And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
- KJV And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto 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.
- 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 1:66All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him.
- Acts 2:47praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.
- Acts 5:14More believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
- 1 Cor 3:6–7I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.
- Acts 6:7The word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly. A great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
- Acts 9:35All who lived at Lydda and in Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
- Isa 59:1Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear.
- 1 Th 1:5and that our Good News came to you not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we showed ourselves to be among you for your sake.
- Acts 11:24For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added to the Lord.
- Ezra 8:18According to the good hand of our God on us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen;
- Isa 53:1Who has believed our message? To whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?
- 1 Th 1:9–10For they themselves report concerning us what kind of a reception we had from you; and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God,
- Acts 26:18–20to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
- Ezra 7:9For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God on him.
- Neh 2:18I told them of the hand of my God which was good on me, as also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. They said, “Let’s rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
- Acts 4:4But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
- Neh 2:8and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house that I will occupy.” The king granted my requests, because of the good hand of my God on me.
- 2 Chr 30:12Also the hand of God came on Judah to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by Yahweh’s word.
- Acts 15:19“Therefore my judgment is that we don’t trouble those from among the Gentiles who turn to God,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.