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Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
Acts 19:8 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He entered into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for a period of three months, reasoning and persuading about the things concerning God’s Kingdom.
  • KJV And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.
  • NKJV And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.
  • NASB And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, having discussions and persuading them about the kingdom of God.
  • NLT Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God.

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

Paul spoke boldly in the synagogue for three months, reasoning and persuading about the kingdom of God.

Overview

His sustained boldness over months shows persistence in the face of likely growing tension. The kingdom of God, the reign of God realized in Christ, was central to his preaching. This extended synagogue ministry was unusually long-lived before opposition forced a change of venue.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Acts 1:3After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
  • Acts 28:23So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
  • Jude 1:3Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints.
  • Acts 9:20–22Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”
  • Acts 18:4Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.
  • Acts 17:1–3When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
  • Acts 26:22–23But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
  • Acts 13:14And from Perga, they traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down.
  • Acts 19:9But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
  • 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 14:1At 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 18:19When they reached Ephesus, Paul parted ways with Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews.
  • 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.

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 19:8YouTube · 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 19:8 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.