διαπρίω

From the study of Acts 5:33

Range of meaning

Literally 'to saw through, saw in two', from dia ('through') and priō ('to saw'). In the passive it was used figuratively for being torn apart inside by violent emotion, especially fury: 'to be infuriated, cut to the quick'.

Against the English

The KJV and WEB say 'cut to the heart'. The BSB says 'enraged', the NIV 'furious', the ESV 'enraged', and the NASB 'cut to the quick'. 'Enraged' and 'furious' get the emotion right but lose the saw. 'Cut to the heart' keeps the cutting, but to a modern reader it means being deeply moved or convicted, which is the opposite of what happens here.

How it drifted

English 'cut to the heart' is now used for being stung into remorse, grief or conviction. This is largely because of Acts 2:37, where the crowd is 'cut to the heart' and asks 'what shall we do?' That verse uses a different Greek verb (katanyssomai, 'to be pierced'). Luke uses diapriō only for hearers who react by trying to kill.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament, 1 Chronicles 20:3 uses it literally for cutting with saws. In the New Testament it appears only here and in Acts 7:54, where Stephen's hearers 'were sawn through in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at him' and then stone him. The related verb prizō describes martyrs 'sawn in two' (Heb 11:37). Classical Greek uses diapriō for physical sawing, and writers also stretch it to 'grinding' the teeth in rage (BDAG, LSJ).

From the study of Acts 7:54

Range of meaning

A compound of dia ('through') and priō ('to saw'). The literal sense is to saw through or saw in two. The figurative sense, found in the New Testament, is to be 'sawn through' inside: to be infuriated, provoked to a rage that splits a person. In the NT it appears only twice, both times in Acts and both times in the passive or middle form with a council furious at Christian preachers.

Against the English

KJV and WEB say 'cut to the heart', YLT 'cut to the hearts', and NASB uses the idiom 'cut to the quick'. These keep the cutting image, but in English 'cut to the heart' can sound like being hurt or feeling remorse. BSB, NIV and ESV ('enraged', 'furious') give the right sense but lose the picture of a saw.

How it drifted

The traditional English rendering 'cut to the heart' is almost the same as the KJV's wording of Acts 2:37, where the Pentecost crowd is 'pricked' or 'cut to the heart' and asks what it must do. English readers therefore hear the same experience in both places. Luke uses a different verb in each: katanyssomai ('stabbed, pierced', pain and compunction) in 2:37, and diapriomai ('sawn through', rage) here.

Used elsewhere in the period

Literal 'sawing' is the common sense in classical and Hellenistic Greek, and the Greek Old Testament uses the verb for cutting with saws (1 Chronicles 20:3). Lexicons such as BDAG, LSJ and Thayer give the figurative sense 'be cut to the quick, be infuriated' for the Acts passages. The decisive parallel is Acts 5:33: the council 'was sawn through' (dieprionto, the same form) and 'wanted to kill them.' In both places in Acts the verb leads to an attempt to kill.