Acts 4:16 (DRB)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Acts 4:18 And calling them, they charged them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saying", "shall", "indeed", "miracle", "hath", "been", "done", and "known". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saying" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "But they commanded them to go aside..." into verse 17's "But that it may be no farther...", so "saying" and "shall" 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 "saying" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.