Limitless Word
For just last night an angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, stood beside me
Acts 27:23 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For there stood by me this night an angel, belonging to the God whose I am and whom I serve,
  • KJV For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
  • NKJV For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve,
  • NASB For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong, whom I also serve, came to me,
  • NLT For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me,

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 explains that an angel of the God he belongs to and serves stood by him that night.

Overview

Paul publicly testifies to his relationship with God—'whose I am and whom I serve'—a confession of belonging and devotion. The angelic visitation grounds his confidence in a real, divine encounter. Even before pagan sailors, Paul boldly names his God, turning the crisis into an occasion for witness to the living Lord.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • Acts 23:11The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”
  • Acts 5:19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying,
  • Rom 1:9God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
  • 2 Tim 4:17But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.
  • Heb 1:14Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
  • Acts 18:9One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.
  • Acts 12:8–11“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
  • Titus 2:14He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
  • Dan 6:22My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”
  • Isa 44:21Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are My servant, O Israel. I have made you, and you are My servant; O Israel, I will never forget you.
  • Dan 6:16So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”
  • Acts 8:26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
  • Mal 3:17“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.
  • Zech 13:9This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
  • Acts 12:23Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
  • Acts 16:17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!”
  • Titus 1:1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,
  • 2 Tim 1:3I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as did my forefathers, as I constantly remember you night and day in my prayers.
  • 2 Tim 2:24And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.
  • 1 Cor 6:20you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
  • Ps 143:12And in Your loving devotion, cut off my enemies. Destroy all who afflict me, for I am Your servant.
  • Ps 135:4For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own, Israel as His treasured possession.
  • Ps 116:16Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have broken my bonds.
  • John 17:9–10I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours.
  • John 12:26If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
  • Rom 6:22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.
  • Rom 1:1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—
  • 1 Pet 2:9–10But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
  • Exod 19:5Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
  • Rev 22:16“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
  • Jer 31:33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
  • Jer 32:38They will be My people, and I will be their God.
  • Deut 32:9But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.
  • Song 2:16My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
  • Song 6:3I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
  • Isa 44:5One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name of Israel.”
  • Dan 3:17If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.
  • Dan 3:26Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire,
  • Dan 3:28Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
  • Dan 6:20When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

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 27:23YouTube · 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 27:23 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.