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Acts 4:18–23

18 And when they had summoned them, they acommanded them not to speak or teach at all 1in the name of Jesus.

19 But aPeter and John answered and said to them, “bWhether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;

20 for awe cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) aon account of the people, because they were all bglorifying God for what had happened;

22 for the man was more than forty years old on whom this 1miracle of healing had been performed.

23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

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Acts 4:18–23 — The New International Version (NIV)

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

Acts 4:18–23 — English Standard Version (ESV)

18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

Acts 4:18–23 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. 22 For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.

23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.

Acts 4:18–23 — New Living Translation (NLT)

18 So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”

21 The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God 22 for this miraculous sign—the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.

23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.

Acts 4:18–23 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

Acts 4:18–23 — New Century Version (NCV)

18 So they called Peter and John in again and told them not to speak or to teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “You decide what God would want. Should we obey you or God? 20 We cannot keep quiet. We must speak about what we have seen and heard.” 21 The leaders warned the apostles again and let them go free. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had been done. 22 The man who received the miracle of healing was more than forty years old.

23 After Peter and John left the meeting of leaders, they went to their own group and told them everything the leading priests and the elders had said to them.

Acts 4:18–23 — American Standard Version (ASV)

18 And they called them, and charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye: 20 for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard. 21 And they, when they had further threatened them, let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people; for all men glorified God for that which was done. 22 For the man was more than forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was wrought.

23 And being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them.

Acts 4:18–23 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

18 And having called them, they charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answering said to them, If it be righteous before God to listen to you rather than to God, judge ye; 20 for as for us we cannot refrain from speaking of the things which we have seen and heard. 21 But they, having further threatened them, let them go, finding no way how they might punish them, on account of the people, because all glorified God for what had taken place; 22 for the man on whom this sign of healing had taken place was above forty years old.

23 And having been let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

Acts 4:18–23 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

18 They called Peter and John and ordered them never to teach about Jesus or even mention his name. 

19 Peter and John answered them, “Decide for yourselves whether God wants people to listen to you rather than to him. 20 We cannot stop talking about what we’ve seen and heard.” 

21 The authorities threatened them even more and then let them go. Since all the people were praising God for what had happened, the authorities couldn’t find any way to punish Peter and John. 22 (The man who was healed by this miracle was over 40 years old.) 

23 When Peter and John were released, they went to their own people and told them everything the chief priests and leaders had said.

Acts 4:18–23 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

18 So they called for them and ordered them not to preach or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; 20 for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21 After threatening them further, they released them. They found no way to punish them, because the people were all giving glory to God over what had been done; 22 for this sign of healing had been performed on a man over 40 years old.

23 After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

Acts 4:18–23 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

18 So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; 20 for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

23 After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

Acts 4:18–23 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

18 And they called them back and commanded them not to speak or to teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you decide! 20 For we are not able to refrain from speaking about the things that we have seen and heard.” 21 So after threatening them further, they released them, finding no way to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

23 And when they were released, they went to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

Acts 4:18–23 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

18 Once again the leaders called in Peter and John. They commanded them not to speak or teach at all in Jesus’ name. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves. Which is right from God’s point of view? Should we obey you? Or God? 20 There’s nothing else we can do. We have to speak about the things we’ve seen and heard.”

21 The leaders warned them again. Then they let them go. They couldn’t decide how to punish Peter and John. They knew that all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 The man who had been healed by the miracle was over 40 years old.

23 Peter and John were allowed to leave. They went back to their own people. They reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them.


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