Acts 1:18
in Acts 1(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
(Now this man obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
KJV
Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
⋯
This verse in Acts 1
Commentary
18 notes on this verseA commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsApostolic Constitutions (Book VII), Section 1, II · Written before 380.
"You shall not steal:" [Exodus 20:15] for Achan, when he had stolen in Israel at Jericho, was stoned to death; [Joshua 7:1] and Gehazi, who stole, and told a lie, inherited the leprosy of Naaman; [2 Kings 5:27] and Judas, who stole the poor's money, betrayed the Lord of glory to the Jews, [John 12:6] and repented, and hanged himself, and burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out; [Matthew 27:5; Acts 1:18] and Ananias, and Sapphira his wife, who stole their own goods, and "tempted the Spirit of the Lord," were immediately, at the sentence of Peter our fellow-apostle, struck dead. [Acts 5:1-11]
This site's exposition
purchased a field with the reward of iniquity
on Acts 1:18-19
Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst: the bench reads Peter's account alongside Matthew 27:3-10, where the priests buy the potter's field with the returned silver and Judas hangs himself, and holds the two as compatible rather than contradictory, Judas's own money purchasing the field through the priests who bought it in his name, and a broken rope or a fall from a height completing what the hanging began. It was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem that the field is called in their proper tongue Aceldama, the field of blood, a name that outlived Judas in the very language of the city. The exposition names the harmonization as the standard reading rather than forcing the two accounts into one sentence the text itself never gives.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Judas did not die by hanging, but survived, having been crushed before being strangled. This is indicated by the Acts of the Apostles, which say that, having fallen forward, he burst open in the middle. This is narrated more clearly by Papias, a disciple of …
"For his flesh had swollen to such an extent that not even where a wagon easily passes could one pass him, nor was it only the swelling of the head. For they say the eyelids of his eyes had so become blinded that he did …
And Luke here records immediately the suffering of Judas. For the souls of the weaker are most disgraced by present things. He increased not the sin, calling him a traitor, but the punishment, because he endured this and that in full detail.
"Now this man acquired a field out of the reward of iniquity." He gives his discourse a moral turn, and covertly mentions the cause of the wickedness, because it carried reproof with it. And he does not say, The Jews, but, "this man, acquired" it. For since the minds of weak persons do not attend to things future, as they do to things present, he discourses of the immediate punishment inflicted. "And falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst." He does well to dilate not upon the sin, but upon the punishment. "And," he says, "all his bowels gushed out." This brought them consolation. He also dwells upon the circumstances respecting Judas, showing that the reward of the treachery was made itself the herald of the punishment. For he "acquired," he says, "a field out of the reward of the iniquity." Observe the divine economy in the event. "Of the iniquity," he says. For there are many iniquities, but never was anything more iniquitous than this: so that the affair was one of iniquity.
Accordingly, after one of these had been struck off, He commanded the eleven others, on His departure to the Father, to "go and teach all nations, who were to be baptized into the Father, and into the Son, and into the Holy Ghost." [Matt. 28:19] Immediately, therefore, so did the apostles, whom this designation indicates as "the sent."
11 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Papias of HierapolisCatenae Graecorum patrum in Novum Testamentum (AD 1844) · Written before 130.
proposed
Judas did not die by hanging, but lived on, having been cut down before he was suffocated. And the acts of the apostles show this, that falling head long he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. This fact is related …
Peter consoles them with prophecy. Nor does he say: As David said, but the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David. What then were these? Whatever the one hundred and eighth psalm contains: of which he will also make mention after a little bit. Speaking …
The Medieval Church3 voices
And he indeed obtained a field from the reward of iniquity. He who sold the Lord of life, having lost the land of the living, possesses a field of blood and eternal death, the memory of his crime and his name. Otherwise, Judas himself did …
And he burst asunder in the middle. The mad traitor found a punishment worthy of himself, that is, the noose's knot strangled the throat from which the voice of betrayal had emerged. He also sought a fitting place of destruction, so that he who had …
He speaks of the punishment which Judas suffered in the present life, and not of the future punishment, because the souls of weak people do not pay as much attention to the future as to the present. Observe: he elaborated not on the transgression, but …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity - That is, a field was purchased with the reward of his iniquity; though very possibly Judas might design the purchase.
Now this man purchased a field,....
