Acts 4:26 (DRB)

Passage

The kings of the earth stood up: and the princes assembled together against the Lord and his Christ.

Nearby Context

Acts 4:24 Who having heard it, with one accord lifted up their voice to God and said: Lord, thou art he that didst make heaven and earth, the sea and all things that are in them.

Acts 4:25 Who, by the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of our father David, thy servant, hast said: Why did the Gentiles rage: and the people meditate vain things?

Acts 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up: and the princes assembled together against the Lord and his Christ.

Acts 4:27 For of a truth there assembled together in this city against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel,

Acts 4:28 To do what thy hand and thy counsel decreed to be done.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "kings", "earth", "stood", "princes", "assembled", "together", "against", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "kings" and "earth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "Who by the Holy Ghost by the..." into verse 27's "For of a truth there assembled together...", so "kings" and "earth" 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 "kings" and "earth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.