for this miraculous sign—the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the man on whom this miracle of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
- KJV For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.
- BSB For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
- NKJV For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
- NASB for the man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.
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 healed man was over forty years old, making the miracle all the more remarkable. His long-standing condition magnified the wonder of his cure.
Overview
This detail underscores that the man had been lame for decades, ruling out natural recovery and confirming a true miracle. The greater the impossibility, the clearer God's power. The note reinforces the council's own admission that the sign was undeniable. It testifies that the risen Christ works real and complete restoration, far beyond what human means could ever achieve.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- John 5:5A certain man was there, who had been sick for thirty-eight years.
- Acts 9:33There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, because he was paralyzed.
- Acts 3:2A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple.
- Luke 13:11Behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and she was bent over, and could in no way straighten herself up.
- Matt 9:20Behold, a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years came behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment;
- John 9:1As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 4:22 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.