Acts 21:20

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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,
• 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;

Context of Acts 21:20

18The next day Paul went with us to visit James. All the spiritual leaders were present. 19After greeting them, Paul related everything God had done through his work with non-Jewish people. When the spiritual leaders heard about everything, they praised God. They said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews are now believers, and all of them are deeply committed to Moses’ Teachings. 21But they have been told that you teach all the Jews living among non-Jewish people to abandon Moses. They claim that you tell them not to circumcise their children or follow Jewish customs. 22What should we do about this? They will certainly hear that you’re in town.

Acts 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 4:21The authorities threatened them even more and then let them go. Since all the people were praising God for what had happened, the authorities couldn’t find any way to punish Peter and John.
• Acts 11:18When the others heard this, they had no further objections. They praised God by saying, “Then God has also led people who are not Jewish to turn to him so that they can change the way they think and act and have eternal life.”
• Psalms 22:23All who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel.
• Psalms 72:17May his name endure forever. May his name continue as long as the sun ⌞shines⌟. May all nations be blessed through him and call him blessed.
• Psalms 98:1Sing a new song to the Lord because he has done miraculous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gained victory for him.
• Isaiah 55:10“Rain and snow come down from the sky. They do not go back again until they water the earth. They make it sprout and grow so that it produces seed for farmers and food for people to eat.
• Isaiah 66:9“Do I bring a mother to the moment of birth and not let her deliver?” asks the Lord. “Do I cause a mother to deliver and then make her unable to have children?” asks your God.
• Luke 15:3Jesus spoke to them using this illustration:
• Romans 15:6Then, having the same goal, you will praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Galatians 1:24So they praised God for what had happened to me.
• 2 Thessalonians 1:10⌞This will happen⌟ on that day when he comes to be honored among all his holy people and admired by all who have believed in him. This includes you because you believed the testimony we gave you.
• Revelation 19:6I heard what sounded like the noise from a large crowd, like the noise of raging waters, like the noise of loud thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! The Lord our God, the Almighty, has become king.
• Acts 2:41Those who accepted what Peter said were baptized. That day about 3,000 people were added ⌞to the group⌟.
• Acts 4:4But many of those who had heard the message became believers, so the number of men who believed grew to about 5,000.
• Acts 6:7God’s word continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem grew very large. A large number of priests accepted the faith.
• Matthew 13:31Jesus used another illustration. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone planted in a 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

• Bigotry
• Brother
• Diplomacy
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Judaism
• Law
• Meekness
• Opinion, Public
• Paul
• Prudence
• Tact
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Appeal
• Discover
• James
• John
• Ready
• Unlade
• Acts of the Apostles
• Andrew
• Apostolic Age
• Jesus Christ

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