Acts 4:5
in Acts 4The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;
KJV
And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
⋯
This verse in Acts 4
Commentary
11 notes on this verseBesides other injustices toward the apostles, they (the rulers, elders, scribes, and chief priests of the Jews) did not even observe the requirements of the law. Pay attention at least to the multitude of chief priests, whereas according to the law there should be one, …
This site's exposition
their rulers, and elders, and scribes
on Acts 4:5-7
On the morrow their rulers, and elders, and scribes, and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, are gathered together at Jerusalem, the same council and largely the same men who had tried Jesus himself only weeks before. Annas, deposed by Rome years earlier yet still called high priest here, held the office's real influence in his family long after losing its title, a detail the bench reads as accurate to the politics of the period rather than a slip on Luke's part. When they had set them in the midst, they asked, by what power, or by what name, have ye done this, the council's own question naming the two categories, power and name, that Peter's answer will address directly.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Indeed the ploy was to bind them before the multitude, but examine them secretly: for they feared those who were bound in the sight of the crowd, and examined them supposedly before a court as lawbreakers; privately, however, that the audience might choose the better …
"And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, and Annas the High Priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the High Priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem." For now along with the other evils of the times, the Law was no longer observed. And again they set off the business with the form of a tribunal, to constitute them guilty by their iniquitous sentence.
"And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes were gathered together at Jerusalem." Again in Jerusalem: and there it is that men's blood is poured out; no reverence for their city either; "And Annas, and Caiaphas," etc. "And Annas," it says, "and Caiaphas." His maid-servant it was that questioned Peter, and he could not bear it: in his house it was that Peter denied, when Another was in bonds there: but now, when he has come into the midst of them all, see how he speaks!
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And it came to pass on the morrow,.... The disciples being kept in custody all night: that their rulers, and elders, and Scribes; that is, their ecclesiastical rulers; the chief priests, who, with the Scribes, and elders of the people, made up the great council at Jerusalem, consisting of seventy one persons, so they are called in Mat 26:3.
) -- on the morrow; not in the night, as when Christ was to be tried before them, for they seem not to have been so hot upon this prosecution as they were upon that; it was well if they began to relent.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
These two were most active against Christ; then Caiaphas was high priest, now Annas was; however they were both equally malignant against Christ and his gospel. John is supposed to be the son of Annas; and Alexander is mentioned by Josephus as a man that made a figure at that time.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Their rulers - The rulers of the Jews; doubtless the members of the Sanhedrin, or Great Council of the nation. Compare Act 4:15. See the notes on Mat 2:4; Mat 5:22. The expression their rulers looks as if this book was written for the Gentiles, or Luke would have said our rulers. Elders - Presbyters, or those who were chosen from among the people to sit in the Sanhedrin. It is probable that the rulers were those who held also some other office, but were also authorized to sit in the Great Council.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the captain--of the Levitical guard. of the temple--annoyed at the disturbance created around it. and the Sadducees--who "say that there is no resurrection" (Ac 23:8), irritated at the apostles "preaching through (rather, 'in') Jesus the resurrection from the dead"; for the resurrection of Christ, if a fact, effectually overthrew the Sadducean doctrine.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Their rulers, and elders, and scribes - Those with the high priest Annas formed the Sanhedrin, or grand council of the Jews.
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ἐγένετο | egeneto | It came to pass | G1096 → | 667 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | on | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| αὔριον | aurion | next day | G839 → | 14 times |
| συναχθῆναι | sunachthenai | assembling | G4863 → | 59 times |
| αὐτῶν | auton | their | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τοὺς | tous | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἄρχοντας | archontas | rulers | G758 → | 37 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| τοὺς | tous | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πρεσβυτέρους | presbuterous | elders | G4245 → | 65 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| τοὺς | tous | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γραμματεῖς | grammateis | scribes | G1122 → | 62 times |
ἘγένετοIt came to pass
egenetoG1096 →667 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
ἐπὶon
epiG1909 →883 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
αὔριονnext day
aurionG839 →14 times
συναχθῆναιassembling
sunachthenaiG4863 →59 times
αὐτῶνtheir
autonG846 →5565 times
τοὺς<the>
tousG3588 →19766 times
ἄρχονταςrulers
archontasG758 →37 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
τοὺς<the>
tousG3588 →19766 times
πρεσβυτέρουςelders
presbuterousG4245 →65 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
τοὺς<the>
tousG3588 →19766 times
γραμματεῖςscribes
grammateisG1122 →62 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Micah 2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
it leads to
- Psalms 36:4
Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.
- Isaiah 32:7
The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.
- Psalms 7:14–16
Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.
- Hosea 7:6–7
For they prepare their heart like an oven while they lie in wait; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
- Proverbs 6:12–19
A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth,
- Psalms 36:4
Through
Acts 5:34But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.
it leads to
- Acts 22:3
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just…
- Acts 22:3
Through
Acts 4:8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people!
it leads to
- Luke 12:11–12
When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say.
- Luke 12:11–12
Through
Acts 6:12So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin,
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:18
A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.
- Proverbs 15:18
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 10; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.