for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
Parallel Translations
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for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
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for I am with the and no man shall invade the that shall hurte the. For I have moche people in this cite.
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For I am with thee, and no man shall lay handes on thee to hurt thee: for I haue much people in this citie.
Cross-references (24)
Passages linked to Acts 18:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.
- Exodus 4:12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak.”
- Isaiah 41:10 Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
- Matthew 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
- Romans 8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- John 10:16 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
- 2 Timothy 4:22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
- Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against you will prevail; and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of Yahweh’s servants, and their righteousness is of me,” says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 15:20-21 I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall. They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you,” says Yahweh. “I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you out of the hand of the terrible.”
- Joshua 1:9 Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
- Matthew 10:30 but the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
- John 11:52 and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
- Romans 10:20-21 Isaiah is very bold and says, “I was found by those who didn’t seek me. I was revealed to those who didn’t ask for me.” But about Israel he says, “All day long I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
- Jeremiah 1:18-19 For, behold, I have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you”, says Yahweh, “to rescue you.”
- Luke 21:18 And not a hair of your head will perish.
- Acts 15:18 “All of God’s works are known to him from eternity.
- 2 Timothy 4:17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear. So I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
- Joshua 1:5 No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.
- Isaiah 8:10 Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand, for God is with us.”
- Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel;” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
- Judges 2:18 When Yahweh raised up judges for them, then Yahweh was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it grieved Yahweh because of their groaning by reason of those who oppressed them and troubled them.
- Acts 15:14 Simeon has reported how God first visited the nations to take out of them a people for his name.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom. Some of you were such, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 10. Because I am. This is the former reason…
10. Because I am. This is the former reason why Paul, having subdued fear, must manfully and stoutly do his duty, because he hath God on his side. Whereto answereth the rejoicing of David,
“If I shall walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I shall fear none ill: because thou art with me,” (Psalm 23:4.)
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Again,
“If tents be pitched about me,” etc., (Psalm 27:3.)
The question is, whether he did not perceive that God was present with him elsewhere, as he had had experience of his help in divers places. For the promise is general,
“I am with you until the end of the world,” (Matthew 28:20.)
Neither is it lawful for us to mistrust so often as we obey his calling, but that he will be present with us. But it is an usual thing with the Lord to apply that unto certain kinds when the matter so requireth, which he hath promised to do in all affairs; and we know that when we come to the push, then are we most desirous of help. Moreover, these two members are joined together, “I am with thee, and no man shall hurt thee.” For it falleth out sometimes that God doth help us, and yet doth he, to look to, suffer us to be oppressed, as he forsook not Paul even in the midst of death; and here he promiseth the peculiar defense of his hand, whereby he shall be preserved from the violence of his enemies.
But the question is, whether Paul needed any such confirmation, who ought to have been willing to enter [undergo] all manner [of] dangers. For what if he had been to suffer death, should he therefore have fainted through fear? I answer, that if at any time God pronounce that his servants shall be safe for a time, that doth no whit hinder, but that they may prepare themselves to suffer death valiantly; but as we distinguish between profitable and necessary, so we must note that there be some promises, which, if the faithful want, they must needs faint and sink down; and that other some are added when it is expedient so to be, which, though they be taken away, (because the grace of God doth nevertheless remain firm and sure,) the faith of the godly doth not fail. After this sort, Paul is commanded not to fear, because his enemies shall not touch him; and if so be he should have been oppressed even then with their violence, yet would he not have been afraid, but God would have his boldness and courage to increase even by this, because he should be without danger. If at any time the Lord bear with us so far forth, we are not to despise such a comfort of our infirmity. In the mean season, let this be sufficient for us to tread under foot all corrupt fear of the flesh, that so long as we fight under his banner we cannot be forsaken of him. And when it is said, “No man shall gainstand thee to do thee hurt,” the Lord doth not mean that he shall be free from violence and tumult whom the Jews did afterward deadly invade; but his meaning is, that their attempts shall be frustrate, because the Lord had determined to deliver him out of their hands. Therefore, we must fight stoutly that we may win the field.
Because I have much people. The second reason why he should take a good heart is, because the Lord will raise up a great and populous church there, though it be to be doubted whether this member depend upon that which goeth next before; for the text will run fitly thus, Because the Lord determined by the hand of Paul to gather together a great church, he would not suffer the enemies to interrupt the course of his labors, as if he should have said, I will help thee, that thou mayest not fail my people whose minister I have appointed thee to be. I do willingly embrace this exposition, that divers reasons are not inferred which are to be read apart, but that they be so distinguished that they agree together. Furthermore, the Lord calleth those his people, who, though they might then for good causes be counted strangers, yet because they were written in the book of life, and were forthwith to be admitted into his family, they have this title given them not improperly. For we know that many sheep wander without the flock for a time, as the sheep have many wolves among them. Therefore whom the Lord determined shortly after to gather to himself, those doth he take for his people in respect of their future faith. But let us remember, that those are engrafted into the body of Christ who appertain unto the same by the eternal adoption of God; as it is written,
“Thine they were and thou gavest them me” (John 17:6.)
