Acts 16 · Verse 31

Acts 16:31

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Acts 16:31, King James Version

Acts 16:31 in other translations

BSB	They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
WEB	They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
ASV	And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.
YLT	and they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved--thou and thy house;'
DARBY	And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.
BBE	And they said, Have faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will have salvation.
Webster	And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

What does Acts 16:31 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 16:31-34

31-34. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved--The brevity, simplicity, and directness of this reply are, in the circumstances, singularly beautiful. Enough at that moment to have his faith directed simply to the Saviour, with the assurance that this would bring to his soul the needed and sought salvation--the how being a matter for after teaching. thou shalt be saved, and thy house--(See on Lu 19:10).

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

Barnes' Notes

Verse 31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This was a simple, a plain, and an effectual direction. They did not direct him to use the means of grace, to pray, or to continue to seek for salvation. They did not advise him to delay, or to wait for the mercy of God. They told him to believe at once; to commit his agitated, and guilty, and troubled spirit to the Saviour, with the assurance that he should find peace. They presumed that he would understand what it was to believe; and they commanded him to do the thing. And this was the uniform direction which the early preachers gave to those inquiring the way to life. Mt 16:16; comp. Acts 8:22.

And thy house. And thy family. That is, the same salvation is equally adapted to, and offered to your family. It does not mean that his family would be saved simply by his believing; but that the offers had reference to them as well as to himself; that they might be saved as well as he. His attention was thus called at once, as every man's should be, to his family. He was reminded that they needed salvation; and he was presented with the assurance that they might unite with him in the peace and joy of redeeming mercy. Comp. Acts 2:39. It may be implied here that the faith of a father may be expected to be the means of the salvation of his family. It often is so, in fact. But the direct meaning of this is, that salvation was offered to his family as well as himself; implying that if they believed, they should also be saved.

(f) "on the Lord Jesus Christ" Hab 2:4, Jn 3:16,36, 6:47, Acts 13:39 (g) "house" Acts 2:39 (*) "house" "Household"

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 31 Believe on the Lord Jesus - Receive the religion of Christ, which we preach, and let thy household also receive it, and ye shall be all placed in the sure way to final salvation.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Acts 16:25-34

The consolations of God to his suffering servants are neither few nor small. How much more happy are true Christians than their prosperous enemies! As in the dark, so out of the depths, we may cry unto God. No place, no time is amiss for prayer, if the heart be lifted up to God. No trouble, however grievous, should hinder us from praise. Christianity proves itself to be of God, in that it obliges us to be just to…

Read the full comment on Acts 16:25-34 →

Acts 16:31 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.

οἱhoi<the>G3588

δὲdeAndG1161

εἶπαν·eipanthey said;G2036

πίστευσονpisteusondo believeG4100

ἐπὶepionG1909

τὸνtontheG3588

κύριονkurionLordG2962

ἸησοῦνIēsounJesusG2424

Χριστόν,ChristonChristG5547

καὶkaiandG2532

σωθήσῃsōthēsēwill be savedG4982

σὺsuyou yourselfG4771

καὶkaiandG2532

ὁhotheG3588

οἶκόςoikoshouseholdG3624

σου.souof you.G4771

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

Cross references for Acts 16:31

John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Acts 2:38-39
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Romans 10:9-10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Acts 11:13-14
And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Galatians 3:26
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 45:22
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
John 11:25-26
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Genesis 17:7
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
1 John 5:10-13
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Acts 18:8
And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Believe.
2:38,39; 4:12; 8:37; 11:13,14; 13:38,39; 15:11; Isa 45:22; Hab 2:4
Mr 16:16; Joh 1:12; 3:15,16,36; 6:40,47; 7:37,38; 11:25,26; 20:31
Ro 5:1,2; 10:9,10; Ga 3:22,26; Eph 2:7,8; 1Jo 5:10-13
and thy.
15,32; 2:39; 18:8; Ge 17:7; 18:19; Jer 32:39; Ro 11:16; Ga 3:14

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

Context

Acts 16:30
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Acts 16:32
And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

Read all of Acts 16

Acts 16:31 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y ellos dijeron: Cree en el Señor Jesucristo, y serás salvo tú, y tu casa.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et ils dirent: Crois au seigneur Jésus, et tu seras sauvé, toi et ta maison.
German Elberfelder 1871	Sie aber sprachen: Glaube an den Herrn Jesum, und du wirst errettet werden, du und dein Haus.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	At illi dixerunt: Crede in Dominum Jesum, et salvus eris tu, et domus tua.