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Sunday, July 27th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Acts 5:29

Peter and the apostles answered, "It's necessary to obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, the One you killed by hanging him on a cross. God set him on high at his side, Prince and Savior, to give Israel the gift of a changed life and sins forgiven. And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey him, corroborates every detail."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Conscience;   Courage;   Court;   Defense;   Duty;   Government;   Minister, Christian;   Obedience;   Persecution;   Peter;   Priest;   Prisoners;   Sadducees;   Zeal, Religious;   Thompson Chain Reference - Fall;   Obedience;   Obedience-Disobedience;   Peter;   Simon Peter;   The Topic Concordance - Obedience;   Witness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Atonement, the;   Boldness, Holy;   Confessing Christ;   Obedience to God;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Courage;   Government;   Nation;   Obedience;   Peter;   Resurrection;   Ruler;   War;   Wife;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Authority;   Mission;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Covetousness;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Peter;   Sanhedrim;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Peter;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Acts;   Apostles;   Capital Punishment;   Crimes and Punishments;   Hebrews;   Obedience;   Persecution in the Bible;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Mark, Gospel According to;   Peter;   Sadducees;   Sanhedrin;   Scribes;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Christ, Christology;   Church Government;   Coming to Christ;   Conscience ;   Liberty;   Peter;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Sanhedrin or Sanhedrim;   36 Ought Must;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Doctrine;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people.
King James Version (1611)
Then Peter, and the other Apostles answered, and saide, Wee ought to obey God rather then men.
King James Version
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
English Standard Version
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
New American Standard Bible
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
New Century Version
Peter and the other apostles answered, "We must obey God, not human authority!
Amplified Bible
Then Peter and the apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than men [we have no other choice].
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
Legacy Standard Bible
But Peter and the apostles answered and said, "We must obey God rather than men.
Berean Standard Bible
But Peter and the other apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than men.
Contemporary English Version
Peter and the apostles replied: We don't obey people. We obey God.
Complete Jewish Bible
Kefa and the other emissaries answered, "We must obey God, not men.
Darby Translation
But Peter answering, and the apostles, said, God must be obeyed rather than men.
Easy-to-Read Version
Peter and the other apostles answered, "We must obey God, not you!
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Peter and the Apostles answered, & sayd, We ought rather to obey God then men.
George Lamsa Translation
Then Simon Peter with the rest of the apostles answered and said to them, We must obey God rather than men.
Good News Translation
Peter and the other apostles answered, "We must obey God, not men.
Lexham English Bible
But Peter and the apostles answered and said, "It is necessary to obey God rather than men!
Literal Translation
But answering Peter and the apostles said, It is right to obey God rather than man.
American Standard Version
But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men.
Bible in Basic English
But Peter and the Apostles, answering, said, We have to do the orders of God, not of man.
Hebrew Names Version
But Kefa and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
International Standard Version
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.Acts 4:19;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
SHEMUN answered with the apostles and said to them, Aloha must we obey rather than men.
Murdock Translation
And Simon, with the legates, answered and said to them: God is to be obeyed, rather than men.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then Peter and the other Apostles aunswered, and sayde: We ought more to obey God then men.
English Revised Version
But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men.
World English Bible
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Then Peter and the other apostles answering said, We ought to obey God rather than man.
Weymouth's New Testament
Peter and the other Apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than man.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Petre answeride, and the apostlis, and seiden, It bihoueth to obeie to God, more than to men.
Update Bible Version
But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men.
Webster's Bible Translation
Then Peter and the [other] apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
New English Translation
But Peter and the apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than people.
New King James Version
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men.
New Living Translation
But Peter and the apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than any human authority.
New Life Bible
Then Peter and the missionaries said, "We must obey God instead of men!
New Revised Standard
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any human authority.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But Peter and the Apostles, answering, said - It is needful to be yielding obedience unto God rather than unto men: -
Douay-Rheims Bible
But Peter and the apostles answering, said: We ought to obey God rather than men.
Revised Standard Version
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Peter and the other Apostles answered and sayde: We ought moare to obey God then men.
Young's Literal Translation
And Peter and the apostles answering, said, `To obey God it behoveth, rather than men;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Peter and the Apostles answered, and sayde: We ought more to obeye God then men.
Mace New Testament (1729)
then Peter and the other apostles made answer, we ought to obey God rather than men.
Simplified Cowboy Version
Pete and some of the other cowboys said, "We don't take orders from y'all. We obey God.

