Acts 5:21–33

²¹At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.

When the high priest and his associates^a arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin^b—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. ²²But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there.^c So they went back and reported, ²³“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” ²⁴On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests^d were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.

²⁵Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” ²⁶At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people^e would stone them.

²⁷The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin^f to be questioned by the high priest. ²⁸“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,”^g he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”^h

²⁹Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!^{i 30}The God of our ancestors^j raised Jesus from the dead^k—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.^{l 31}God exalted him to his own right hand^m as Prince and Saviorⁿ that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.^{o 32}We are witnesses of these things,^p and so is the Holy Spirit,^q whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, they were furious^r and wanted to put them to death.