What Does Acts 13:27 Mean in the King James?
For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
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
In Yerushalayim (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, yerushalayim), whose name holds the two wholenesses, its residents fail to recognize him, and their verdict fills the prophetic words they cannot perceive.
THE MEANING
The place named for wholeness does not itself grant clear perception: its people do not recognize him or the prophetic words read each Sabbath. Yet in condemning him, they bring those words to their fullness. The words are read repeatedly while the one they reveal remains unseen.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Repeated exposure to scripture does not guarantee recognition of the one its words reveal.
THE ROOT
ἐπλήρωσαν
eplērōsan
GROWS FROM
πληρ-
plēr-
Fill, make full, bring to completion.
“fulfilled” in this verse is eplērōsan. The prophetic words are not merely recalled; they reach their full expression in what the people do. Their condemnation becomes the means by which the words are filled out.
ALSO GROWS
plērēs: Full, complete.
πλήρης
This related word describes the state of being full, echoing how the prophetic words arrive at their full expression.
plērōma: Fullness, that which fills.
πλήρωμα
It makes the connection between fulfillment and fullness visible: the words become full in the events described.
ἀγνοήσαντες
agnoēsantes
GROWS FROM
νοέω
noeō
Perceive, understand; the added prefix expresses absence or lack.
“knew him not” in this verse is agnoēsantes. The failure is a failure of perception and understanding, extending both to the person and to the prophetic voices. Reading the words aloud does not mean their meaning has been recognized.
ALSO GROWS
nous: Mind, understanding.
νοῦς
This related word points to the faculty of perception that is missing when the people fail to recognize him.
agnoia: Ignorance, lack of understanding.
ἄγνοια
This related word names the state behind their failure to perceive the person and the words read about him.
κρίναντες
krinantes
GROWS FROM
κριν-
krin-
Separate, decide, judge.
“condemning” in this verse is krinantes. Their condemnation is an act of judgment, and that decision becomes part of how the prophetic words reach fullness. The verse holds their verdict and their unknowing fulfillment together.
ALSO GROWS
krisis: Judgment, decision.
κρίσις
It names the judgment made against him, the act through which the prophetic words are enacted.
kritēs: Judge.
κριτής
It names the one who decides a case, highlighting the judgment at the center of the verse.
THE PATTERN
Words may be present, and even enacted, while the one they reveal remains unrecognized.
And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:THE THREAD
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.Luke uses the same verb for “fulfilled” when Jesus says the Law, Prophets, and Psalms reach their full expression concerning him. Acts shows that this fullness arrives even through the condemnation of those who do not recognize what they are reading.
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