And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Parallel translations
- WEB and laid hands on the apostles, and put them in public custody.
- BSB and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
- NKJV and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.
- NASB They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public prison.
- NLT They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
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 leaders arrest the apostles and jail them publicly. Human authority tries to silence the gospel by force.
Overview
Public custody was meant to intimidate the apostles and warn the people. Yet imprisonment cannot bind the word of God, as the next verses show. The scene recalls Jesus' warning that His witnesses would be handed over, and His promise that He would be with them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Acts 4:3And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
- 2 Cor 11:23Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
- Luke 21:12But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.
- Acts 16:23–27And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
- Rev 2:10Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
- Heb 11:36And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
- Acts 8:3As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
- Acts 12:5–7Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:18 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.