Acts 14 · Verse 21

Acts 14:21

And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

Acts 14:21, King James Version

Acts 14:21 in other translations

BSB	They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
WEB	When they had preached the Good News to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
ASV	And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, and to Iconium, and to Antioch,
YLT	Having proclaimed good news also to that city, and having discipled many, they turned back to Lystra, and Iconium, and Antioch,
DARBY	And having announced the glad tidings to that city, and having made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, and Iconium, and Antioch,
BBE	And having made a number of disciples through the preaching of the good news in that town, they went back to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch,
Webster	And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and to Antioch,

What does Acts 14:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 14:21-22

21. and when they had preached ... to that city and had taught many--rather, "had made many disciples" (Margin); but probably without suffering any persecution, as Derbe is not mentioned along with Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra (2Ti 3:11).

Ac 14:21-28. Paul and Barnabas Retrace Their Steps, Return to Antioch in Syria, and Thus Complete Their First Missionary Journey.

21-22. they returned ... to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls, &c.--At Derbe, Paul was not far from the well-known pass which leads down from the central tableland to Cilicia and Tarsus. But his thoughts did not center in an earthly home. He revisited the places where he had been reviled and persecuted, but where he had left as sheep in the desert the disciples whom his Master had enabled him to gather. They needed building up and strengthening in the faith, comforting in the midst of their inevitable suffering, and fencing round by permanent institutions. Undaunted therefore by the dangers that awaited them, our missionaries return to them, using words of encouragement which none but the founders of a true religion would have ventured to address to their earliest converts, that "we can only enter into the kingdom of God by passing through much tribulation" [Howson].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 21. Had taught many. Or rather, had made many disciples, (margin.)

To Lystra. Acts 14:6.

And to Iconium, Acts 14:1. We have here a remarkable instance of the courage of the apostles. In these very places they had been persecuted and stoned, and yet in the face of danger they ventured to return, The welfare of the infant churches they deemed of more consequence than their own safety; and they threw themselves again into the midst of danger, to comfort and strengthen those just converted to God. There are times when ministers should not count their own lives dear to them, Acts 20:24, but when they should fearlessly throw themselves into the midst of danger, confiding only in the protecting care of their God and Saviour.

(1) "had taught many" "Had made many disciples"

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 21 Preached the Gospel to that city - Derbe, a city in the same province. See on Act 14:6 (note). They returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium - Behold the courage of these Christian men! They counted not their lives dear to them, and returned to do their Masters work in the very places in which they had been so grievously persecuted, and where one of them had been apparently stoned to death! The man who knows he is God's ambassador, and that his life depends on his fidelity to his Master, knows he has nothing but his God to fear.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Acts 14:19-28

See how restless the rage of the Jews was against the gospel of Christ. The people stoned Paul, in a popular tumult. So strong is the bent of the corrupt and carnal heart, that as it is with great difficulty that men are kept back from evil on one side, so it is with great ease they are persuaded to evil on the other side. If Paul would have been Mercury, he might have been worshipped; but if he will be a faithful…

Read the full comment on Acts 14:19-28 →

Acts 14:21 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

εὐαγγελισάμενοίeuangelisamenoiHaving evangelisedG2097

τεtethenG5037

τὴνtēntheG3588

πόλινpolincityG4172

ἐκείνηνekeinēnthatG1565

καὶkaiandG2532

μαθητεύσαντεςmathēteusanteshaving discipledG3100

ἱκανοὺςhikanousmanyG2425

ὑπέστρεψανhupestrepsanthey returnedG5290

εἰςeistoG1519

τὴνtēn<the>G3588

ΛύστρανLustranLystraG3082

καὶkaiandG2532

ἸκόνιονIkonionIconiumG2430

καὶkaiandG2532

Ἀντιόχειαν·AntiocheianAntioch;G490

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Acts 14:21

Acts 13:51
But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
Acts 14:19
And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
Acts 14:1
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.
Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Acts 13:14
But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
Acts 14:6
They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
2 Timothy 3:11
Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Acts 14:8
And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
Acts 16:2
Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
Acts 15:36
And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

taught many. Gr. made many disciples.
Mt 28:19; *Gr:
Lystra.
1,6,8,19; 13:14,51; 15:36; 16:2; 2Ti 3:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Acts 14:20
Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
Acts 14:21
And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
Acts 14:22
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Read all of Acts 14

Acts 14:21 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y como hubieron anunciado el evangelio á aquella ciudad, y enseñado á muchos, volvieron á Listra, y á Iconio, y á Antioquía,
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et ayant évangélisé cette ville-là et fait beaucoup de disciples, ils s’en retournèrent à Lystre, et à Iconium, et à Antioche,
German Elberfelder 1871	Und als sie jener Stadt das Evangelium verkündigt und viele zu Jüngern gemacht hatten, kehrten sie nach Lystra und Ikonium und Antiochien zurück,
Latin Clementine Vulgate	confirmantes animas discipulorum, exhortantesque ut permanerent in fide: et quoniam per multas tribulationes oportet nos intrare in regnum Dei.