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

19After the Jewish leaders had killed Stephen, the believers had a lot of trouble. The believers left Jerusalem and they went to many different places. Some of them went away as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. They told God's message to people in these places. But they only told the message to Jews. 20Some of the believers were people who came from Cyprus and Cyrene. These men went to Antioch. There they told God's message to Gentiles, as well as to Jews. They told everyone the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord God helped these men with his power. Very many people believed their message and they trusted in the Lord Jesus. 22The believers in Jerusalem heard about what had happened in Antioch. So they decided to send Barnabas there. 23Barnabas arrived in Antioch. He saw how God had been kind to the people there and helped them. Barnabas was happy about this. So he said to the new believers, ‘Continue to trust the Lord Jesus completely.’

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 30:12As for the people of Judah, God caused them to accept the command that the king and his officers had given. They all agreed together to do what the Lord wanted them to do.
• Ezra 7:9He left Babylon on the first day of the first month and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month. God had helped him with his journey.
• Ezra 8:18God was kind to us and he helped us. So they brought Sherebiah to us. He was a worker who had special skills to make things. He was a descendant of Israel's son Levi. He belonged to the clan of Levi's son, Mahli. Sherebiah came with his sons and brothers. Together they were 18 men.
• Nehemiah 2:8Also give me a letter for Asaph, who takes care of the king's forest there. Tell him to give me wood from the trees. I need to make beams to mend the gates of the strong place near the temple. I also need to mend the city's wall. And I need to build a house for myself to live in.’ The king agreed to do what I asked him, because my God was with me.
• Isaiah 53:1Will anyone believe the news that we have to tell people? Will anyone understand how the Lord has used his great power?
• Isaiah 59:1Listen! The Lord's hand is not too weak to save you. His ear is not too deaf to hear you.
• Luke 1:66Everyone who heard about these things thought about them. They asked each other, ‘When this child becomes a man, what will he be?’ They could see that God really was with him.
• Acts 11:24Barnabas was a good man. The power of God's Holy Spirit was with him. He trusted God completely. Many people in Antioch believed in Jesus and joined the group of believers.
• Acts 2:47All the time, they praised God. All the other people thought that the believers were good people. Every day, the Lord saved more people so that the group of believers grew bigger.
• Acts 4:4But many of the people who had heard Peter's message believed what he said. There were now about 5,000 men who believed in Jesus.
• Acts 5:14More and more people became believers and they joined the group. So now many men and women believed in the Lord Jesus.
• Acts 6:7So more and more people heard the message from God. The number of people in Jerusalem who believed in Jesus grew more and more. Many of the Jewish priests also believed the message about Jesus.
• 1 Corinthians 3:6When I told you God's good news, I was like someone who planted seeds. Then Apollos was like someone who gave water to the young plants. But it was God who caused everything to grow.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:5When we told you God's good news, it was not only words that we spoke to you. God helped us with his power and with the Holy Spirit. As a result, you were sure that our message was true. You also know that we lived among you in a good way. We had come to help you.
• Acts 9:35Many people who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas. They saw that he was now well and they believed in the Lord Jesus.
• Acts 15:19James then said, ‘So this is what I have decided about this problem. Many Gentiles are now turning to God as believers. We should not make it difficult for them.

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