Bible Strands
Acts 4:3
They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Religious authorities act against Peter and John immediately after their evening teaching and proclamation of the resurrection. They detain the apostles until daylight because the day has ended.
The words — The Greek ἐπέβαλον χεῖρας (epebalon cheiras) literally renders "they laid hands," denoting the physical act of seizure, while ἔθεντο εἰς (ethento eis) translates to "they put in," indicating formal custody.
The thread — This pattern of official seizure for gospel proclamation recurs in Acts 5:18, where the apostles are arrested and placed in the public jail, and in Acts 16:19, where Paul and Silas are seized and dragged before authorities.
Why it lands — The text records a pragmatic delay of punishment due to evening hours, demanding a reader acknowledge that institutional opposition often operates within temporal and procedural constraints rather than immediate destruction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
Cross-references
- Acts 5:18 and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
- Matthew 10:16 Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
- Acts 16:19 When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.
- Luke 22:52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against an outlaw?
- John 18:12 Then the band of soldiers, with its commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him.
- Acts 6:12 So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin,
- Acts 8:3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
- Acts 9:2 and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
- Acts 12:1 About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.
- Luke 22:54 Then they seized Jesus, led Him away, and took Him into the house of the high priest. And Peter followed at a distance.