Contextual Overview

27Bringing them back, they stood them before the High Council. The Chief Priest said, "Didn't we give you strict orders not to teach in Jesus' name? And here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are trying your best to blame us for the death of this man." 29Peter and the apostles answered, "It's necessary to obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, the One you killed by hanging him on a cross. God set him on high at his side, Prince and Savior, to give Israel the gift of a changed life and sins forgiven. And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey him, corroborates every detail." 33When they heard that, they were furious and wanted to kill them on the spot. But one of the council members stood up, a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel, a teacher of God's Law who was honored by everyone. He ordered the men taken out of the room for a short time, then said, "Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men. Not long ago Theudas made something of a splash, claiming to be somebody, and got about four hundred men to join him. He was killed, his followers dispersed, and nothing came of it. A little later, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and acquired a following. He also fizzled out and the people following him were scattered to the four winds. 38"So I am telling you: Hands off these men! Let them alone. If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it—and you better not be found fighting against God!" 40That convinced them. They called the apostles back in. After giving them a thorough whipping, they warned them not to speak in Jesus' name and sent them off. The apostles went out of the High Council overjoyed because they had been given the honor of being dishonored on account of the Name. Every day they were in the Temple and homes, teaching and preaching Christ Jesus, not letting up for a minute.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

We: Acts 4:19, Genesis 3:17, 1 Samuel 15:24, Mark 7:7-9, Revelation 14:8-12

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:8 - General Genesis 27:43 - obey Exodus 1:17 - feared God Numbers 23:26 - General Judges 6:25 - thy father 2 Samuel 11:16 - he assigned 2 Samuel 13:28 - commanded 2 Samuel 24:4 - went out 1 Kings 21:11 - did as Jezebel 2 Kings 16:16 - General 1 Chronicles 21:4 - Wherefore Ecclesiastes 8:5 - keepeth Jeremiah 15:20 - I will Jeremiah 26:12 - The Lord Daniel 3:15 - we are Daniel 3:18 - be it Daniel 5:22 - hast Daniel 6:10 - as he Daniel 6:13 - regardeth Amos 3:8 - who can Amos 7:15 - Go Matthew 2:12 - they departed Matthew 10:19 - it shall Matthew 15:5 - ye say Matthew 22:21 - and Matthew 23:3 - whatsoever Luke 20:25 - unto God Acts 4:10 - that by Acts 5:32 - are Acts 10:42 - he commanded Galatians 1:10 - do I now Ephesians 6:20 - boldly Colossians 3:18 - as Colossians 4:4 - as 1 Peter 3:15 - and be

Cross-References

Genesis 5:9
When Enosh was ninety years old, he had Kenan. After he had Kenan, he lived another 815 years, having more sons and daughters. Enosh lived a total of 905 years. And he died.
Genesis 5:12
When Kenan was seventy years old, he had Mahalalel. After he had Mahalalel, he lived another 840 years, having more sons and daughters. Kenan lived a total of 910 years. And he died.
Genesis 9:24
When Noah woke up with his hangover, he learned what his youngest son had done. He said, Cursed be Canaan! A slave of slaves, a slave to his brothers! Blessed be God , the God of Shem, but Canaan shall be his slave. God prosper Japheth, living spaciously in the tents of Shem. But Canaan shall be his slave.
Isaiah 54:9
"This exile is just like the days of Noah for me: I promised then that the waters of Noah would never again flood the earth. I'm promising now no more anger, no more dressing you down. For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, My love won't walk away from you, my covenant commitment of peace won't fall apart." The God who has compassion on you says so.
Matthew 24:37
"The Arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah's. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing—until the flood hit and swept everything away. "The Son of Man's Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up. "Who here qualifies for the job of overseeing the kitchen? A person the Master can depend on to feed the workers on time each day. Someone the Master can drop in on unannounced and always find him doing his job. A God-blessed man or woman, I tell you. It won't be long before the Master will put this person in charge of the whole operation. "But if that person only looks out for himself, and the minute the Master is away does what he pleases—abusing the help and throwing drunken parties for his friends—the Master is going to show up when he least expects it and make hash of him. He'll end up in the dump with the hypocrites, out in the cold shivering, teeth chattering."
Hebrews 11:7
By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Peter, and the other apostles, answered and said,.... Peter began, as the mouth of the apostles, being the eldest man, and very bold and zealous; and the rest followed, or joined, with him in what he said:

we ought to obey God rather than men; this is said in answer to the charge of disobedience to the orders and commands of the council: men, civil magistrates, and ecclesiastical rulers, are to be obeyed in things which are not repugnant to the will of God; but in things that are, God is to be obeyed, and not men. God had commanded by an angel, that the apostles should go to the temple, and there preach the doctrines of the Gospel; the sanhedrim had forbid them to speak and teach in the name of Christ; who were now to be obeyed? God, and not men: from whence it appears that the apostles were to be justified in disregarding the council, and neglecting its orders; and which is no ways contrary to that obedience and submission, that is to be yielded to those that are in authority, in things civil and lawful.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

We ought to obey ... - See the notes on Acts 4:19.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 29. We ought to obey God rather than men. — The same answer they gave before, Acts 4:19, founded on the same reason, which still stood good. We have received our commission from GOD; we dare not lay it down at the desire or command of men. Acts 4:19; Acts 4:19.


 
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