What Does Acts 19:14 Mean in the King James?
And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
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 names their priestly lineage, then lets the ongoing verb, not the title, show what these seven are actually doing.
THE MEANING
The verse places seven sons and their father’s priestly title beside the action they share. Lineage and status name where they stand; the closing verb shows what they are enacting now.
THE ROOT
ποιοῦντες
poiountes
GROWS FROM
ποιέω
poieō
To do, make, or bring about.
“did so” in this verse is poiountes. The Greek phrase is literally “doing this,” with a present participle that portrays the action as underway. After naming the sons and their father’s title, the sentence leaves their action in view.
ALSO GROWS
poiētēs: Doer, maker
ποιητής
This is the same word family used for a person who acts on what they hear, as in James 1:22.
poiēma: Something made, workmanship
ποίημα
The related word for something brought about shows how this root connects action with its visible result.
THE PATTERN
A person’s identity becomes visible through what they do, alongside the name or status they carry.
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.Acts 19:14’s ποιοῦντες (poiountes, “doing”) and James’s ποιηταί (poiētai, “doers”) share the root ποιέω (poieō, “do, make”). Acts names the action underway; James uses the same word family for a person who puts the word into action.
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