Acts 8:32 Meaning and Explanation
“The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The passage he is reading is Isaiah's prophecy of one led as a sheep to the slaughter, silent as a lamb before the shearer.
What Does Acts 8:32 Mean?
Luke quotes the very lines under the eunuch's eyes: Isaiah 53:7 — the Servant led to slaughter, silent as a lamb before its shearer. Of all the scrolls and all the columns he might have been reading, this traveler is in the Bible's clearest portrait of the suffering Messiah.
The lamb's silence is the silence Jesus kept before His accusers (Matthew 27:12-14) — not helplessness, but willing self-giving. John the Baptist hailed Him with this very image: 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world' (John 1:29). The scripture the eunuch cannot yet decode is already telling him everything: One has suffered, without protest, for others.
Acts 8:32 in the Original Language
amnos (ἀμνός), 'lamb' -- the word used of Christ as the Lamb of God.
Frequently Asked Questions About Acts 8:32
What does Acts 8:32 mean?
The passage he is reading is Isaiah's prophecy of one led as a sheep to the slaughter, silent as a lamb before the shearer.