New International Version
Acts 14:11
11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
Acts 14:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”
- New Living Translation (NLT)When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!”
Context of Acts 14:11
9He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
Read all of Acts 14Acts 14:11 word by word
οἵ τε ὄχλοι ἰδόντες ὃ ἐποίησεν Παῦλος ἐπῆραν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν Λυκαονιστὶ λέγοντες· οἱ θεοὶ ὁμοιωθέντες ἀνθρώποις κατέβησαν πρὸς ἡμᾶς·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- whenὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- the peopleὄχλοςochlos · crowdG3793
- whatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- Paulὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- PaulΠαῦλοςPaulos · PaulG3972
- had doneποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
- they lifted upἐπαίρωepairō · to lift upG1869
- theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- voicesφωνήphōnē · voice/sound: voiceG5456
- sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- in the speech of LycaoniaΛυκαονιστίLukaonisti · LycaonianG3072
- The godsθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- are come downκαταβαίνωkatabainō · to come/go downG2597
- toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
- usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- in the likenessὁμοιόωhomoioō · to likenG3666
- of menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
Cross-references for Acts 14:11
- Acts 8:10and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”
- Acts 12:22They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.”
- Acts 28:6The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
Commentaries on Acts 14:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Saying, in the speech of Lycaonia - What this language was has puzzled the learned not a little. Calmet thinks it was a corrupt Greek dialect; as Greek was the general language of Asia Minor. Mr. Paul Ernest Jablonski, who has written a dissertation expressly on the subject, thinks it was the same language with that of the Cappadocians, which was mingled with Syriac. That it was no dialect of the Greek must be evident from the circumstance of its being…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11They lifted up their voices - They spoke with astonishment, such as might be expected when it was supposed that the gods had come down. In the speech of Lycaonia - What this language was has much perplexed commentators. It was probably a mixture of the Greek and Syriac. In that region generally the Greek was usually spoken with more or less purity; and from the fact that it was not far from the regions of Syria, it is probable that the Greek language was…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-18Verses 8-18 All things are possible to those that believe. When we have faith, that most precious gift of God, we shall be delivered from the spiritual helplessness in which we were born, and from the dominion of sinful habits since formed; we shall be made able to stand upright and walk cheerfully in the ways of the Lord. When Christ, the Son of God, appeared in the likeness of men, and did many miracles, men were so far from doing sacrifice to him, that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-13Zeus was the main god worshiped in Lystra, and the city had a temple for him. The people thought Barnabas was Zeus, likely because he seemed more impressive or powerful. They thought Paul was Hermes because he was the main speaker. The people of Lystra believed the gods were visiting them again. This idea comes from a well-known story by the poet Ovid. In that story, Zeus and Hermes visited the area but were not recognized, except by an old couple (see…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11-1311-13. in the speech of Lycaonia--whether a corruption of the Greek tongue, which was well enough understood in this region, or the remains of some older tongue, is not known. The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men--the language of an unsophisticated people. But "that which was a superstition in Lycaonia, and for which the whole "creation" groaned, became a reality at Bethlehem" [Webster and Wilkinson].Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 14:11
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Acts 14
- 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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