Acts 11:21

Acts 11:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

Context of Acts 11:21

19So then [since they were unaware of these developments] those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with [the stoning of] Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, without telling the message [of salvation through Christ] to anyone except Jews. 20But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming [to them] the good news about the Lord Jesus. And the hand (the power and presence) of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [for salvation, accepting and drawing near to Jesus as Messiah and Savior]. 22The news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he arrived and saw the grace of God [that was bestowed on them], he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with an unwavering heart to stay true and devoted to the Lord.

Acts 11:21 word by word

καὶ ἦν χεὶρ κυρίου μετ᾽ αὐτῶν, πολύς τε ἀριθμὸς ὁ πιστεύσας ἐπέστρεψεν ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the handχείρcheir · handG5495
• of the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• andτεte · and/bothG5037
• a greatπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• numberἀριθμόςarithmos · numberG706
• believedπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
• and turnedἐπιστρέφωepistrephō · to turnG1994
• untoἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the Lordὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588

Cross-references for Acts 11:21

• 2 Chronicles 30:12Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them one heart to do that which the king and the officials had commanded by the word of the Lord.
• Ezra 7:9For on the first of the first month he started out from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month he arrived in Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God was on him.
• Ezra 8:18And as the good hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a man of understanding (insight) from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, named Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers (relatives), 18 men;
• Nehemiah 2:8and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to construct beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, and for the city wall and for the house which I will occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
• Isaiah 53:1Who has believed [confidently trusted in, relied on, and adhered to] our message [of salvation]? And to whom [if not us] has the arm and infinite power of the Lord been revealed?
• Isaiah 59:1Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save, Nor His ear so impaired That it cannot hear.
• Luke 1:66All who heard these things kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this little boy turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him [to bring about his birth].
• Acts 11:24For Barnabas was a good man [privately and publicly—his godly character benefited both himself and others] and he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith [in Jesus the Messiah, through whom believers have everlasting life]. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
• Acts 2:47praising God continually, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord kept adding to their number daily those who were being saved.
• Acts 4:4But many of those who heard the message [of salvation] believed [in Jesus and accepted Him as the Christ]. And the number of the men came to be about 5,000.
• Acts 5:14More and more believers in the Lord, crowds of men and women, were constantly being added to their number,
• Acts 6:7And the message of God kept on growing and spreading, and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith [accepting Jesus as Messiah and acknowledging Him as the Source of eternal salvation].
• 1 Corinthians 3:6I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was causing the growth.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:5for our good news [regarding salvation] came to you not only in word, but also in [its inherent] power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction [on our part]. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your benefit.
• Acts 9:35Then all who lived at Lydda and the plain of Sharon saw [what had happened to] him, and they turned to the Lord.
• Acts 15:19Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble and make it difficult for those who are turning to God among the Gentiles [by putting obstacles in their way],

Commentaries on Acts 11:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21The hand of the Lord was with them - By the hand, arm, and, finger of God, in the Scripture, different displays or exertions of his power are intended. Here it means that the energy of God accompanied them, and applied their preaching to the souls of all attentive hearers. Without this accompanying influence, even an apostle could do no good; and can inferior men hope to be able to convince and convert sinners without this? Ministers of the word of God…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21And the hand of the Lord - See the notes on Luke 1:66. Compare Psalm 80:17. The meaning is, that God showed them favor, and evinced his power in the conversion of their hearers.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-24Verses 19-24 The first preachers of the gospel at Antioch, were dispersed from Jerusalem by persecution; thus what was meant to hurt the church, was made to work for its good. The wrath of man is made to praise God. What should the ministers of Christ preach, but Christ? Christ, and him crucified? Christ, and him glorified? And their preaching was accompanied with the Divine power. The hand of the Lord was with them, to bring that home to the hearts and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-24As with the household of Cornelius, many Gentiles believed in Jesus. The growth of Christian faith among Gentiles had to remain in harmony with the church at Jerusalem. So, the Jerusalem Christians sent Barnabas to Antioch to oversee the developments there. Barnabas could see that God’s blessing was on what was happening, so he supported it with joy.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. a great number believed--Thus the accession of Cornelius and his party was not the first admission of uncircumcised Gentiles into the Church. (See on Ac 10:1.) Nay, we read of no influence which the accession of Cornelius and his house had on the further progress of the Gospel among the Gentiles; whereas there here open upon us operations upon the Gentiles from quite a different quarter, and attended with ever growing success. The only great object…Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 11:21

• Antioch
• Church
• Faith
• Hand
• Jerusalem
• Persecution
• Regeneration
• Revivals

In the dictionaries

• Antioch
• Arise
• Contend
• Rehearse
• Acts of the Apostles
• Arm
• Conversion
• Galatians, Epistle to the
• Luke, the Evangelist
• Ministry

Commentaries on Acts 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings