And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.
Parallel translations
- WEB Great fear came on the whole assembly, and on all who heard these things.
- KJV And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
- NKJV So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
- NASB And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard about these things.
- NLT Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.
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
Great fear spreads through the whole church and all who hear. A holy reverence for God marks the community.
Overview
This is the first time Luke calls the believers 'the assembly' (the church) in Acts, framing this fear as formative for its life. The fear is not terror that drives people away but reverent awe that takes God seriously. Such fear is the proper response to a holy God who is genuinely present among His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Acts 5:5On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.
- 1 Cor 10:11–12Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
- Heb 4:1Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it.
- Acts 19:17This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
- Phil 2:12Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
- Ps 89:7In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared, and awesome above all who surround Him.
- Heb 12:15See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.
- Heb 12:28Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
- Jer 32:40I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.
- Heb 11:7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
- Rev 15:4Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
- 1 Pet 1:17Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
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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 5:11 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.