They said to her, “You are crazy!” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
- BSB “You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
- NKJV But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.”
- NASB They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.”
- NLT “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The praying believers tell Rhoda she is mad, then suppose it must be Peter's angel. Even faithful intercessors struggle to believe their prayer is answered.
Overview
The church had prayed earnestly, yet when the answer arrives they doubt it. Their suggestion that it is his angel reflects a contemporary Jewish belief but mainly shows their reluctance to accept the obvious. Luke does not scold them; he gently exposes how weak our faith can be even as God is faithful, and the scene quietly encourages persistent prayer despite small faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 18:10See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
- Mark 16:14Afterward he was revealed to the eleven themselves as they sat at the table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they didn’t believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
- Luke 24:11These words seemed to them to be nonsense, and they didn’t believe them.
- Luke 24:37–38But they were terrified and filled with fear, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
- Mark 16:11When they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they disbelieved.
- Acts 26:24As he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are crazy! Your great learning is driving you insane!”
- Job 9:16If I had called, and he had answered me, yet I wouldn’t believe that he listened to my voice.
- Gen 48:16the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. Let them grow into a multitude upon the earth.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 12:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.