Acts 8:34

ESV And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?"

NIV The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"

NASB The eunuch answered Philip and said, 'Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?'

CSB The eunuch said to Philip, "I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?"

NLT The eunuch asked Philip, 'Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?'

KJV And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

NKJV So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”

What does Acts 8:34 mean?

A God-worshiping Ethiopian court official is reading the account of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 (Acts 8:32–33). He has good reason to ask Philip whom the passage refers to. Jews still can't accept that the Suffering Servant is the same person as their triumphant Messiah. Although the Bible says little about Isaiah's life, Jewish tradition says that he fled from King Manasseh's guards and hid in a cedar tree. The guards saw the hem of Isaiah's robe and sawed the tree down, cutting Isaiah in half as they did so.

But Philip explains that the passage refers to Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 8:35). Like the Passover lamb, He was led to His death (Mark 14:43–46, 53; 15:1). Although He spoke to His accusers and judges (John 18:19–23, 33–38), He did not defend Himself against the false charges (Mark 14:60–61; 15:4–5). He was humiliated unjustly (Mark 14:55–59; Matthew 27:17–23) and rejected by His contemporaries (Matthew 27:20–23).

Philip includes these horrors Jesus endured as part of the "good news" (Acts 8:35). Not that it was good for Him to be beaten and crucified, but that He rose again on the third day and offers forgiveness of sins. Unlike the Pharisees, priests, and scribes who know the Jewish Scriptures inside and out, yet either rejected Christ or resisted before coming to faith (Acts 6:5), this Ethiopian court official immediately accepts the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy and accepts Christ as his Savior (Acts 8:36–39).

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Context Summary
Acts 8:26–40 completes the story of Philip's early ministry. Driven out of Jerusalem by persecution, he first travels north into Samaria and spreads the gospel to a people Jews had believed accursed (Acts 8:5–13). Now, an angel tells him to go south where he meets an official of the Ethiopian court who is reading from the book of Isaiah. Philip's ministry shows that God doesn't care if someone is born into His chosen people, or are ethnically and theologically confused, or are even a foreign eunuch. He loves equally and desires that everyone will repent and come to Him.

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Chapter Summary
Jesus told the apostles they would spread the gospel (Acts 1:8) and persecution makes that happen. Upon the death of the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:54–60), a young Pharisee named Saul builds on the momentum to arrest and, if possible, execute Jesus followers (Acts 8:1–3; 26:10). The apostles mostly stay in Jerusalem, but the church members flee, spreading the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Important encounters in this passage include a magician named Simon and the conversion of an Ethiopian court official.

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