English Standard Version
Acts 21:20
20And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law,
Acts 21:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
- New International Version (NIV)When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law;
- New Living Translation (NLT)After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said, “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the law of Moses very seriously.
Context of Acts 21:20
18On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, 21and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. 22What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.
Read all of Acts 21Acts 21:20 word by word
οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες ἐδόξαζον τὸν θεόν, εἶπόν τε αὐτῷ· θεωρεῖς ἀδελφέ, πόσαι μυριάδες εἰσὶν ἐν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις τῶν πεπιστευκότων καὶ πάντες ζηλωταὶ τοῦ νόμου ὑπάρχουσιν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- when they heardἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
- they glorifiedδοξάζωdoxazō · to glorifyG1392
- the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
- andτεte · and/bothG5037
- saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- unto himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- Thou seestθεωρέωtheōreō · to see/experienceG2334
- brotherἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
- how manyπόσοςposos · how much/many?G4214
- thousandsμυριάςmurias · myriadG3461
- of JewsἸουδαῖοςIoudaios · JewG2453
- there areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- believeπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- they areὑπάρχωhuparchō · be alreadyG5225
- allπᾶςpas · allG3956
- zealousζηλωτήςzēlōtēs · zealotG2207
- of the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
Cross-references for Acts 21:20
- Acts 4:21And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.
- Acts 11:18When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life."
- Psalms 22:23You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
- Psalms 72:17May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!
- Psalms 98:1Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
- Isaiah 55:10"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
- Isaiah 66:9Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?" says the Lord; "shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?" says your God.
- Luke 15:3So he told them this parable:
- Romans 15:6that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Galatians 1:24And they glorified God because of me.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:10when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
- Revelation 19:6Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
- Acts 2:41So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
- Acts 4:4But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
- Acts 6:7And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
- Matthew 13:31He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
Commentaries on Acts 21:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20How many thousands - ; How many myriads, how many times 10,000. This intimates that there had been a most extraordinary and rapid work even among the Jews; but what is here spoken is not to be confined to the Jews of Jerusalem, but to all that had come from different parts of the land to be present at this pentecost. They are all zealous of the law - The Jewish economy was not yet destroyed; nor had God as yet signified that the whole of its observances…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20They glorified the Lord - They gave praise to the Lord for what he had done. They saw new proofs of his goodness and mercy, and they rendered him thanks for all that had been accomplished. There was no jealousy that it had been done by the instrumentality of Paul. True piety will rejoice in the spread of the gospel, and in the conversion of sinners, by whatever instrumentality it may be effected. Thou seest, brother - The language of tenderness in this…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-26Verses 19-26 Paul ascribed all his success to God, and to God they gave the praise. God had honoured him more than any of the apostles, yet they did not envy him; but on the contrary, glorified the Lord. They could not do more to encourage Paul to go on cheerfully in his work. James and the elders of the church at Jerusalem, asked Paul to gratify the believing Jews, by some compliance with the ceremonial law. They thought it was prudent in him to conform…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-25The leaders of the Jerusalem church urged Paul to strengthen his credibility. They encouraged him to demonstrate that he was not teaching Jews to abandon the laws of Moses. Meanwhile, the leaders did not force Jewish rules on Gentile converts. They had determined these terms earlier and would respect them (15:22–29).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2520-25. they glorified the Lord, &c.--constrained to justify his course, notwithstanding the Jewish complexion of the Christianity of Jerusalem.Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 21:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Acts 21
- 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
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