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Andτεthey were callingἐκάλουνBarnabasτὸν ΒαρναβᾶνZeus,ΔίαandδὲPaulτὸν ΠαῦλονHermes,Ἑρμῆνbecauseἐπειδὴheαὐτὸςwasἦνthe chiefὁ ἡγούμενοςspeaker.τοῦ λόγου
Acts 14:12
Study it in the app“And they were calling Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.”
With the Greek beneath
Acts 14:12, word by word
- they were callingἐκάλουνekaloun
call
To give someone a name.
Where else “ekaloun” appears- BarnabasΒαρναβᾶνBarnaban
Barnabas
Barnabas, the surname given to Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus; it was explained as "son of encouragement". He traveled and worked with Paul.
Where else “Barnaban” appears- ZeusΔίαDia
Zeus
Zeus, the chief god of the Greeks.
Where else “Dia” appears- PaulΠαῦλονPaulon
Paul
Paul: the Roman name of the apostle Saul; also Sergius Paulus, proconsul of Cyprus.
Where else “Paulon” appears- HermesἙρμῆνHermēn
Hermes
Hermes: a Greek god, the messenger of the gods; also the name of a believer in Rome.
Where else “Hermēn” appears- wasἦνēn
be
To be: says who or what something is.
Where else “ēn” appears- the chiefἡγούμενοςhēgoumenos
lead
To lead others, be in charge.
Where else “hēgoumenos” appears- speakerλόγουlogou
word
What someone says or teaches.
Where else “logou” appears
Translation note
Zeus was the chief god of the Greeks; Hermes, his messenger and the god of speech. A legend of the region told that both had visited it in human form.
The context
11And the crowds, seeing what Paul had done, lifted up their voice, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.”
12 · This verse (above)
13And the priest of Zeus whose temple was in front of the city, having brought bulls and garlands to the gates, wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
To study Acts 14 in a group
1. What it says
In Lystra, what does Paul do for the man who had never walked, and how does the crowd react? (vv. 8-13)
2. What it means
Why do Paul and Barnabas refuse to be treated as gods, and what do they say about themselves? (vv. 14-15)
3. How I live it
Paul and Barnabas encouraged the disciples to stay firm through hardship (v. 22). How can you encourage someone going through a hard time?