Acts 5:27
in Acts 5They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,
KJV
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
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This verse in Acts 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verseOh, the folly of those men! who indeed had recognized the carefulness of the mob by a hidden fear, and likewise of God, who plainly always snatches away his own with his hands as if they were birds: yet nevertheless they never wished to be …
This site's exposition
set them before the council
on Acts 5:27-28
They set them before the council, and the high priest's charge repeats the earlier command from chapter four almost word for word, that ye should not teach in this name. He adds a second complaint, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, which the bench reads as an unwilling witness to how quickly and widely the apostles' preaching had already spread through the city. His closing phrase, to bring this man's blood upon us, shows the charge of the crucifixion still weighing on the council's own conscience.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
For the deliverance by the angel of the prison proved to the apostles a comfort, and to the Jews a benefit. It deceived the Jews, so that first, as I said, they would be thrown into perplexity, and if they wished they themselves would also …
And the high-priest, shameless, reckless, senseless, asked them, saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. What then say the Apostles? Again with mildness they address them; and yet they might have said, "Who are ye, that ye countermand God?" But what do they say? Again in the way of exhortation and advice, and with much mildness, they make answer.
Well, if they undertook to obey you, ye do well to call them to account: but if even at the very time they told you they would not obey, what account have you to call them to, what defence is there for them to make? And behold ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Mark the inconsistency of the accusations and the exceeding folly. They want to make it appear now, that the dispositions of the Jews are sanguinary, as if they were doing these things not for the truth's sake, but in the wish to be revenged. And for this reason too the Apostles do not answer them with defiance: for they were teachers. And yet where is the man, who, with a whole city to back him, and endowed with so great grace, would not have spoken and uttered something big? But not so did these: for they were not angered; no, they pitied these men, and wept over them, and marked in what way they might free them from their error and wrath.
The Medieval Church2 voices
But they say: "Did we not command you...?" So what if you did command? Now if the apostles had agreed with you then and decided to obey you, then your present demands would be justified; but since they said then that they would not obey, …
And the high priest questioned them, saying: Did we not strictly command you, etc. In the Greek it is more consistent: Did we not strictly command you? For it is more fitting for one questioning to speak thus.
1 more voice on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And when they had brought them,....
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ἀγαγόντες | agagontes | Having brought | G71 → | 68 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| αὐτοὺς | autous | them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἔστησαν | estesan | they set [them] | G2476 → | 153 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τῷ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| συνεδρίῳ. | sunedrio | Council. | G4892 → | 22 times |
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐπηρώτησεν | eperotesen | asked | G1905 → | |
| αὐτοὺς | autous | them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀρχιερεὺς | archiereus | high priest | G749 → | 122 times |
ἈγαγόντεςHaving brought
agagontesG71 →68 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
αὐτοὺςthem
autousG846 →5565 times
ἔστησανthey set [them]
estesanG2476 →153 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
τῷthe
toG3588 →19766 times
συνεδρίῳ.Council.
sunedrioG4892 →22 times
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐπηρώτησενasked
eperotesenG1905 →
αὐτοὺςthem
autousG846 →5565 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
ἀρχιερεὺςhigh priest
archiereusG749 →122 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
Matthew 5:22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who…
it leads to
- 1 John 3:14–15
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.
- 1 John 4:20–21
If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
- 1 John 2:9
If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.
- Ephesians 4:26–27
“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
- Ephesians 4:31–32
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
- 1 John 3:14–15
Through
Acts 4:7They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
it leads to
- Matthew 21:23
When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And…
- Mark 11:28
“By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You the authority to do them?”
- Matthew 21:23
Through
Acts 22:30The next day the commander, wanting to learn the real reason Paul was accused by the Jews, released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul…
it leads to
- Acts 23:28
and since I wanted to understand their charges against him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin.
- Acts 23:28
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on Bede, Retractions on Acts; John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 13; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.