What Does Acts 23:11 Mean in the King James?
And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
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 uses the same witness-root twice: what is testified in Jerusalem is the same witness that must reach Rome.
THE MEANING
The Lord meets you in the night and speaks courage before the next place is visible. What has been testified in one place is not finished; the same witness continues into another. His presence and the unfinished road stand together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A hostile or unfinished moment means the witness has failed or the Lord has left. Here, the Lord stands beside Paul in the night and names the witness’s next place before it is reached.
THE ROOT
διεμαρτύρω
diemartyrō
GROWS FROM
μαρτυρ-
martyr-
witness; one who bears testimony
“testified / bear witness” in this verse is diemartyrō. “Testified” and “bear witness” sound like different actions in English, but both carry the same Greek word-family. The root makes the witness in Jerusalem and the witness at Rome one continuous thread.
ALSO GROWS
martys: witness
μάρτυς
The witness is the one who bears what is known, the person at the center of both clauses.
martyria: testimony
μαρτυρία
The testimony is what the witness carries from one place into another.
ἐπιστάς
epistas
GROWS FROM
ἵστημι
histēmi
stand; set in place
“stood by” in this verse is epistas. Before a word of reassurance is spoken, the Lord is already present beside him. The encounter begins with standing near, so courage is held in presence, not only in words.
ALSO GROWS
paristēmi: stand beside; be present
παρίστημι
This related form makes the nearness in “stood by him” visible.
anistēmi: rise; stand up
ἀνίστημι
The same root family carries the sense of taking a standing position, giving the verse’s arrival a physical quality.
θάρσει
tharsei
GROWS FROM
θαρσ-
thars-
courage; confidence
“Be of good cheer” in this verse is tharsei. The words name courage as a present stance, spoken into the night before the journey is complete. They do not say the danger has disappeared; the next stretch is still ahead.
ALSO GROWS
tharsos: courage
θάρσος
The noun names the courage the Lord speaks directly to Paul.
tharreō: be confident; take courage
θαρρέω
This related verb carries the same call to stand with courage amid what remains unresolved.
THE PATTERN
A witness carries what has been encountered into public speech, across places and even into pressure.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.THE THREAD
And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.The same Greek witness-root appears in both verses. John connects bearing witness with having been with Jesus; Acts shows that witness continuing outward from Jerusalem toward Rome.
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