So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now I tell you, withdraw from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown.
- KJV And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
- NKJV And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;
- NASB And so in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, for if the source of this plan or movement is men, it will be overthrown;
- NLT “So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown.
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
Gamaliel advises leaving the apostles alone, since a merely human work will collapse on its own. He counsels patience over persecution.
Overview
His reasoning rests on the principle that what is not of God cannot endure. The advice spares the apostles, serving God's purposes despite Gamaliel's own uncertainty. Luke records it because history confirms the gospel was indeed of God and could not be overthrown.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Matt 15:13But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
- Lam 3:37Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
- Isa 8:9–10Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!
- Prov 21:30There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- Isa 7:5–7For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying:
- Job 5:12–14He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
- Ps 33:10–11The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
- 1 Cor 1:26–28Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
- 1 Cor 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
- John 11:48If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
- Neh 4:15When our enemies heard that we were aware of their scheme and that God had frustrated it, each of us returned to his own work on the wall.
- Isa 14:25I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
- Acts 5:35“Men of Israel,” he said, “consider carefully what you are about to do to these men.
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 5:38 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.