But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
Parallel translations
- WEB When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”
- KJV And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
- NKJV But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
- NASB But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
- NLT But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When the Jews opposed and reviled him, Paul symbolically shook out his garments and turned to the Gentiles, declaring himself innocent of their fate.
Overview
Shaking out his clothes echoed Jesus' instruction to shake off the dust against those who reject the message (Luke 9:5; Acts 13:51). Paul's words recall Ezekiel's watchman, who is guiltless once he has warned the people (Ezek. 33:1-9). This marks another turning to the Gentiles, yet not a final rejection of the Jews, for Paul keeps preaching to them in city after city.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 34
- Ezek 33:4Then if anyone hears the sound of the horn but fails to heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
- 2 Sam 1:16For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood be on your own head because your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’”
- Ezek 33:8–9If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood.
- Ezek 18:13He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.
- Acts 13:51So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
- Neh 5:13I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake out of His house and possession every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!” The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.
- 1 Pet 4:4Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you.
- Acts 13:45–47But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
- 1 Pet 4:14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
- 1 Th 2:14–16For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,
- Luke 9:5If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”
- Luke 10:10–11But if you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go into the streets and declare,
- Acts 28:28Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
- Matt 27:25All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
- Rom 3:29Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
- 2 Tim 2:25He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
- Ezek 3:18–19If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.
- Matt 22:10So the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
- Matt 10:14And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
- Acts 20:26–27Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
- Rom 10:12–13For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
- Acts 19:9–10But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
- Acts 26:20First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.
- Jas 2:6–7But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
- Acts 26:11I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
- Luke 22:65And they said many other blasphemous things against Him.
- Matt 21:43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
- Matt 8:11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Lev 20:9If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
- Lev 20:11–12If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
- Rom 11:11–15I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.
- Rom 9:25–26As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”
- 1 Tim 5:22Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
- Rom 9:30–33What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
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Original language
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