Acts 1:23 (DBY)

Passage

And they appointed two, Joseph, who was called Barsabas, who had been surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

Nearby Context

Acts 1:21 It is necessary therefore, that of the men who have assembled with us all [the] time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us,

Acts 1:22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day in which he was taken up from us, one of these should be a witness with us of his resurrection.

Acts 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph, who was called Barsabas, who had been surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

Acts 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou Lord, knower of the hearts of all, shew which one of these two thou hast chosen,

Acts 1:25 to receive the lot of this service and apostleship, from which Judas transgressing fell to go to his own place.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "appointed", "joseph", "barsabas", "been", "surnamed", "justus", and "matthias". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "appointed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "beginning from the baptism of John until..." into verse 24's "And they prayed and said Thou Lord...", so "called" and "appointed" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "called" and "appointed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.