The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Audience

o'-di-ens: Translated from the Hebrew 'ozen, "ear." In Ge 23:10 f "in the audience of" is equal to "in the presence of," or "while they listened." Compare Ex 24:7; 1Sa 25:24 (Revised Version (British and American) "in thine ears"); 1Ch 28:8; Ne 13:1. In the New Testament the expression "to give audience" (Ac 22:22; 13:16, the Revised Version (British and American) "hearken"; Ac 15:12, the Revised Version (British and American) "they hearkened") translated from the Greek akouo "to hear" or derivatives, and means "to listen," "to pay attention." In the King James Version Lu 7:1 (Revised Version, "in the ears of") and the King James Version Lu 20:45 (Revised Version, "in the hearing of") the usage is similar to that of the Old Testament.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, James Orr (1915). Public domain, from the CrossWire SWORD module.