Then the captain went with the officers, and brought them without violence, for they were afraid that the people might stone them.
Parallel translations
- KJV Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
- BSB At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles—but not by force, for fear the people would stone them.
- NKJV Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.
- NASB Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).
- NLT The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them.
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 captain brings the apostles without force, fearing the people might stone them. The leaders are restrained by their fear of the crowd.
Overview
The authorities' caution shows how highly the people now regarded the apostles. Their fear of public reaction, not respect for the apostles, governs their restraint. God uses even the leaders' political calculations to protect His witnesses from violence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Acts 5:13None of the rest dared to join them, however the people honored them.
- Acts 4:21When they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for everyone glorified God for that which was done.
- Matt 21:26But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.”
- Acts 5:24Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these words, they were very perplexed about them and what might become of this.
- Matt 14:5When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
- Luke 22:2The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death, for they feared the people.
- Matt 26:5But they said, “Not during the feast, lest a riot occur among the people.”
- Luke 20:19The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people — for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
- Luke 20:6But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”
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 5:26 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.