Acts 4:17 (DRB)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Acts 4:19 But Peter and John answering, said to them: If it be just, in the sight of God, to hear you rather than God, judge ye.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "farther", "spread", "people", "threaten", "speak", and "name". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "farther" and "spread", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Saying What shall we do to these..." into verse 18's "And calling them they charged them not...", so "farther" and "spread" 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 "farther" and "spread" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.