Acts 4:20

Translations

Modern

For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Traditional

For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

Literal

For we are unable to stop speaking about what we saw and heard.”

Latin

Non enim possumus quæ vidimus et audivimus non loqui.

Original

Greek

English

For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Notes

Acts 4:19–20

The apostles shared a principle that can guide God’s people in dealing with hostile authorities (see also 5:40; compare 1 Samuel 15:22; Jeremiah 7:23; Luke 20:20–26; Romans 13:1–7). Jesus had predicted that his disciples would encounter hostility and persecution (Luke 21:12–19).

Acts 4:1–22

Throughout the Bible, God's people often experienced persecution. God's servants often encountered hostility and opposition (Deuteronomy 30:7; 1 Kings 18:13; Nehemiah 4:1–3; Jeremiah 37–38; Matthew 23:34–37; Luke 11:49–51; 1 Thessalonians 2:14–15). Jesus was also persecuted (Luke 4:29; John 5:16). He warned his disciples to expect similar treatment (Matthew 10:23; 24:9; Mark 13:9; Luke 21:12; John 16:2). However, he promised that the Holy Spirit would provide them with strength (Acts 1:8; Luke 12:11–12; 21:15).

The book of Acts records many examples of persecution (Acts 4:3; 5:17–41; 7:54–8:3; 9:1–2; 11:19; 12:2; 13:50; 14:19; 16:19–24). But it also emphasizes that the Holy Spirit empowers apostles to testify in such situations (4:8–13; 6:10; 7:55). The courage of Peter and John before the hostile Jewish high council shows how Christians should face persecution with courage and power (4:20).

Theme notes and profiles

John, Son of Zebedee Simon Peter Following Jesus Persecution The Servant-Leader

Events

Peter and John's Trialc. AD 30

Related verses

Jeremiah 20:9
If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
Acts 22:15
You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
1 Corinthians 9:16–17
Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
1 John 1:1–3
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
Ezekiel 3:11
Go to your people, the exiles; speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”
Acts 5:32
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
Acts 10:39–41
We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And although they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree,
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jeremiah 1:17–19
Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them.
Luke 1:2
…just as they were handed down to us by the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
Jeremiah 4:19
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.
Acts 18:5
And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

Glossary

Annas Book of the Acts of the Apostles Courts and Trials John, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Ruler

Topics

Being a Witness Caiaphas: Peter and Other Disciples Accused Before Christian Minister: Faithful: The Apostles Civil Disobedience Conscience: Faithful of Peter, in Declaring the Whole Counsel of God Courage: Personal Bravery: Peter and Other Disciples Court: Accused Spoke in his own Defense Duty of Man to God Government: Constitutes Missionary Work by Ministers: Obligations to Engage In Obedience to God: Obligations To Persecution of the Righteous Peter: Accused by the Council; his Defense Priest: Miscellaneous Facts Concerning: Reprove and Threaten Peter and John Religious Intolerance: The Jewish Leaders in Persecuting the Disciples Religious Zeal: Exemplified Testimony: Religious, Exemplified

Acts 4:20

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