Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
Parallel translations
- WEB Now therefore why do you tempt God, that you should put a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
- KJV Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
- NKJV Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
- NASB Since this is the case, why are you putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?
- NLT So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear?
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
Peter asks why they would test God by laying on Gentiles a yoke no one could bear. Imposing law-keeping for salvation burdens people God has already freed.
Overview
The 'yoke' is the law as a means of being saved, a burden Israel itself never carried successfully (compare Galatians 3:10-11). To require it of Gentiles would be to resist God's clear acceptance of them by grace. Peter's words point ahead to the rest that Christ gives in place of an unbearable burden (Matthew 11:28-30).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gal 5:1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.
- Matt 23:4They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
- Gal 4:9But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
- Heb 9:9It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper.
- Matt 11:28–30Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Matt 4:7Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
- Isa 7:12But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask; I will not test the LORD.”
- Heb 3:9where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works.
- Exod 17:2So the people contended with Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why do you contend with me?” Moses replied. “Why do you test the LORD?”
- Gal 4:1–5What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything.
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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 15:10 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
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