Acts 11:21

Acts 11:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

Context of Acts 11:21

19Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

Acts 11:21 word by word

καὶ ἦν χεὶρ κυρίου μετ᾽ αὐτῶν, πολύς τε ἀριθμὸς ὁ πιστεύσας ἐπέστρεψεν ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the handχείρcheir · handG5495
• of the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• andτεte · and/bothG5037
• a greatπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• numberἀριθμόςarithmos · numberG706
• believedπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
• and turnedἐπιστρέφωepistrephō · to turnG1994
• untoἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the Lordὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588

Cross-references for Acts 11:21

• 2 Chronicles 30:12Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord.
• Ezra 7:9He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him.
• Ezra 8:18Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah’s sons and brothers, 18 in all;
• Nehemiah 2:8And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.
• Isaiah 53:1Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
• Isaiah 59:1Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
• Luke 1:66Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
• Acts 11:24He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
• Acts 2:47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
• Acts 4:4But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
• Acts 5:14Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
• Acts 6:7So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
• 1 Corinthians 3:6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:5because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
• Acts 9:35All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
• Acts 15:19“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

Commentaries on Acts 11:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21The hand of the Lord was with them - By the hand, arm, and, finger of God, in the Scripture, different displays or exertions of his power are intended. Here it means that the energy of God accompanied them, and applied their preaching to the souls of all attentive hearers. Without this accompanying influence, even an apostle could do no good; and can inferior men hope to be able to convince and convert sinners without this? Ministers of the word of God…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21And the hand of the Lord - See the notes on Luke 1:66. Compare Psalm 80:17. The meaning is, that God showed them favor, and evinced his power in the conversion of their hearers.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-24Verses 19-24 The first preachers of the gospel at Antioch, were dispersed from Jerusalem by persecution; thus what was meant to hurt the church, was made to work for its good. The wrath of man is made to praise God. What should the ministers of Christ preach, but Christ? Christ, and him crucified? Christ, and him glorified? And their preaching was accompanied with the Divine power. The hand of the Lord was with them, to bring that home to the hearts and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-24As with the household of Cornelius, many Gentiles believed in Jesus. The growth of Christian faith among Gentiles had to remain in harmony with the church at Jerusalem. So, the Jerusalem Christians sent Barnabas to Antioch to oversee the developments there. Barnabas could see that God’s blessing was on what was happening, so he supported it with joy.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. a great number believed--Thus the accession of Cornelius and his party was not the first admission of uncircumcised Gentiles into the Church. (See on Ac 10:1.) Nay, we read of no influence which the accession of Cornelius and his house had on the further progress of the Gospel among the Gentiles; whereas there here open upon us operations upon the Gentiles from quite a different quarter, and attended with ever growing success. The only great object…Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 11:21

• Antioch
• Church
• Faith
• Hand
• Jerusalem
• Persecution
• Regeneration
• Revivals

In the dictionaries

• Antioch
• Arise
• Contend
• Rehearse
• Acts of the Apostles
• Arm
• Conversion
• Galatians, Epistle to the
• Luke, the Evangelist
• Ministry

Commentaries on Acts 11

• 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