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And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
Acts 4:3 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB They laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was now evening.
  • BSB They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day.
  • NKJV And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
  • NASB And they laid hands on them and put them in prison until the next day, for it was already evening.
  • NLT They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning.

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 arrested Peter and John and held them overnight since it was already evening. The apostles suffered the first imprisonment for preaching Christ.

Overview

The arrest shows the cost of faithful witness, as the apostles experience what their Lord foretold. Because legal proceedings could not occur at night, they were detained until morning. This brief imprisonment marks the beginning of the church's suffering for the gospel, a path that conforms believers to Christ, who himself was arrested and tried for our sake.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Acts 5:18And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
  • Acts 16:19–24And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
  • Matt 10:16–17Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
  • Acts 6:12And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,
  • Luke 22:52Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
  • Acts 12:1–3Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
  • Acts 8:3As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
  • John 18:12Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him,
  • Acts 9:2And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
  • Luke 22:54Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter followed afar off.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

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 4:3YouTube · 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 4:3 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.