Acts 4:15 (DRB)

Passage

But they commanded them to go aside out of the council: and they conferred among themselves,

Nearby Context

Acts 4:13 Now seeing the constancy of Peter and of John, understanding that they were illiterate and ignorant men, they wondered: and they knew them that they had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:14 Seeing the man also who had been healed, standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

Acts 4:15 But they commanded them to go aside out of the council: and they conferred among themselves,

Acts 4:16 Saying: What shall we do to these men? For indeed a miracle hath been done by them, known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It is manifest: and we cannot deny it.

Acts 4:17 But that it may be no farther spread among the people, let us threaten them that they speak no more in this name to any man.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "commanded", "aside", "council", "conferred", and "themselves". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "commanded" and "aside", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Seeing the man also who had been..." into verse 16's "Saying What shall we do to these...", so "commanded" and "aside" 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 "commanded" and "aside" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.