New English Translation
Acts 21:20
20When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers of 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.
- 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 in with us to see James, and all the elders were there. 19When Paul had greeted them, he began to explain in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers of the law. 21They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22What then should we do? They will no doubt 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 4:21After threatening them further, they released them, for they could not find how to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising God for what had happened.
- 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.”
- Psalms 22:23You loyal followers of the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him!
- Psalms 72:17May his fame endure! May his dynasty last as long as the sun remains in the sky! May they use his name when they formulate their blessings! May all nations consider him to be favored by God!
- Psalms 98:1Sing to the Lord a new song, for he performs amazing deeds! His right hand and his mighty arm accomplish deliverance.
- Isaiah 55:10The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.
- Isaiah 66:9“Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?” asks the Lord. “Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?” asks your God.
- Luke 15:3So Jesus told them this parable:
- Romans 15:6so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Galatians 1:24So they glorified God because of me.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:10when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed – and you did in fact believe our testimony.
- Revelation 19:6Then I heard what sounded like the voice of a vast throng, like the roar of many waters and like loud crashes of thunder. They were shouting: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the All-Powerful, reigns!
- Acts 2:41So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added.
- Acts 4:4But many of those who had listened to the message believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
- Acts 6:7The word of God continued to spread, the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.
- Matthew 13:31He gave them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a 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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