Acts 4:8 (DRB)

Passage

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said to them: Ye princes of the people and ancients, hear.

Nearby Context

Acts 4:6 And Annas the high priest and Caiphas and John and Alexander: and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest.

Acts 4:7 And setting them in the midst, they asked: By what power or by what name, have you done this?

Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said to them: Ye princes of the people and ancients, hear.

Acts 4:9 If we this day are examined concerning the good deed done to the infirm man, by what means he hath been made whole:

Acts 4:10 Be it known to you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God hath raised from the dead, even by him, this man standeth here before you, whole.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "peter", "filled", "holy", "ghost", "said", "princes", "people", and "ancients". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "peter" and "filled", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And setting them in the midst they..." into verse 9's "If we this day are examined concerning...", so "peter" and "filled" 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 "peter" and "filled" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.