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And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
Acts 11:21 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
  • BSB The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
  • NKJV And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
  • NASB And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.
  • NLT The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. God's power produced an abundant Gentile harvest.

Overview

The phrase 'the hand of the Lord' signals God's empowering presence behind the preaching. The large number of conversions confirms that this outreach to Gentiles had divine blessing. Genuine faith is described as turning to the Lord, the heart-change that the gospel works by grace.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • Luke 1:66And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
  • Acts 2:47Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
  • Acts 5:14And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
  • 1 Cor 3:6–7I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
  • Acts 6:7And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
  • Acts 9:35And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.
  • Isa 59:1Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
  • 1 Th 1:5For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
  • Acts 11:24For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
  • Ezra 8:18And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;
  • Isa 53:1Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
  • 1 Th 1:9–10For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
  • Acts 26:18–20To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
  • Ezra 7:9For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.
  • Neh 2:18Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
  • Acts 4:4Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
  • Neh 2:8And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
  • 2 Chr 30:12Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD.
  • Acts 15:19Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 11:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 11:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.