Bible Strands
Acts 26:20
First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul is addressing King Agrippa during his judicial defense, recounting the ordered sequence of his post-conversion preaching. He is explaining why the Jews opposed him (v. 21) by showing the logic of his mission strategy.
The words — πρῶτον (prōton, "first") anchors the verse's structure, marking a deliberate, non-arbitrary order: Damascus and Jerusalem before Judea before the Gentiles. The correlative τε…καὶ (te…kai, "both…also") binds the two cities into a single first unit, distinguishing them from the later, broader groups.
The thread — "Deeds worthy of repentance" is a near-verbatim echo of Matthew 3:8 ("fruit in keeping with repentance"), tying Paul's message to John the Baptist's. The repent-and-turn formula also appears in Peter's sermons (Acts 2:38; 3:19), showing continuity between the apostolic preachers.
Why it lands — The verse treats repentance as something that must be corroborated by behavior, not merely confessed. It asks the reader to measure their own turning by whether it produces observable change, and to recognize that the message's sequence (Jews first, then Gentiles) was a theological claim, not a convenience.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Cross-references
- Matthew 3:8 Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance.
- Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
- Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- 2 Timothy 2:25 He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
- Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
- Luke 19:8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”
- 2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
- Revelation 2:5 Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
- 2 Corinthians 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
- Ephesians 4:17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.