Acts 4:16 (WEB)

Passage

saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it.

Nearby Context

Acts 4:14 Seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

Acts 4:15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

Acts 4:16 saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it.

Acts 4:17 But so that this spreads no further among the people, let’s threaten them, that from now on they don’t speak to anyone in this name.”

Acts 4:18 They called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saying", "shall", "indeed", "notable", "miracle", "been", "done", and "through". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saying" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "But when they had commanded them to..." into verse 17's "But so that this spreads no further...", so "saying" and "shall" 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 "saying" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.