So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
Parallel translations
- WEB Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
- KJV And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
- NKJV So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
- NASB Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
- NLT Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
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
Philip ran to the chariot and, hearing the official read Isaiah, asked whether he understood it. The question opens a door for explaining Scripture's meaning.
Overview
Philip's prompt obedience and his pointed question model wise evangelism that meets people where they are. The eunuch was reading the very text that points to the suffering Servant, yet he needed help to grasp it. Scripture rightly understood always leads to Christ, and faithful teachers help others see him there.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Luke 24:44–45Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
- John 5:39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,
- Eph 5:17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
- Matt 13:23But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”
- Matt 13:19When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
- Matt 15:10Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.
- Eccl 9:10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
- Matt 24:15So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),
- Matt 13:51Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered.
- Mark 13:14So when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
- Ps 119:32I run in the path of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart.
- 1 Cor 14:19But in the church, I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
- Acts 8:27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
- Rev 13:18Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.
- John 4:34Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 8:30 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.