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:
• 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 with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present. 19After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry. 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. 21But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. They’ve heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customs. 22What should 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 4:21The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God
• Acts 11:18When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
• Psalms 22:23Praise the Lord, all you who fear him! Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob! Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
• Psalms 72:17May the king’s name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun shines. May all nations be blessed through him and bring him praise.
• Psalms 98:1Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power!
• Isaiah 55:10“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.
• Isaiah 66:9Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth and then not deliver it?” asks the Lord. “No! I would never keep this nation from being born,” says your God.
• Luke 15:3So Jesus told them this story:
• Romans 15:6Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Galatians 1:24And they praised God because of me.
• 2 Thessalonians 1:10When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.
• Revelation 19:6Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
• Acts 2:41Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.
• Acts 4:4But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.
• Acts 6:7So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.
• Matthew 13:31Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a 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