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So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 16:31 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
  • KJV And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
  • BSB They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
  • NASB They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
  • NLT They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”

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

They answered, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.'

Overview

This is one of the clearest statements of the gospel in Scripture: salvation comes through faith in the Lord Jesus, not by works. The promise extends to his household, meaning each would likewise be saved through hearing and believing the word. Christ alone is the object of saving faith, and trusting Him is enough.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 31

  • John 1:12But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
  • John 3:36One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
  • Acts 2:38–39Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
  • Rom 10:9–10that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
  • Acts 11:13–14He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying to him, ‘Send to Joppa, and get Simon, who is called Peter,
  • Mark 16:16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
  • Gal 3:26For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.
  • John 11:25–26Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.
  • Isa 45:22“Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
  • 1 Jn 5:10–13He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who doesn’t believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.
  • Gen 17:7I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you.
  • Acts 18:8Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.
  • Eph 2:7–8that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus;
  • Acts 4:12There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
  • John 6:40This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
  • John 3:15–16that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
  • John 7:37–38Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!
  • Acts 16:32They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house.
  • Acts 15:11But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
  • Jer 32:39and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and of their children after them:
  • John 6:47Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.
  • Gal 3:22But the Scriptures imprisoned all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
  • Gen 18:19For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”
  • Rom 5:1–2Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
  • John 20:31but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
  • Hab 2:4Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.
  • Gal 3:14that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
  • Acts 16:15When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay.” So she persuaded us.
  • Acts 13:38–39Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins,
  • Rom 11:16If the first fruit is holy, so is the lump. If the root is holy, so are the branches.
  • Acts 8:36As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

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 16:31YouTube · 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 16:31 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.