What Does Acts 15:34 Mean in the King James?
Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.
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 verse presents staying as a choice Silas finds fitting, not simply as an inability to leave.
THE MEANING
Silas considers it good to remain where he is. The verse lets continued presence count as a meaningful choice, rather than making movement the only sign of purpose.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The assumption that staying always means stagnation. Here, Silas’s remaining is presented as a choice he considers fitting.
THE ROOT
ἐπιμεῖναι
epimeinai
GROWS FROM
μένω
menō
Remain, stay, continue.
The verb is built on μένω (menō), meaning “remain,” and carries the sense of continuing to stay. Its word family also names a dwelling, so the verse’s “abide” suggests sustained presence, not merely a pause in motion.
ALSO GROWS
epimenō: Continue or remain.
ἐπιμένω
This is the verb form behind Silas’s “abide,” making his choice one of continued presence.
monē: Dwelling place, abode.
μονή
This related word shows how remaining can become dwelling: staying is presence maintained in a place.
THE PATTERN
Remaining is an active continuation that sustains what depends on ongoing presence.
I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.THE THREAD
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.Silas’s verb is ἐπιμεῖναι (epimeinai), “to remain,” built on μένω (menō), “remain”; Jesus uses that same root in μείνατε (meinate), “abide.” The shared root reveals continued presence in both verses: staying in a place, or remaining in a bond.
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