder in their hearts, and they gnashed upon him with their teeth. 55. But forasmuch as he was full of the Holy Ghost, he looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens open, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God. And they cried with a loud voice, and stopped their ears; 57. And with one accord they ran upon him: 58. And having cast him out of the city, they stoned him.
54. When they heard. The beginning of the action had in it some color of judgment; but at length the judges cannot bridle their fury…
Stephen raised the same charge that God had raised against his people in the wilderness: that they were heathen at heart and deaf to the truth, because they were rejecting the gospel and obstinately resisting the Holy Spirit (see Exod 32:9; 33:3; 34:9; Deut 9:6, 13; 31:27; see also Ps 78:8; Zech 7:11-12).
