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And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes,
Acts 4:5 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB In the morning, their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem.
  • KJV And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
  • BSB The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
  • NASB On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;
  • NLT The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem.

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 next morning, the Jewish rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem. The full council gathered to examine the apostles.

Overview

This convening of rulers, elders, and scribes describes the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish council, the same body that had condemned Jesus. The formal assembly underscores the seriousness of the charges and the official weight behind the opposition. The apostles now stand before the very court that judged their Lord, sharing in his sufferings as they bear witness to him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Acts 4:8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
  • Luke 23:13Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,
  • Luke 22:66As soon as it was day, the assembly of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away into their council, saying,
  • Mark 15:1Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate.
  • Acts 6:12They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and came against him and seized him, and brought him in to the council,
  • Acts 5:20–21“Go stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.”
  • Isa 1:10Hear Yahweh’s word, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
  • Matt 27:1–2Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
  • Mic 2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil on their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.
  • Luke 20:1On one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the Good News, the priests and scribes came to him with the elders.
  • Acts 5:34But one stood up in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people, and commanded to put the apostles out for a little while.
  • Luke 24:20and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 4:5YouTube · 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 4:5 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.