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 10 For I am with thee, and no man…
10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
Ver. 10. For I am with thee] As to behold thy behaviour ( Cave, spectat Deus), so to support, defend, and deliver thee. If a child be in the dark, yet, having his father by the hand, he fears nothing. David feared not the "vale of the shadow of death," that is, death in its most horrid and hideous representations, and all because God was with him, Psa 23:4.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Christ, in this vision, useth two arguments to persuade…
Christ, in this vision, useth two arguments to persuade Paul to continue preaching the gospel at Corinth:
1. Because he would be with him, to supply, support, and deliver him; as it is promised to Jeremiah, Jer 1:19, and to all the faithful ministers of Christ, Mat 28:20. This promise was fulfilled to Paul, and to other of God’s servants; whatsoever troubles they met with, even when they were killed, they were not hurt, Rom 8:36-39.
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2. The other reason why Paul was commanded to tarry was, because there were many that God would have called by his ministry; and thus those who were not his people God calleth his people, as Hos 1:10; 2:23.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For I am with thee,.... According to his promise,…
For I am with thee,.... According to his promise, Mat 28:20 not only to assist in the ministry of the word, to give light into it, and liberty to preach it, and success in it, but to keep and preserve him from being hurt by men:
and no man shall set on thee; attack thee, or lay hands on thee:
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to hurt thee; to do any injury to thy person, to thy body, in any part of it: wicked men cannot strike a blow, or do the least damage to a servant of Christ without his permission; he can tie their hands, and restrain their rage.
For I have much people in this city; this wicked and luxurious city; there were many here who were yet in their sins, in a state of unregeneracy, whom God had chosen to be his people, and had taken into his covenant as such; were given to Christ as his peculiar people, and whom he had redeemed with his precious blood: they were his people both by gift and purchase, before they were called by grace; and because of this his interest in them, he will have his Gospel continued for the gathering them in to himself; for Christ will lose none of his, all shall come unto him: from all which it appears, that Christ has a people who are related to him, and he has an interest in, before they are effectually called by grace; for this refers not to the many Corinthians who had heard and believed, and were baptized, but to some that had not, and were yet to be called; not the Jews in this city, Christ's own nation, nor all the inhabitants of it who were in some sense Christ's people, being made and supported in their beings by him, are intended; but a special people among the Gentiles, the same with the other sheep Christ speaks of, Joh 10:16 not yet of his fold; a people beloved of God, chosen in Christ, given to him, and with whom a covenant was made in him, for whom Christ undertook, in whose name he acted, and for whom he received blessings and promises, as well as took the care and charge of their persons; for the sake of these he assumed human nature, and suffered and died; towards these his heart always is; his eye is upon them, and he knows them, and where they are; and therefore he will look them up and find them out, and they shall be brought to believe in him, and shall not perish, but have everlasting life: and it may be further observed, that Christ has "many" such, though they are but comparatively few, yet in themselves they are a great number; yea, he has sometimes many of these in the worst of places, and among the vilest of men; and for the sake of these, in order to select and separate them from the rest, is the Gospel preached and continued. The ministers of it are sent here and there, where such persons are, and there they are continued till they are gathered in; yea, on this account both the Gospel and its preachers are continued in the world; and even the world itself, for the sake of these, till they are brought in, and then it will be destroyed; and it may be also remarked, that for the encouragement of Gospel ministers, Christ promises his presence and protection, and which was fulfilled in the Apostle Paul at Corinth; who though he stayed there a year and six months, none were suffered to do him any injury; and when an insurrection was made within that time, yet the apostle escaped, and quietly departed elsewhere.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain I am with thee: therefore fear not all the…
I am with thee: therefore fear not all the learning, politeness, grandeur, or power of the inhabitants of this city. Speak and hold not thy peace - For thy labour shall not be in vain. For I have much people in this city - So he prophetically calls them that afterward believed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 10. No man shall set on thee] Και…
Verse 10. No man shall set on thee] Και ουδεις επιθησεται σοι, No man shall be permitted to lay violent hands upon thee. It is very likely that the Jews had conspired his death; and his preservation was an act of the especial interposition of Divine Providence.
