What Does Acts 9:24 Mean?
But their lying in wait was known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
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
But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.THE KEY
The secret is broken before the danger is: Saul knows the plan while the gates remain watched.
THE MEANING
A hostile plan can come into the open while its threat remains active. Saul knows what is intended, yet the gates are still watched day and night; exposure has not made the danger vanish.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Knowing the plan does not make the danger disappear; Saul knows it, and the gates remain watched.
THE ROOT
ἐγνώσθη
egnōsthē
GROWS FROM
γνο-/γνω- (gno-/gnō-)
know, recognize, perceive
“was known” in this verse is egnōsthē. The Greek says the plot became known: its secrecy crosses into Saul’s awareness. The same word family can name knowing and making known, so the hidden plan is no longer hidden from its target.
ALSO GROWS
ginōskō: know, recognize
γινώσκω
This verb family carries the sense of the plot becoming known to Saul.
gnōrizō: make known, disclose
γνωρίζω
It names the other side of knowing: what was concealed can be disclosed to someone.
παρετήρουν
paretēroun
GROWS FROM
τηρ
tēr-
keep, guard, watch
The verb describes sustained, attentive watching, matching the gates being watched day and night. Its root also means to keep or guard, so watching becomes a form of custody around the exits.
ALSO GROWS
tēreō: keep, guard, observe
τηρέω
This is the root verb behind the watching at the gates.
tērēsis: guarding, custody
τήρησις
This branch makes visible how observation can become a means of holding or controlling.
ἐπιβουλή
epiboulē
GROWS FROM
βουλ
boul-
counsel, intention, plan
“lying in wait” in this verse is epiboulē. The threat begins as counsel: before the gates are watched, a plan has formed against Saul. The root can describe counsel or intention generally; here its direction makes it a hostile plot.
ALSO GROWS
boulē: counsel, plan, purpose
βουλή
The plot is presented as a formed intention, not a sudden act.
bouleuō: deliberate, plan
βουλεύω
This branch points to the planning that lies behind the watch at the gates.
THE PATTERN
A concealed threat can be exposed while its danger remains real.
For I hear the whispering of many; terror is all around, as they sit down together against me, and plot to take my living soul.Therefore do not fear them, for nothing is covered that will not be uncovered, nor hidden that will not be known.In Damascus the ruler of the nation under King Aretas guarded the city of the Damascenes, wishing to take hold of me. Through a window, in a woven basket, I was lowered through the wall, and I slipped out of his hands.THE THREAD
Therefore do not fear them, for nothing is covered that will not be uncovered, nor hidden that will not be known.Both verses use the same Greek knowing-word family: Acts says the plot becomes known to Saul, while Matthew says what is hidden will be known. Matthew opens the moment outward, while Acts keeps the immediate danger in view: the gates remain guarded.
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