Acts 21:14
in Acts 21When he would not be dissuaded, we fell silent and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
KJV
And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
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This verse in Acts 21
Commentary
10 notes on this verseWhen they could not persuade him, they fell silent, because they recognized that this was the will of God. It should be noted that one ought to restrain those who hinder someone from doing a noble deed, even if they weep. And these tears moved …
This site's exposition
pleaded with Paul not to go
on Acts 21:12-14
Paul answered that he was ready to be bound and also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. When he would not be dissuaded, they prayed that the Lord’s will be done, as Jesus prayed in Gethsemane.
This site's exposition
we fell silent
The friends stopped pleading. Matthew Henry reads their silence as a judgment that Paul's firmness came from a willingness to suffer and from God's will for him. Theophylact draws a rule from the scene, that tears should never hold a believer back from a good work God has given him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done." Ye do me wrong in doing this: for do I grieve? Then they ceased, when he said, "to break my heart." I weep, he says, for you, not on account of my own sufferings: as for those men, I am willing even to die for them. But when they could not persuade him - this was why they wept - then they "held their peace." Do you mark the resignation? do you mark the affection? "They held their peace," it says, "saying, The will of the Lord be done." The Lord, say they, Himself will do that which is pleasing in his sight. For they perceived that it was the will of God. Else Paul would not be so bent upon going - he that on all other occasions delivers himself out of dangers.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They did not resolve his resolution into his stubbornness, but into his willingness to suffer, and God's will that he should. Father in heaven, thy will be done, as it is a rule to our prayers and to our practice, so it is to our patience. This may refer, (1.) To Paul's present firmness; he is inflexible, and unpersuadable, and in this they see the will of the Lord done.
And when he would not be persuaded - This was not obstinacy, but true Christian resolution. We should never be persuaded, either to do evil, or to omit doing any good which is in our power; saying, the will of the Lord be done - Which they were satisfied Paul knew.
And when he would not be persuaded,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The will of the Lord be done - May that which is most for his glory take place! They plainly saw from the prophecy what would take place, if Paul went to Jerusalem; and every one saw that he had power to go, or not to go.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
So shall the Jews bind the man that owneth this girdle, &c.--For though the Romans did it, it was at the Jews' instigation (Ac 21:33; Such dramatic methods of announcing important future events would bring the old prophets to remembrance.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Would not be persuaded - To remain. He was resolved to go. We ceased - We ceased remonstrating with him, and urging him to remain. The will of the Lord be done - They were now assured that it was the will of God that he should go, and they were now ready to submit to that will. This is an instance and an evidence of true piety. It was the expression of a wish that whatever God might judge to be necessary for the advancement of his cause might take place, even though it should be attended with many trials. They commended their friend to the protection of God, confident that whatever should occur would be right. Compare the notes on Mat 6:10; Mat 26:42.
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| μὴ | me | Not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| πειθομένου | peithomenou | is being persuaded | G3982 → | 51 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | he | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἡσυχάσαμεν | hesuchasamen | we were silent | G2270 → | |
| εἰπόντες· | eipontes | having said; | G2036 → | 925 times |
| τοῦ | tou | Of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κυρίου | kuriou | Lord | G2962 → | 711 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θέλημα | thelema | will | G2307 → | 62 times |
| γινέσθω.¶ | ginestho | should be [done]. | G1096 → | 667 times |
μὴNot
meG3361 →1066 times
πειθομένουis being persuaded
peithomenouG3982 →51 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
αὐτοῦhe
autouG846 →5565 times
ἡσυχάσαμενwe were silent
hesuchasamenG2270 →
εἰπόντες·having said;
eipontesG2036 →925 times
τοῦOf the
touG3588 →19766 times
κυρίουLord
kuriouG2962 →711 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
θέλημαwill
thelemaG2307 →62 times
γινέσθω.¶should be [done].
ginesthoG1096 →667 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 6:10Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
it leads to
- Matthew 26:42
A second time He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 10:36
You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
- Matthew 12:50
For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
- John 4:34
Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- Matthew 26:42
Through
Luke 22:42“Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
it leads to
- Matthew 26:39
Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 12:27–28
Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.
- Matthew 26:39
Through
Matthew 26:39Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
it leads to
- John 6:38
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
- John 6:38
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 45; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.