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You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of the fact.
Acts 3:15 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.
  • KJV And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
  • NKJV and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
  • NASB but put to death the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
  • NLT You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!

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

They killed the Author of life, but God raised him from the dead, and the apostles are witnesses. The resurrection overturned their verdict and grounds the apostolic testimony.

Overview

Calling Jesus the 'Prince' or Author of life is a striking paradox: they put to death the very source of life, yet death could not hold him. God's raising of Jesus is the central proof of the gospel and the foundation of Christian hope. The apostles ground their preaching in eyewitness testimony to the risen Christ, the heart of their message in Acts.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 26

  • Acts 2:24But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.
  • Acts 2:32God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.
  • Rev 21:6And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
  • John 1:4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
  • Heb 2:10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
  • John 5:26For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.
  • Acts 13:30–32But God raised Him from the dead,
  • 1 Cor 15:45So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
  • John 11:25–26Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
  • John 4:14But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
  • Rev 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
  • John 14:6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
  • John 17:2For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
  • John 4:10Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
  • Heb 5:9And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him
  • 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
  • Rev 22:1Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
  • 1 Jn 5:11–12And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
  • Col 3:3–4For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
  • John 10:28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
  • Acts 10:40–41God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen—
  • Matt 28:2–5Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
  • Rom 8:1–2Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
  • Acts 5:31God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
  • Acts 1:22beginning from John’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
  • Eph 1:20which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 3:15YouTube · 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 3:15 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.