“And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.”
But when the Jews opposed him and became abusive (blasphēmeō, to blaspheme or speak against), he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, 'Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of the blood of all. From now on I will go to the Gentiles' — The dramatic gesture of shaking dust (echoing Jewish custom for gentile impurity) accompanies the pivotal declaration: Paul's initial strategy has reached exhaustion. The formula 'your blood be on your own heads' and 'I am innocent' will resurface in his Miletus address (20:26).
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