Acts 4:4 (KJV)

Passage

Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

Nearby Context

Acts 4:2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

Acts 4:3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.

Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

Acts 4:5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,

Acts 4:6 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "howbeit", "heard", "word", "believed", "number", "five", and "thousand". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "howbeit" and "heard", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And they laid hands on them and..." into verse 5's "And it came to pass on the...", so "howbeit" and "heard" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "howbeit" and "heard" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.