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You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer.
Acts 3:14 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
  • KJV But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
  • BSB You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
  • NKJV But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
  • NASB But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

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 charges the people with disowning the Holy and Righteous One and demanding a murderer in his place. Their choice of Barabbas over Jesus exposed a tragic exchange.

Overview

The titles 'Holy and Righteous One' affirm Jesus' sinless character and messianic identity. The contrast between releasing a murderer (Barabbas) and condemning the innocent Jesus sharpens the people's guilt. Yet this very injustice fulfilled God's plan of redemption, as the Righteous One bore the penalty for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God (1 Pet. 3:18).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Mark 1:24saying, “Ha! What do we have to do with you, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!”
  • Acts 7:52Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.
  • 1 Pet 3:18Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
  • Acts 4:27“For truly, in this city against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
  • Jas 5:6You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
  • Zech 9:9Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
  • Acts 22:14He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.
  • Luke 23:18–19But they all cried out together, saying, “Away with this man! Release to us Barabbas!” —
  • 2 Cor 5:21For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
  • Rev 3:7“To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: “He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things:
  • Luke 23:25He released him who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus up to their will.
  • 1 Jn 2:1My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
  • Acts 2:27because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
  • Luke 1:35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
  • Ps 16:10For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
  • Mark 15:7There was one called Barabbas, bound with his fellow insurgents, men who in the insurrection had committed murder.
  • Mark 15:11But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 3:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 3:14 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.