Acts 19:20

Acts 19:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
• New International Version (NIV)In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

Context of Acts 19:20

18Many of those who had become believers were coming, confessing and disclosing their [former sinful] practices. 19And many of those who had practiced magical arts collected their books and [throwing book after book on the pile] began burning them in front of everyone. They calculated their value and found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] was growing greatly and prevailing. 21Now after these events, Paul determined in the Spirit that he would travel through Macedonia and Achaia (most of the Greek mainland), and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome [and preach the good news of salvation].” 22And after sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia [ahead of him], he stayed on in [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor] for a while.

Acts 19:20 word by word

οὕτως κατὰ κράτος τοῦ κυρίου ὁ λόγος ηὔξανεν καὶ ἴσχυεν.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• ·κατάkata · according toG2596
• mightilyκράτοςkratos · powerG2904
• grewαὐξάνωauxanō · to growG837
• the wordὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the wordλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• of Godκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• prevailedἰσχύωischuō · be strongG2480

Cross-references for Acts 19:20

• 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].
• Acts 12:24But the word of the Lord [the good news about salvation through Christ] continued to grow and spread [increasing in effectiveness].
• Isaiah 55:11So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
• 2 Thessalonians 3:1Finally, brothers and sisters, pray continually for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be honored [triumphantly celebrated and glorified], just as it was with you;

Commentaries on Acts 19:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20So mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed - The Codex Bezae reads this verse thus: "So mightily grew the word of the Lord, and prevailed; and the faith of God increased and multiplied." It is probable that it was about this time that St. Paul had that conflict which he mentions, 1 Corinthians 15:32; : If I after the manner of men, have fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, etc. See the note there. It means some severe trials not here mentioned, unless…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20So mightily grew the word of God - So powerfully. It had such efficacy and power in this wicked city. That power must have been mighty which would thus make them willing not only to cease to practice imposition, but to give up all hopes of future gains, and to destroy their property. On this instructive narrative we may remark: (1) That religion has power to break the hold of sinners on unjust and dishonest means of living. (2) that those who have been…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-20Verses 13-20 It was common, especially among the Jews, for persons to profess or to try to cast out evil spirits. If we resist the devil by faith in Christ, he will flee from us; but if we think to resist him by the using of Christ's name, or his works, as a spell or charm, Satan will prevail against us. Where there is true sorrow for sin, there will be free confession of sin to God in every prayer and to man whom we have offended, when the case requires…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20Luke’s summary of the success of the gospel in Ephesus is short but powerful (compare 2:43–47; 5:14; 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; and Romans 1:16). When the Christian faith overcame problems inside the church, such as division, idolatry (worship of false gods), and pagan practices (religious customs not centered on the true God), it spread widely and grew quickly.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2018-20. many that believed came and confessed ... their deeds--the dupes of magicians, &c., acknowledging how shamefully they had been deluded, and how deeply they had allowed themselves to be implicated in such practices.Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 19:20

• Paul

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Word of God
• Adjure
• Concourse
• Confused
• Confusion
• Craft
• Curious
• Danger

Commentaries on Acts 19

• 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