God’s Word Translation
Acts 19:4
4Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. John told people to believe in Jesus, who was coming later.”
Acts 19:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
- New International Version (NIV)Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”
Context of Acts 19:4
2and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “No, we’ve never even heard of the Holy Spirit.” 3Paul asked them, “What kind of baptism did you have?” They answered, “John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. John told people to believe in Jesus, who was coming later.” 5After they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came to them, and they began to talk in other languages and to speak what God had revealed.
Read all of Acts 19Acts 19:4 word by word
Εἶπεν δὲ Παῦλος· Ἰωάννης ἐβάπτισεν βάπτισμα μετανοίας τῷ λαῷ λέγων εἰς τὸν ἐρχόμενον μετ᾽ αὐτὸν ἵνα πιστεύσωσιν, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thenδέde · thenG1161
- saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- PaulΠαῦλοςPaulos · PaulG3972
- JohnἸωάννηςIōannēs · JohnG2491
- verilyμένmen · on the other handG3303
- baptizedβαπτίζωbaptizō · to baptizeG907
- with the baptismβάπτισμαbaptisma · baptismG908
- of repentanceμετάνοιαmetanoia · repentanceG3341
- the peopleὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the peopleλαόςlaos · a peopleG2992
- thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
- they should believeπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
- onεἰςeis · towardG1519
- should comeἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- afterμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
- himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- thatοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
- JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
Cross-references for Acts 19:4
- Acts 1:5John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
- Acts 11:16I remembered that the Lord had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.’
- Acts 13:23“God had the Savior, Jesus, come to Israel from David’s descendants, as he had promised.
- Matthew 3:11I baptize you with water so that you will change the way you think and act. But the one who comes after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
- Matthew 11:3to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for someone else?”
- Matthew 21:25Did John’s right to baptize come from heaven or from humans?” They discussed this among themselves. They said, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’
- Mark 1:1This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
- Luke 1:76“You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High. You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way.
- Luke 3:16John replied to all of them, “I baptize you with water. But the one who is more powerful than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
- John 1:15(John declared the truth about him when he said loudly, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’ ”)
- John 3:28You are witnesses that I said, ‘I’m not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’
- John 5:33You sent people to John ⌞the Baptizer⌟, and he testified to the truth.
Commentaries on Acts 19:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4That they should believe on him which should come after - John baptized them with the baptism of repentance; this was common to all the baptisms administered by the Jews to proselytes; but telling them that they should believe on him who was coming, was peculiar to John's baptism.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4John verily baptized - John did indeed baptize. With the baptism of repentance - Having special reference to repentance, or as a profession that they did repent of their sins. See the notes on Matthew 3:6. Saying unto the people - The design of his preaching was to tarn the people from their sins, and to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. He therefore directed their attention principally to him that was to come, John 1:15, John 1:22-27. That is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-7Paul traveled to Ephesus after Apollos had left. Later, Apollos returned to Ephesus while Paul was still there (1 Corinthians 16:12). The two men had different personalities, gifts, and roles, but God worked through both of them. Some Christians in Ephesus did not fully understand the Christian faith (Acts 18:26). They did not receive the Holy Spirit when they believed the good news about Jesus. They had accepted John's baptism, which called for…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Then said Paul, John ... baptized with the baptism of repentance--water unto repentance. saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him--that is, who should baptize with the Holy Ghost. The point of contrast is not between John and Christ personally, but between the water baptism of John unto repentance, and the promised baptism of the Spirit from the hands of his coming Master unto new life. As to all the facts, or…Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 19:4
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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