Theophilus is put in mind, and we in him, of St. Luke's gospel, which it will be of use for us to cast an eye upon before we enter upon the study of this book, that we may not only see how this begins where that breaks off, but that, as in water face answers to face, so do the acts of the apostles to the acts of their Master, the acts of his grace.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Purchased a field with the reward of iniquity - Probably Judas did not purchase the field himself, but the money for which he sold his Lord was thus applied, see Mat 27:6-
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Now this man ... - The money which was given for betraying the Lord Jesus was thrown down in the temple, and the field was purchased with it by the Jewish priests. See Mat 27:5, Mat 27:10, and the notes on that place. A man is said often to do a thing when he furnishes means for doing it. Compare Mat 27:60, “And laid it (the body of Jesus) in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock.” That is, had caused to be hewn out. Joh 4:1, “when, therefore, the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus “made and baptized” more disciples than John.” Through his disciples, for Jesus himself baptized not, Joh 4:2. The same principle is recognized in law in the well-known maxim, “Qui facit per alium, facit per se.” The reward of iniquity - The price which he had for that deed of stupendous wickedness - the betraying of the Lord Jesus. And falling headlong - The word here rendered “headlong” - πρηνής prēnēs (Latin “pronus,” whence our English word “prone”) - means properly “bent forward, head-foremost”; and the idea is, that his position in hanging himself was such that when the cord broke he fell headlong, or fell forward on his face. This can easily be supposed if he threw himself from a rock or elevated place. He first hanged himself, and then fell and was burst asunder. See the notes on Mat 27:5.
Modern Voices1 voice
In my daily paper this morning I read the following interesting paragraphs, which take my mind back to an England which I do not remember and which, therefore (perhaps), I admire. "Nearly sixty years ago--on 4 September, 1850--the Austrian General Haynau, who had gained an …
The words behind it
20 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| οὗτος | houtos | This [man] | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| μὲν | men | indeed | G3303 → | 176 times |
| οὖν | oun | then | G3767 → | 497 times |
| ἐκτήσατο | ektesato | acquired | G2932 → | 7 times |
| χωρίον | chorion | a field | G5564 → | 10 times |
| ἐκ | ek | out of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| μισθοῦ | misthou | reward | G3408 → | |
| τῆς | tes | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀδικίας, | adikias | of unrighteousness, | G93 → | |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| πρηνὴς | prenes | headlong | G4248 → | |
| γενόμενος | genomenos | having fallen | G1096 → | 667 times |
| ἐλάκησεν | elakesen | he burst open | G2997 → | |
| μέσος | mesos | in [the] middle | G3319 → | 56 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐξεχύθη | exechuthe | gushed out | G1632 → | 27 times |
| πάντα | panta | all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| τὰ | ta | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| σπλάγχνα | splagchna | intestines | G4698 → | |
| αὐτοῦ, | autou | of him, | G846 → | 5565 times |
οὗτοςThis [man]
houtosG3778 →1381 times
μὲνindeed
menG3303 →176 times
οὖνthen
ounG3767 →497 times
ἐκτήσατοacquired
ektesatoG2932 →7 times
χωρίονa field
chorionG5564 →10 times
ἐκout of
ekG1537 →911 times
μισθοῦreward
misthouG3408 →
τῆς<the>
tesG3588 →19766 times
ἀδικίας,of unrighteousness,
adikiasG93 →
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
πρηνὴςheadlong
prenesG4248 →
γενόμενοςhaving fallen
genomenosG1096 →667 times
ἐλάκησενhe burst open
elakesenG2997 →
μέσοςin [the] middle
mesosG3319 →56 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐξεχύθηgushed out
exechutheG1632 →27 times
πάνταall
pantaG3956 →1235 times
τὰthe
taG3588 →19766 times
σπλάγχναintestines
splagchnaG4698 →
αὐτοῦ,of him,
autouG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 55:23But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be cut short.
- Psalms 5:6
You destroy those who tell lies; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
- Job 15:32
It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.
- Proverbs 10:27
Through
Psalms 55:15Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.
it leads to
- Psalms 59:13
Consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, so it may be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah
- Acts 1:18–20
(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
- Psalms 9:17
The wicked will return to Sheol— all the nations who forget God.
- Psalms 109:6–20
Set over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
- Psalms 64:7
But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be wounded.
- Psalms 59:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
On this verse
About Acts
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions (Book VII), Section 1, II; Bede, Commentary on Acts; GK Chesterton, Alarms and Discursions, The Field of Blood (1910); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 3; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts; Papias of Hierapolis, Catenae Graecorum patrum in Novum Testamentum (AD 1844); Tertullian, The Prescription Against Heretics, Chapter 20 and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.