Acts 12:22

22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.”

Acts 12:22 in Other Translations

22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.

22 And the people were shouting, "The voice of a god, and not of a man!"

22 The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”

22 The people played their part to the hilt and shouted flatteries: "The voice of God! The voice of God!"

22 The populace began to shout, "It's the voice of a god and not of a man!"

Acts 12:22 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 12:22

And the people gave a shout
At the end of the oration; these were flatterers, as Josephus says in the place before referred to, who cried out one from another, saluting him as God; saying, be merciful to us, hitherto we have revered thee as a man, henceforward we confess thee somewhat more excellent than mortal nature: and so it follows here,

saying it is the voice of a God, and not of a man;
the Vulgate Latin version reads, "the voices of God and not men"; and the Ethiopic version, "the city shouted in, or with the voice of God", with the voice of man; as if this referred to the acclamation of the people, and not the speech of the king; very wrongly.

Acts 12:22 In-Context

20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people.

22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.”

23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.