Acts 16:4 (WEB)

Passage

As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them to keep which had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.

Nearby Context

Acts 16:2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him.

Acts 16:3 Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts; for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Acts 16:4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them to keep which had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.

Acts 16:5 So the assemblies were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Acts 16:6 When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "went", "through", "cities", "delivered", "decrees", "keep", "been", and "ordained". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "went" and "through", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Paul wanted to have him go out..." into verse 5's "So the assemblies were strengthened in the...", so "went" and "through" 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 "went" and "through" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.