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

18And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard about them, they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; 21and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22So what is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

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

• And when they heardἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• glorifyingδοξάζωdoxazō · to glorifyG1392
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• and they saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• to him, “You seeθεωρέωtheōreō · to see/experienceG2334
• brotherἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• howπόσοςposos · how much/many?G4214
• thousandsμυριάςmurias · myriadG3461
• there are amongἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the JewsἸουδαῖοςIoudaios · JewG2453
• of thoseὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• who have believedπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
• and they are allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• zealousζηλωτήςzēlōtēs · zealotG2207
• for the Lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551

Cross-references for Acts 21:20

• Acts 4:21When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;
• Acts 11:18When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
• Psalms 22:23You who fear the Lord, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
• Psalms 72:17May his name endure forever; May his name produce descendants as long as the sun shines; And may people wish blessings on themselves by him; May all nations call him blessed.
• Psalms 98:1Sing a new song to the Lord, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
• Isaiah 55:10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it produce and sprout, And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
• Isaiah 66:9Shall I bring to the point of birth but not give delivery?” says the Lord. “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.
• Luke 15:3And so He told them this parable, saying,
• Romans 15:6so that with one purpose and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Galatians 1:24And they were glorifying God because of me.
• 2 Thessalonians 1:10when He comes to be glorified among His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed--because our testimony to you was believed.
• Revelation 19:6Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
• Acts 2:41So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
• Acts 4:4But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
• Acts 6:7The word of God kept spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
• Matthew 13:31He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a person 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

• 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