Acts 4:21 (GNV)

Passage

So they threatened them, and let them goe, and found nothing how to punish them, because of the people: for all men praised God for that which was done.

Nearby Context

Acts 4:19 But Peter and Iohn answered vnto them, and said, Whether it be right in the sight of God, to obey you rather then God, iudge ye.

Acts 4:20 For we cannot but speake the things which we haue seene and heard.

Acts 4:21 So they threatened them, and let them goe, and found nothing how to punish them, because of the people: for all men praised God for that which was done.

Acts 4:22 For the man was aboue fourtie yeeres olde, on whome this miracle of healing was shewed.

Acts 4:23 Then assoone as they were let goe, they came to their fellowes, and shewed all that the hie Priestes and Elders had said vnto them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "threatened", "found", "nothing", "punish", "people", "praised", and "done". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "threatened" and "found", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "For we cannot but speake the things..." into verse 22's "For the man was aboue fourtie yeeres...", so "threatened" and "found" 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 "threatened" and "found" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.