Acts 20:21

Acts 20:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
• New International Version (NIV)I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
• English Standard Version (ESV)testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
• New King James Version (NKJV)testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Context of Acts 20:21

19serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots of the Jews. 20You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming to you anything that would be helpful, and from teaching you publicly and from house to house, testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. 22And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there, 23except that the Holy Spirit warns me in town after town that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me.

Acts 20:21 word by word

διαμαρτυρόμενος Ἰουδαίοις τε καὶ Ἕλλησιν τὴν εἰς θεὸν μετάνοιαν καὶ πίστιν εἰς τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Testifyingδιαμαρτύρομαιdiamarturomai · to testify solemnlyG1263
• bothτεte · and/bothG5037
• to the JewsἸουδαῖοςIoudaios · JewG2453
• and alsoκαίkai · andG2532
• to the GreeksἝλλην=ἝλληνHellēn · Greek, GentileG1672
• repentanceμετάνοιαmetanoia · repentanceG3341
• towardεἰςeis · towardG1519
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547

Cross-references for Acts 20:21

• Acts 20:24But I do not consider my life worth anything to myself, so that I may finish my task and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.
• Acts 2:40With many other words he testified and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation!”
• Acts 8:25So after Peter and John had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many Samaritan villages as they went.
• Acts 18:5Now when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
• Acts 28:23They set a day to meet with him, and they came to him where he was staying in even greater numbers. From morning until evening he explained things to them, testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.
• 1 John 5:11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
• Acts 18:4He addressed both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade them.
• Acts 19:17This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; fear came over them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised.
• Romans 1:14I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
• 1 Corinthians 1:22For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom,
• Acts 2:38Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• Acts 3:19Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out,
• Acts 11:18When they heard this, they ceased their objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance that leads to life even to the Gentiles.”
• Acts 17:30Therefore, although God has overlooked such times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent,
• Acts 26:20but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance.
• Ezekiel 18:30“Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity.

Commentaries on Acts 20:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Testify both to - Jews and - Greeks - He always began with the Jews; and, in this case, he had preached to them alone for three months, Acts 19:8-10, and only left their synagogues when he found, through their obstinacy, he could do them no good. Repentance toward God, etc. - As all had sinned against God, so all should humble themselves before him against whom they have sinned; but humiliation is no atonement for sin; therefore repentance is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Testifying - Bearing witness to the necessity of repentance toward God. Or teaching them the nature of repentance, and exhorting them to repent and believe. Perhaps the word “testifying” includes both ideas of giving evidence, and of urging with great earnestness and affection that repentance and faith were necessary. See 1 Timothy 5:21; 2 Timothy 2:14; where the word used here, and here translated “testify,” is there translated correctly, “charge,” in…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-27Verses 17-27 The elders knew that Paul was no designing, self-seeking man. Those who would in any office serve the Lord acceptably, and profitably to others, must do it with humility. He was a plain preacher, one that spoke his message so as to be understood. He was a powerful preacher; he preached the gospel as a testimony to them if they received it; but as a testimony against them if they rejected it. He was a profitable preacher; one that aimed to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-38Paul’s message to the elders (leaders) of the church in Ephesus describes his life and work among them. He also calls these leaders to show the same kind of commitment as they continue the ministry. In this message, Paul points to his own life as an example. He shows his honesty and care for people (20:18–21, 26, 31). He also speaks about what will happen in the future (20:22–23, 25, 29–30). He warns them about false teachers (people who teach wrong ideas…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Testifying both to Jews and ... Greeks--laboring under a common malady, and recoverable only by a common treatment. repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ--(See on Ac 5:31). Repentance, as distinguished from faith, is that state of the "honest and good heart" which arises from a discovery of one's contrariety to the righteous demands of the divine law. This is said to be "toward God," because seeing Him to be the party…Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 20:21

• Ephesus
• Faith
• Jesus Continued
• Miletus
• Minister, Christian
• Paul
• Repentance
• Salvation
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• God
• Jesus
• Christ, Messiah
• Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Jesus Christ
• Appoint
• Bind
• Bishop

Commentaries on Acts 20

• 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