Limitless Word
In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
Acts 8:33 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth.”
  • BSB In His humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can recount His descendants? For His life was removed from the earth.”
  • NKJV In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”
  • NASB “In humiliation His justice was taken away; Who will describe His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth.”
  • NLT He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

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 quoted prophecy describes the Servant's unjust humiliation and the taking of his life, language fulfilled in Jesus' trial and death.

Overview

Continuing Isaiah 53, the text speaks of the Servant denied justice and cut off from the land of the living. These words found their fulfillment in Jesus, condemned unjustly yet through whom God's saving purpose was accomplished. The puzzling question of who can describe his generation invites the explanation Philip is about to give.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Isa 53:12Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
  • Isa 53:8He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
  • Phil 2:8–9And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
  • Zech 13:7Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
  • Isa 53:10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
  • Job 34:5For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.
  • Isa 5:23Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
  • Job 27:2As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
  • Dan 9:26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
  • Matt 27:12–26And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
  • Ps 22:30A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
  • Ps 22:15My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
  • Isa 10:2To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
  • Hab 1:4Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
  • John 19:12–16And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 8:33YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 8:33 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

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.