Acts 4:7

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
After they had Peter and John stand before them, they began to question them: “By what power or in what name have you done this?”

King James Version (1611)
And when they had set them in the middest, they asked, By what power, or by what name haue ye done this?

King James Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

English Standard Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

New American Standard Bible
When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

New Century Version
They made Peter and John stand before them and then asked them, "By what power or authority did you do this?"

Amplified Bible
When they had put the men in front of them, they repeatedly asked, "By what sort of power, or in what name [that is, by what kind of authority], did you do this [healing]?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

Legacy Standard Bible
And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

Berean Standard Bible
They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

Contemporary English Version
They brought in Peter and John and made them stand in the middle while they questioned them. They asked, "By what power and in whose name have you done this?"

Complete Jewish Bible
They had the emissaries stand before them and asked, "By what power or in what name did you do this?"

Darby Translation
and having placed them in the midst they inquired, In what power or in what name have *ye* done this?

Easy-to-Read Version
They made Peter and John stand before all the people. They asked them over and over, "How did you make this crippled man well? What power did you use? By whose authority did you do this?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And whe they had set them before them, they asked, By what power, or in what Name haue ye done this?

George Lamsa Translation
And when they had made them to stand in the midst, they asked, By what power or by what name have you done this?

Good News Translation
They made the apostles stand before them and asked them, "How did you do this? What power do you have or whose name did you use?"

Lexham English Bible
And they made them stand in their midst and began to ask, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

Literal Translation
And standing them in the midst, they were inquiring, By what sort of power, or by what sort of name did you do this?

American Standard Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power, or in what name, have ye done this?

Bible in Basic English
Then sending for Peter and John, they said, By what power and in whose name have you done this?

Hebrew Names Version
When they had stood them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

International Standard Version
They made them stand in front of them and began asking, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"Exodus 2:14; Matthew 21:23; Acts 7:27;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And when they had made them stand in the midst, they questioned them, By what power, or in what name, have you done this ?

Murdock Translation
And when they had set them in the midst, they interrogated them: By what power or what name, have ye done this?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when they had set them before them, they asked: by what power, or in what name haue ye done this?

English Revised Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power, or in what name, have ye done this?

World English Bible
When they had stood them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And having set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

Weymouth's New Testament
So they made the Apostles stand in the centre, and demanded of them, "By what power or in what name have you done this?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thei settiden hem in the myddil, and axiden, In what vertue, ether in what name, han ye don this thing?

Update Bible Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power, or in what name, have you done this?

Webster's Bible Translation
And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name have ye done this?

New English Translation
After making Peter and John stand in their midst, they began to inquire, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

New King James Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?"

New Living Translation
They brought in the two disciples and demanded, "By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?"

New Life Bible
They put the missionaries in front of them and asked, "By what power or in whose name have you done this?"

New Revised Standard
When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, setting them in the midst, they began to enquire - In what manner of power, or in what manner of name, did, ye, do this?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And setting them in the midst, they asked: By what power or by what name, have you done this?

Revised Standard Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and set the other before them and axed: by what power or what name have ye done this syrs?

Young's Literal Translation
and having set them in the midst, they were inquiring, `In what power, or in what name did ye do this?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and set them before them, and axed them: By what auctorite, Or in what name haue ye done this?

Mace New Testament (1729)
and having caused Peter and John to appear, they asked, by what influence, or by what authority have you done this?

Simplified Cowboy Version
They brought Pete and John into the meeting and asked them, "How did you do this? What name did you call down from heaven?"

Contextual Overview

⁵The next day a meeting was called in Jerusalem. The rulers, religious leaders, religion scholars, Annas the Chief Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander—everybody who was anybody was there. They stood Peter and John in the middle of the room and grilled them: "Who put you in charge here? What business do you have doing this?" ⁸With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose: "Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I'll be completely frank with you—we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is ‘the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.' Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one." ¹³They couldn't take their eyes off them—Peter and John standing there so confident, so sure of themselves! Their fascination deepened when they realized these two were laymen with no training in Scripture or formal education. They recognized them as companions of Jesus, but with the man right before them, seeing him standing there so upright—so healed!—what could they say against that?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when: Acts 5:27, 1 Kings 21:12-14, John 8:3, John 8:9

By what power: Exodus 2:14, Matthew 21:23, Mark 11:28, John 2:18

by what name: Acts 4:10, Acts 5:28, Acts 5:40

Reciprocal: Ezra 5:3 - Who hath commanded you Psalms 69:6 - Let not Luke 20:2 - who Acts 3:6 - In Acts 3:16 - his Acts 5:21 - sent Acts 7:27 - Who 1 Corinthians 5:4 - the name

Cross-References

Genesis 3:16
He told the Woman: "I'll multiply your pains in childbirth; you'll give birth to your babies in pain. You'll want to please your husband, but he'll lord it over you."

