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And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:52 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
  • KJV And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.
  • BSB And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
  • NKJV And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
  • NASB And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

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 disciples are filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Persecution cannot rob the new believers of their God-given gladness.

Overview

Despite the missionaries' expulsion, the young church at Pisidian Antioch overflows with joy and the Spirit. This Spirit-given joy in the midst of opposition is a recurring mark of the early church. It testifies that the kingdom's blessings do not depend on outward circumstances but on the presence of the risen Christ by his Spirit.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Rom 15:13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
  • 1 Th 1:6You became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
  • Acts 4:31When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
  • Gal 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,
  • Rom 5:3Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance;
  • 2 Cor 8:2how that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality.
  • Acts 2:4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
  • Matt 5:12Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
  • 1 Pet 4:13But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy.
  • 1 Pet 1:6–8Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials,
  • Acts 5:41They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name.
  • Eph 5:18–20Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
  • Jas 1:2Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations,
  • Rom 14:17for God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
  • Acts 2:46Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,
  • Luke 6:22–23Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and when they shall exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
  • John 16:22–23Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

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 13:52YouTube · 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 13:52 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.