Acts 1:16 (GNV)

Passage

Yee men and brethren, this scripture must needes haue beene fulfilled, which the holy Ghost by the mouth of Dauid spake before of Iudas, which was guide to them that tooke Iesus.

Nearby Context

Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accorde in prayer and supplication with the women, and Marie the mother of Iesus, and with his brethren.

Acts 1:15 And in those dayes Peter stoode vp in the middes of the disciples, and sayde (nowe the nomber of names that were in one place were about an hundreth and twentie.)

Acts 1:16 Yee men and brethren, this scripture must needes haue beene fulfilled, which the holy Ghost by the mouth of Dauid spake before of Iudas, which was guide to them that tooke Iesus.

Acts 1:17 For hee was nombred with vs, and had obteined fellowship in this ministration.

Acts 1:18 He therefore hath purchased a field with the reward of iniquitie: and when he had throwen downe himselfe headlong, hee brast asunder in the middes, and all his bowels gushed out.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "brethren", "scripture", "must", "needes", "haue", "beene", "fulfilled", and "holy". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "brethren" and "scripture", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And in those dayes Peter stoode vp..." into verse 17's "For hee was nombred with vs and...", so "brethren" and "scripture" 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 "brethren" and "scripture" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.