Acts 1:24 (DRB)

Passage

And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, who knowest the heart of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

Nearby Context

Acts 1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, until the day wherein he was taken up from us, one of these must be made a witness with us of his resurrection.

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

Acts 1:24 And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, who knowest the heart of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

Acts 1:25 To take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas hath by transgression fallen, that he might go to his own place.

Acts 1:26 And they gave them lot, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "praying", "said", "thou", "lord", "knowest", "heart", "shew", and "whether". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "praying" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "And they appointed two Joseph called Barsabas..." into verse 25's "To take the place of this ministry...", so "praying" and "said" 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 "praying" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.