The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 2 — Section 144

the wants of his own soul. "Take hAed strengthened by the publicatfon by Ti- unto yourselves." Ho that is careless about schendorf, in 1SG3, of the Codex Sino.Hiens, his own salvation will never be carefnl and in 1867 of the Codex Vatican us, from his about tbo souls of others (comp. I Tim. iv. own collation. The result is thn,t rou 0rnu I6). In the wh.:ioh tho Holy Ghost, etc. seems to be the tme reading (see the first 'Ev 4<:, no doubt, ilom uot strictly contain of tho two collects for the Emher weeks in tho idea of "ovor which;" but the idcn, of the Bool_, of Common Prayer). With re-,;ar,l nuthorito.tive overnight is con bi nod in the to the difficulty thnt this reading seem~ to word br/,r,corro,, and therefore the rendering imply the unscriptural phrase, ..-the blood of tho A.V., cmd of AHor,l's A.V. reviser!, of Gorl," o.nd to savour of the 1.fonophysi~iJ is substo.ntiallv correct. Perhaps the exact heresy, it is obvious to reply thctt there is force of Lhe iv J is "o.rnong which," like a wide difference between the phrase as it ,v ,j,,;,, (eh. ii. 20, nud ohiowhere). The stands o.nd such a one as the direct "blood call o.nd o.ppointmeut to tho ministry is the of God,'' which Atbanasius and others ob- spccinl function of the Holy Ghost (John jected to. The mental insertion of '' tho xx. 22, 23; eh. xii. 2; Ordination Service). Lord" or " Christ," as the subject of the 'fo feed ; ,..o,µa.iv,w, the proper word for verb "purchased," is very easy, the tro.n- "ten din"'" in relation to ,,-1, -;ro/µv,ov, the flock, sition from God the Father to God incar- o.s ,..o,i,~;, the pastor, or shephc_rd, is for him nate being one that might be made almost who so feeds the flock of Chnst (see John imperceptibly. Others (including the R.T.) x. 11, 16; x:xi. 17; Heh. xiii. 20; 1 Pet. v. take the reading of several good manu- 2, 3). St. P~ter o.pplies the titles of" Shep• scripts, Lua rov a1µaror rou io!ov, and under- herd o.nd Bishop of souls" to the Lord stand rov io,ov to be an ellipse for -rou Jesus (1 Pet. ii. 25). St. Paul does not use lofou vlou, the phrase used in Rom. viii. 32 ; the metaphor elsewhere, except indirectly, and so render it "which he purchased by o.nd in a different aspect (1 Cor. ix. 7). The the blood of his own Son." 01 ,ofo,, his Church of God ; margin, Church of the Lord. own, is used without a substantive in John There is, perhaps, no single passage in i. 11. This clause is added to enhance the Scripture which has caused more controversy preciousness of the flock, and the responsi- and evoked more difference of opinion than bility of those who have the oversight of it. this. The •.r.R. l1o.s .-ov 0eov, but most Ver. 29.-I knou, for for I know this, uncials have rov Kvplov. Kuinoel asserts A.V. and T.R.; griefloua wolvea shall. for that the reading . rou Kvplov rests on the ,hall grievous wol1Jes, A. V. After my depart- authority, besides that ol' the oldest manu- ing (ifi/)1{111, not livd>..va-111, e.s 2 Tim. iv. 6). scripts, of the old versions, and of many of The word, which is only found here in the the most ancient Fathers, and says that it is New Testament, usually means "arrival" undoubtedly the true reading. l\foyer, too, in classical Greek, but it also means, as here, thinks that the external evidence for ..-ov •• departure." It is not to be to.ken in the Kvplou is decisive, and that the internal evi- sense of " departure from this life," but dence, from the fact that e,c,c/\71,r/a. ..-ov refers to that separation, which he thought Kuplou occurs nowhere else in St. Paul's was for ever, which was about to take place. writings, is decisive also, But on the other Grievous wolves ; still keeping up the meta- hand, both the Codex Vaticanus (B) e.nd phor of the flock. The wolves denote the the Codex Sinaiticus (~), the two oldest false teachers, principally J uda.izers. See manuscripts,have 0eov (0u). The Vulgate, 2 Tim. iii. 1-12, and 13, " But evil men too, e.nd the Syriac have it: e.nd such early and seducers shall wax worse and worse, Fa.there as Ignatius (in his Epistle to the deceiving, and being deceived." These came Ephesians) and Tertullian use the phrase, from J udrea. "the blood of God," which seems to have Ver. 30.-And from ammtg for also of, been derived from this passage. And A.V.; the disciples for disciples, A.V. From Alford reasons powerfully in favour of e,ov, among your own selves; as opposed to the dwelling upon 1:he fact that the phrase strangers from J udma in the preceding verse. <KKil.71a-la ..-ov e,oii occurs ten Umes in St. So 2 Tim. iv. 3, "The time will come Paul's writings, that of '""ll.71a-la. ..-au Kup(ou when they will not endure sound doctrine; not once. The chief authorities on eaoh but after their own lusts shall they heap to side of the question are: (1) in favour of themselves teoohers, having itching ears" ..-ov Kuplov, La.ch1pann, Tischendorf, Borne- (see, e.s instances, 2 Tim. ii. 17, 18; iv. 14). mann, Lange, Olshausen., Davidson, Meyer, Speaking perverse things. So 2 .Tim. iv. 4, Hackett, as also Grotius, Gries};)aoh (doubt- "They shall tum away their ears from tht fully), Wetijtein, Le Clerc, and. et.hers ; (2) truth, and sball be turned unto fables." To in favour of ..-oD 0eoD, Bengel, ~II, Whitby, draw away the disoiples, etc.: i.e. to induce Wolf, Scholz, Kno.pp, Alford, WQrdsworth, OhristiF1ns to leave the communion and doo- etc., and the R.T. It should be added that trine of the Church, and join theu heresy. lbe evicle11,oe for -roil 0Eou has been lllUob The A.V., "to draw away disoiples," is H8 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. [cu. xx. 1-38.