Acts 13:40
in Acts 13Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets:
KJV
Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;
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This verse in Acts 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBeware - lest that come upon you, etc. - If you reject these benefits, now freely offered to you in this preaching of Christ crucified, you may expect such judgment from the hand of God as your forefathers experienced, when, for their rebellion and their contempt of his benefits, their city was taken, their temple destroyed, and themselves either slain by the sword, or carried into captivity. It is evident that St. Paul refers to Hab 1:5-10; and in those verses the desolation by the Chaldeans is foretold. Never was there a prophecy more correctly and pointedly applied.
This site's exposition
Watch out, then
on Acts 13:40-41
Paul closes with Habakkuk 1:5, Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, a warning to Judah of the Chaldean invasion now applied to the gospel. The citation follows the Septuagint, which reads scoffers where the Hebrew reads among the nations.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
The prophecy of the prophet Habakkuk denouncing unrighteous judgment and the excessive forbearance of God, and saying: Why have You shown me toil and trouble? For judgment has arisen against me, and the righteous judge takes, and the wicked oppresses the just, and judgment is …
Then too he adds the terrifying words: "Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." And this he hints in the conclusion, saying, "Look, ye despisers, and behold." And observe how, this being harsh, he cuts it short. Let not that, he says, come upon you, which was spoken for the others, that "I work a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though one declare it unto you." Marvel not that it seems incredible: this very thing was foretold from the first - that it would not be believed. "Behold, ye despisers," as regards those who disbelieve in the Resurrection. This too might with reason be said to us: "Behold ye despisers." For the Church indeed is in very evil case, although ye think her affairs to be in peace. For the mischief of it is, that while we labor under so many evils, we do not even know that we have any.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Beware therefore,....
The preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles at their request, and upon the Jews' refusal of it, wherein the apostles justified themselves against the displeasure which the Jews conceived at it, and God owned them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the forgiveness of sins--the first necessity of the sinner, and so the first experienced blessing of the Gospel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Beware, therefore - Avoid what is threatened. It will come on some; and Paul exhorted his hearers to beware lest it should come on them. It was the more important to caution them against this danger, as the Jews held that they were safe. Lest that come - That calamity; that threatened punishment. In the prophets - In that part of the Scriptures called “the Prophets.” The Jews divided the Old Testament into three parts, of which “the Book of the Prophets” was one. See the notes on Luk 24:44. The place where this is recorded is Hab 1:5. It is not taken from the Hebrew, but substantially from the Septuagint. The original design of the threatening was to announce the destruction that would come upon the nation by the Chaldeans. The original threatening was fulfilled. But it was as applicable to the Jews in the time of Paul as in the time of Habakkuk. The principle of the passage is, that if they held in contempt the doings of God, they would perish. The work which God was to do by means of the Chaldeans was so fearful, so unusual, and so remarkable, that they would not believe it in time to avoid the calamity. In the same way, the manner in which God gave the Messiah was so little in accordance with their expectation, that they might see it, yet disbelieve it; that they might have the fullest proof, and yet despise it; that they might wonder, and be amazed and astonished, and yet refuse to believe it, and be destroyed.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| βλέπετε | blepete | do take heed | G991 → | 132 times |
| οὖν | oun | therefore | G3767 → | 497 times |
| μὴ | me | lest | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ἐπέλθῃ | epelthe | may come about | G1904 → | 9 times |
| τὸ | to | that | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| εἰρημένον | eiremenon | said | G2046 → | 47 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τοῖς | tois | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| προφήταις· | prophetais | prophets: | G4396 → | 144 times |
βλέπετεdo take heed
blepeteG991 →132 times
οὖνtherefore
ounG3767 →497 times
μὴlest
meG3361 →1066 times
ἐπέλθῃmay come about
epeltheG1904 →9 times
τὸthat
toG3588 →19766 times
εἰρημένονsaid
eiremenonG2046 →47 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
τοῖςthe
toisG3588 →19766 times
προφήταις·prophets:
prophetaisG4396 →144 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
Hebrews 3:12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Jeremiah 7:24
Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
- Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Jeremiah 17:5
Through
Malachi 3:2But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
it leads to
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- Isaiah 4:4
when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
- 1 Corinthians 3:13–15
his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.
- Zechariah 13:9
Through
Malachi 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of…
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8
in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- 2 Peter 3:7
And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies21
About Acts
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on Acts; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 29; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts.