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When they had preached the Good News to that city, and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
Acts 14:21 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
  • BSB They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
  • NKJV And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
  • NASB And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made a good number of disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,
  • NLT After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia,

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

After making many disciples in Derbe, they retraced their steps to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. The missionaries cared not only to win converts but to strengthen them.

Overview

Rather than press on to safety, they courageously returned to the very cities where they had been persecuted in order to establish the new believers. Evangelism for them included follow-up and discipleship, not merely initial conversion. This return journey models pastoral responsibility for the churches the gospel creates.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Acts 13:51But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium.
  • Acts 14:1In Iconium, they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed.
  • Acts 14:19But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.
  • Acts 13:14But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.
  • Matt 28:19Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
  • Acts 14:6they became aware of it, and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region.
  • 2 Tim 3:11persecutions, and sufferings: those things that happened to me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. I endured those persecutions. The Lord delivered me out of them all.
  • Acts 15:36After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return now and visit our brothers in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”
  • Acts 14:8At Lystra a certain man sat, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked.
  • Acts 16:2The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him.

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 14:21YouTube · 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 14:21 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.