What Does Acts 10:13 Mean in the King James?

And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

Acts 10:13 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

The Greek verb translated “kill” also names sacrificial slaughter, so this command lets a meal and an offering share one word.

THE MEANING

The voice orders Peter to rise, kill, and eat; in the vision, nourishment comes through an animal’s death. For you now, the command brings the boundary of what may be received into the open, while the next utterance names God’s cleansing as the measure.

THE ROOT

θῦσον

thýson

GROWS FROM

θύω

thýō

To slaughter or kill; also, to sacrifice or offer.

The Greek verb ⁨θύω⁩ (thýō, “to slaughter; to sacrifice”) ranges from killing an animal for food to sacrificial offering. English “kill” narrows the sound; the Greek leaves the offering sense audible without declaring this meal itself a sacrifice.

ALSO GROWS

thysía: sacrifice, offering

θυσία

This noun from the same verb family makes the offering sense of “kill” audible beneath the command.

etýthē: was sacrificed

ἐτύθη

In 1 Corinthians 5:7, this form from the same verb family describes Christ as sacrificed, showing that ⁨θύω⁩ can name offering as well as slaughter.

THE PATTERN

Scripture places food and sacrifice at the boundary where life is given over.

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

Genesis 9:3 · KJVAnimal life is included among the food given, making the life taken for nourishment visible.

And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

Luke 15:23 · KJVThe killing of the calf leads directly into a shared feast, joining slaughter with welcome and food.

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

1 Corinthians 5:7 · KJVSacrifice is named with the same Greek verb family that Acts uses for “kill,” extending that language into an offering.

THE THREAD

And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

Luke 15:23 · KJV

Luke uses ⁨θύσατε⁩ (thýsate, “kill”) from the same verb family as Acts’ ⁨θῦσον⁩ (thýson, “kill”), then pairs it with eating. The parallel lets Peter’s terse command resonate with a feast where slaughter becomes the threshold to shared food.

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