I have much people in this city.] Εν τῃ πολει ταυτῃ, In this very city: there are many here who have not resisted my Spirit, and consequently are now under its teachings, and are ready to embrace my Gospel as soon as thou shalt declare it unto them.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For I am with thee - I will attend,…
For I am with thee - I will attend, bless, and protect you. See the notes on Mat 28:20.
No man shall set on thee - No one who shall rise up against thee will be able to hurt thee. His life was in God’s hands, and he would preserve him in order that his people might be collected into the church.
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For I have - Greek: there is to me; that is, I possess, or there belongs to me.
Much people - Many who should be regarded as his true friends, and who should be saved.
In this city - In that very city that was so voluptuous, so rich, so effeminate, and where there had been already so decided opposition shown to the gospel. This passage evidently means that God had a design or purpose to save many of that people, for it was given to Paul as an encouragement to him to labor there, evidently meaning that God would grant him success in his work. It cannot mean that the Lord meant to say that the great mass of the people, or that the moral and virtuous part, if there were any such, was then regarded as his people; but that he intended to convert many of those guilty and profligate Corinthians to himself, and to gather a people for his own service there. We may learn from this:
(1) That God has a purpose in regard to the salvation of sinners.
(2) That that purpose is so fixed in the mind of God that he can say that those in relation to whom it is formed are his.
(3) This is the ground of encouragement to the ministers of the gospel. Had God no purpose to save sinners, they could have no hope in their work.
(4) This plan may have reference to the most frivolous, the most guilty, and the most abandoned, and ministers should not be deterred by the amount or the degree of wickedness from attempting to save them.
(5) There may be more hope of success among a dissolute and profligate population, than among proud, cold, and skeptical philosophers. Paul had little success in philosophic Athens; he had great success in dissolute Corinth. There is often more hope of converting a man openly dissolute and abandoned, than one who prides himself on his philosophy, and is confident in his own wisdom.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain I have much people in this city--"whom in virtue…
I have much people in this city--"whom in virtue of their election to eternal life He already designates as His" (compare Act 13:48) [BAUMGARTEN].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. I have much people—Not, as Dr. Hackett has…
10. I have much people—Not, as Dr. Hackett has it, “Many who are appointed to become such,” for nothing is said of any such appointment. They were not appointed to become Christians any more than all the Corinthians. In all was the same power of acceptance, and of all the same appointment to accept. Yet divine prescience foresaw who would exercise the power to accept, and styles that class, more or less, by anticipation, the Lord’s people.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. for I am with thee] The pronoun is…
10. for I am with thee] The pronoun is expressed emphatically in the Greek, and no man shall set on thee to hurt [harm] thee. There will be assailants. Christ does not promise him freedom from attack. But the enemy shall not be able to do him violence. And this appearance of Christ would give the Apostle the confidence of the prophet of old (2Ki_6:16), “They that be with us are more than they that be with them.”
for I have much people in this city] How important and extensive was the Christian community at Corinth we may gather from the Epistles which St Paul wrote afterwards to the Church there. And as the city was one of the great centres of commercial activity at this period, we can see how important it was (humanly speaking) for the Church to make good its footing there from the first. The Lord mercifully by this vision gave his servant assurance that his words should be largely blessed, and rising up thus comforted, he was ready for any task.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) For I am with thee.—The command was followed…
(10) For I am with thee.—The command was followed by a promise which met the special trial of the time. Men might be against him, but Christ was with him. The general promise given to the Church at large, “Lo! I am with you always” (Mat_28:20), received a personal application, “I am with thee;” and though called to a life of suffering, there was for the time an assurance that the wrath of men should be restrained, and that his work should not be hindered.
I have much people in this city.—The words remind us once more of those which Elijah had heard at a moment of like weakness, “Yet have I left me seven thousand men in Israel” (1Ki_19:18). Even in the sinful streets of Corinth, among those plunged deepest into its sin (1Co_5:10-11), there were souls yearning for deliverance, in whom conscience was not dead, and was waiting only for the call to repentance.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Harm for hurt, A.V. I have much people, etc.…
Harm for hurt, A.V. I have much people, etc. We may infer from this intimation from him who "knoweth them that are his," which led to St. Paul staying on at Corinth upwards of a year and six months (ver. 11), that the shortness of his stay at Athens was because the Lord had not much people there. For the encouraging promise of protection in the midst of danger given to St. Paul by Christ in this vision, comp. Jer_1:17-19.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain See notes on verse 9
See notes on verse 9
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.