Genesis 4:6
God spoke to Cain: "Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you don't do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it's out to get you, you've got to master it."

Genesis 4:8
Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.

Genesis 4:9
God said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "How should I know? Am I his babysitter?"

Genesis 4:10
God said, "What have you done! The voice of your brother's blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you'll get nothing but curses from this ground; you'll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You'll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You'll be a homeless wanderer on Earth."

Genesis 4:13
Cain said to God , "My punishment is too much. I can't take it! You've thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I'm a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me."

Genesis 19:21
"All right, Lot. If you insist. I'll let you have your way. And I won't stamp out the town you've spotted. But hurry up. Run for it! I can't do anything until you get there." That's why the town was called Zoar, that is, Smalltown.

Numbers 32:23
"But if you don't do what you say, you will be sinning against God ; you can be sure that your sin will track you down. So, go ahead. Build towns for your families and corrals for your livestock. Do what you said you'd do."

2 Kings 8:28
He joined Joram son of Ahab king of Israel in a war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The archers wounded Joram. Joram pulled back to Jezreel to convalesce from the injuries he had received in the fight with Hazael. Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah paid a visit to Joram son of Ahab on his sickbed in Jezreel.

Proverbs 18:5
It's not right to go easy on the guilty, or come down hard on the innocent.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when they had set them in the midst,.... Of the assembly, as the Ethiopic version adds; in the middle of the sanhedrim, which sat in a semicircular form; or as the Jews express it, as the half of a round corn floor, or as a half moon, and not in a perfect circle; because it was necessary that the contending parties, and the witnesses, might go in and speak before them all b; so that those that were set before them, were placed in the middle of them: and here Peter and John were set; so the Arabic version renders it, "when they set both": they sent for them out of the hold, or custody, where they had been all night, and ordered them to be brought before them, to be examined about their doctrine and practice:

they asked, by what power, or by what name have ye done this? they inquired of them, whether it was by a natural, or by a divine, or by a diabolical power, that they had wrought the cure upon the lame man? whether it was by the use of medicine, or by the help of magic art, and the assistance of the devil, which they were very ready to charge Christ and his disciples with? or whether they pretended to a divine and supernatural aid? and also what name they had made use of, and by whose authority they acted?

b Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 4. sect. 3. & Bartenora in ib.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In the midst - In the presence of the Great Council.

By what power ... - A similar question was put to Christ in the temple, Matthew 21:23.

By what name - That is, by whose authority. It is very probable that they expected to intimidate the apostles by this question. They claimed the right of regulating the religious affairs of the nation. They had vast power with the people. They assumed that all power to instruct the people should originate with them; and they expected that the apostles would be confounded, as having violated the established usage of the nation. It did not seem to occur to them to enter into an investigation of the question whether this acknowledged miracle did not prove that they were sent by God, but they assumed that they were impostors, and attempted to silence them by authority. It has been usual with the enemies of religion to attempt to intimidate its friends, and when argument fails, to attempt to silence Christians by appealing to their fears.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 4:7. By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? — It seems that this council were convinced that the lame man was miraculously healed; but it is very likely that they believed the whole to be the effect of magic; and, as all intercourse with familiar spirits, and all spells, charms, c., were unlawful, they probably hoped that, on the examination, this business would come out, and that then these disturbers of their peace would be put to death. Hence they inquired by what power, ενποιαδυναμει, by what supernatural energy or in what name, by what mode of incantation; and who is the spirit you invoke, in order to do these things? False prophets, reputed witches, wizards, &c., were to be brought before the sanhedrin, to be by them judged, acquitted, or condemned, according to the evidence. Some think the words should be thus understood: Who gave you authority to teach publicly! This belongs to the sanhedrin. What, therefore, is your authority, and who is he who gave it to you?