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At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
Acts 14:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB In Iconium, they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed.
  • KJV And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
  • NKJV Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.
  • NASB In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a way that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.
  • NLT The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.

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

In Iconium Paul and Barnabas preached in the synagogue so effectively that many Jews and Greeks believed. Faithful gospel preaching bears fruit across ethnic lines.

Overview

As was their pattern, the missionaries began at the synagogue, where both Jews and God-fearing Gentiles gathered. The phrase that they 'so spoke' points to clear, persuasive proclamation of Christ, not mere eloquence. Luke stresses that the word of the gospel draws Jew and Greek alike into one believing people, foreshadowing the unity in Christ that the rest of Acts 14-15 will defend.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 29

  • Acts 18:4Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.
  • Acts 13:51So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
  • Acts 13:46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
  • Acts 14:21They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
  • Acts 13:43After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
  • Acts 9:20Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”
  • Acts 17:4Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few leading women.
  • Acts 17:1–2When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
  • Acts 11:21The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
  • Acts 19:17This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
  • Rom 1:16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
  • Acts 17:12As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.
  • Rom 10:12For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
  • Gal 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
  • Acts 18:8Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard the message believed and were baptized.
  • 1 Cor 1:22–24Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,
  • Acts 19:8Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
  • Acts 17:17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day.
  • Acts 14:2But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
  • Acts 21:28crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everywhere against our people and against our law and against this place. Furthermore, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”
  • John 12:20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast.
  • John 7:35At this, the Jews said to one another, “Where does He intend to go that we will not find Him? Will He go where the Jews are dispersed among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?
  • Acts 13:5When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And John was with them as their helper.
  • Acts 16:1Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father.
  • Acts 20:21testifying to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Acts 19:10This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord.
  • Mark 7:26Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
  • Gal 2:3Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
  • Col 3:11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

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 14:1YouTube · 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 14:1 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.