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:
• 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;
• New Living Translation (NLT)After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said, “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the law of Moses very seriously.

Context of Acts 21:20

18The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. 19Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 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. 21They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22What shall we do? 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

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 further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.
• Acts 11:18When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
• Psalms 22:23You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
• Psalms 72:17May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.
• Psalms 98:1Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
• Isaiah 55:10As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
• Isaiah 66:9Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord. “Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God.
• Luke 15:3Then Jesus told them this parable:
• Romans 15:6so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Galatians 1:24And they praised God because of me.
• 2 Thessalonians 1:10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
• Revelation 19:6Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
• Acts 2:41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
• Acts 4:4But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
• 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.
• Matthew 13:31He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted 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