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after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Acts 13:24 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of repentance to Israel.
  • KJV When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
  • BSB Before the arrival of Jesus, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
  • NASB after John had proclaimed, before His coming, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
  • NLT Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized.

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

Before Jesus came, John preached a baptism of repentance to all Israel. John prepared the way for the Savior.

Overview

Paul recalls John the Baptist's ministry of preparing Israel through a call to repentance. John's role as forerunner authenticates Jesus and marks the turning point from promise to fulfillment. The reference would connect with hearers who knew of John, directing their attention beyond him to the One he announced.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Acts 1:22beginning from the baptism of John, to the day that he was received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
  • Matt 3:1–11In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
  • Luke 3:2–20in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
  • Acts 10:37you yourselves know what happened, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
  • Mark 1:2–8As it is written in the prophets, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you:
  • Acts 19:3–4He said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
  • John 3:25–36There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John’s disciples with some Jews about purification.
  • John 5:33–36You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
  • Luke 1:76And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
  • John 1:6–8There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
  • John 1:15–18John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

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 13:24YouTube · 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 13:24 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.