They brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. Alexander beckoned with his hand, and would have made a defense to the people.
Parallel translations
- KJV And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.
- BSB The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward to explain himself, and he motioned for silence so he could make his defense to the people.
- NKJV And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people.
- NASB Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly.
- NLT The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak.
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
The Jews pushed forward Alexander to speak, and he motioned to make a defense to the crowd.
Overview
The Jews likely wanted to distance themselves from Paul and the Christians, fearing the mob's anger. Alexander's attempt to address the crowd would only inflame it once his identity was known. The episode shows the tangled hostilities surrounding the early church.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Acts 12:17But he, beckoning to them with his hand to be silent, declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said, “Tell these things to James, and to the brothers.” Then he departed, and went to another place.
- 1 Tim 1:20of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.
- 2 Tim 4:14Alexander, the coppersmith, did much evil to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds,
- Luke 1:22When he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute.
- Acts 21:40When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the people. When there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,
- Phil 1:7It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace.
- Acts 13:16Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen.
- Acts 26:1–2Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand, and made his defense.
- Acts 24:10When the governor had beckoned to him to speak, Paul answered, “Because I know that you have been a judge of this nation for many years, I cheerfully make my defense,
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 19:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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