Acts 3:5
in Acts 3So the man gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something from them.
KJV
And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
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This verse in Acts 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd he gave heed unto them,.... Or "he looked at them", as the Syriac version renders it, as they bid him: he was not only attentive to them in his mind, but he directed his eyes towards them, and looked wistly at them. This clause is left out in the Ethiopic version. Expecting to receive something of them; not a cure for his lameness, which he little thought of, but some money, as an alms.
This site's exposition
Peter looked directly at him
on Acts 3:4-5
Peter looked directly at him, as did John, and told the beggar to look at them, asking his full attention before anything is given. The man looks up expecting to receive something from them, still reading the moment as a matter of money.
This site's exposition
expecting to receive something
Adam Clarke explains that worshippers carried money into the temple for the treasury and the poor, so the man was laid at the gate. Erasmus notes that he did not dare to ask for healing, having no hope of it. Yet Erasmus thinks he sensed something good coming.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Hope disappointed the greedy prayer [for alms], but when [hope] withholds [one thing], it has better things in store. How often things despaired of are helpful to burdened people, and prosperity, born from an inauspicious seed, concealing its joyful nearness by sorrowful beginnings, comes in …
What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What concord is there between the Academy and the Church? what between heretics and Christians? Our instruction comes from "the porch of Solomon," who had himself taught that "the Lord should be sought in simplicity of heart.
"And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give thee." He did not say, I give thee something much better than silver or gold: but what? "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."
The Reformation1 voice
He had asked for a donation; he expected a donation. He did not dare to beg that his legs be made whole, since he had no hope that they could do this. And yet he had a feeling that something good was about to happen.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
As every one hath received the gift, so let him minister it. Let us now see how the cure was wrought. [1.] Christ sent his word, and healed him ( Ps. cvii. 20 ); for healing grace is given by the word of Christ; this is the vehicle of the healing virtue derived from Christ.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Expecting to receive something of them - Because it was a constant custom for all who entered the temple to carry money with them to give to the treasury, or to the poor, or to both. It was on this ground that the friends of the lame man laid him at the gate of the temple, as this was the most likely place to receive alms.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | And | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἐπεῖχεν | epeichen | he was giving heed | G1907 → | |
| αὐτοῖς | autois | to them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| προσδοκῶν | prosdokon | expecting | G4328 → | 16 times |
| τι | ti | something | G5100 → | 528 times |
| παρ᾽ | par᾽ | from | G3844 → | 192 times |
| αὐτῶν | auton | them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| λαβεῖν.¶ | labein | to receive. | G2983 → | 257 times |
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
δὲAnd
deG1161 →2765 times
ἐπεῖχενhe was giving heed
epeichenG1907 →
αὐτοῖςto them
autoisG846 →5565 times
προσδοκῶνexpecting
prosdokonG4328 →16 times
τιsomething
tiG5100 →528 times
παρ᾽from
par᾽G3844 →192 times
αὐτῶνthem
autonG846 →5565 times
λαβεῖν.¶to receive.
labeinG2983 →257 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Arator, ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1; Erasmus of Rotterdam, Commentary (church-history corpus); J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 8; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Tertullian, The Prescription Against Heretics.