What Does Acts 17:2 Mean in the King James?
And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
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
Reasoning here is spoken work: the scriptures are voiced, examined, and returned to across three gatherings.
THE MEANING
The passage meets you with scripture opened through repeated, spoken examination. Meaning takes shape as words are voiced, weighed, and returned to over time.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse dissolves the belief that careful reasoning weakens engagement with scripture; here, reasoning is how its claims are engaged.
THE ROOT
διελέξατο
dielexato
GROWS FROM
λεγ-/λογ- (leg-/log-)
To say or speak; διαλέγομαι means to discuss or reason through spoken exchange.
“reasoned” in this verse is dielexato. The Greek verb centers the act in spoken discussion, bringing the scriptures into words that can be examined together. Its related word λόγος (logos) means “word,” revealing speech as the ground of this reasoning.
ALSO GROWS
logos: word, message
λόγος
This branch keeps the spoken word in view: the reasoning works through words drawn from scripture.
dialektos: speech, language, dialect
διάλεκτος
This branch names speech as a shared medium, echoing the passage’s reasoning with others.
THE PATTERN
Scripture becomes intelligible as it is opened through speech, explanation, and examination.
So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?THE THREAD
And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.Acts 18:4 uses the same Greek verb family for “reasoned,” making the recurring practice visible across another sabbath gathering. The shared root keeps the focus on spoken reasoning as an encounter with scripture.
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