Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added to the Lord.
- KJV For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
- NKJV For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
- NASB for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And considerable numbers were added to the Lord.
- NLT Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought 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
Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and many were added to the Lord. His Spirit-filled character bore much fruit.
Overview
Luke commends Barnabas's goodness, faith, and fullness of the Spirit, qualities that made his ministry fruitful. Under his encouragement still more people came to the Lord. The verse shows that godly, Spirit-filled leaders are instruments through whom God grows His church.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Acts 5:14Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord—large numbers of both men and women.
- Acts 11:21The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
- Ps 112:5It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice.
- Acts 6:5This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
- Acts 9:31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 6:3Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will appoint this responsibility to them
- Acts 6:8Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
- 2 Sam 18:27The watchman said, “The first man appears to me to be running like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” “This is a good man,” said the king. “He comes with good news.”
- Rom 15:15However, I have written you a bold reminder on some points, because of the grace God has given me
- Matt 12:35The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.
- Rom 5:7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
- Prov 12:2The good man obtains favor from the LORD, but the LORD condemns a man who devises evil.
- Ps 37:23The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.
- Luke 23:50Now there was a Council member named Joseph, a good and righteous man,
- Acts 24:16In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man.
- Matt 19:17“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
- John 7:12Many in the crowds were whispering about Him. Some said, “He is a good man.” But others replied, “No, He deceives the people.”
- Prov 14:14The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
- Prov 13:22A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.
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 11:24 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.