What Does Acts 24:15 Mean?
And I hold my hope toward God, which they themselves also take hold of, that there shall be a standing up of the dead, both of the aligned and of the unaligned.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.THE KEY
Resurrection is a shared expectation that includes both the aligned and the unaligned.
THE MEANING
Hope toward God remains alive in the face of death. Resurrection embraces both the aligned and the unaligned, while the verse keeps their distinction in view. Death does not erase the difference in outcome.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that only the aligned are raised: the unaligned are within resurrection too.
THE ROOT
ἀνάστασις
anastasis
GROWS FROM
ἵστημι (histēmi), with ἀνά- (ana-, up)
To stand or set in place; with “up,” to stand up or rise.
Resurrection carries the image of standing up: the dead are the ones who rise. The word holds the act of rising together even as the verse distinguishes those who rise.
ALSO GROWS
anistēmi: To stand up, rise.
ἀνίστημι
This verb makes the movement inside resurrection visible.
stasis: Standing, stance, position.
στάσις
It shares the idea of standing and helps reveal the concrete image beneath “resurrection.”
δικαίων
dikaiōn
GROWS FROM
δικ- (dik-), the family of δίκη (dikē, right and justice)
Right order, justice, being aligned with what is right.
The pair shares the same word family: the aligned and those who are not aligned. Both are included in resurrection, so the distinction concerns their standing, not whether they rise.
ALSO GROWS
dikaios: Just; aligned with what is right.
δίκαιος
This is the singular form behind “the just.”
adikos: Unjust; not aligned with what is right.
ἄδικος
The prefix ἀ- (a-, not) marks the contrast while keeping both groups in the same word family.
dikaiosynē: Justice, righteousness; alignment.
δικαιοσύνη
This related noun shows the same family expressing the condition of being aligned.
προσδέχονται
prosdechontai
GROWS FROM
δέχομαι (dechomai, receive or accept), with πρός (pros, toward)
To receive or accept; with the prefix, to receive, welcome, or await.
“take hold of” in this verse is prosdechontai. The word rendered “allow” carries the sense of receiving or accepting, with an expectant shade. The resurrection is something they receive as hope; shared expectation can coexist with a difference between the aligned and unaligned.
ALSO GROWS
dechomai: To receive, accept, or welcome.
δέχομαι
This is the core action beneath the verse’s “allow.”
apodechomai: To accept or welcome.
ἀποδέχομαι
This related form keeps the sense of receiving at the center.
paradechomai: To accept or receive.
παραδέχομαι
This branch likewise shows acceptance as receiving something.
THE PATTERN
Resurrection reaches both the aligned and the unaligned, while scripture names distinct outcomes for them.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground shall awake, some to the life of the ages, and some to exposure and contempt for the ages.And will come out, those who did good unto a rising of life, and those who did what is worthless unto a rising of sifting.And the sea gives up the dead who are in it; and death and the unseen give up the dead who are in them; and each one is judged according to their works.THE THREAD
And will come out, those who did good unto a rising of life, and those who did what is worthless unto a rising of sifting.The Greek noun ἀνάστασις (anastasis, a rising or standing up) appears in both verses. John names two outcomes after the shared rising, showing how Acts can include both groups in resurrection without erasing their difference.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us