Acts 4:7

Amplified Bible

When they had put the men in front of them, they repeatedly asked, "By what sort of power, or in what name [that is, by what kind of authority], did you do this [healing]?"

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
They made Peter and John stand before all the people. They asked them over and over, "How did you make this crippled man well? What power did you use? By whose authority did you do this?"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and set the other before them and axed: by what power or what name have ye done this syrs?

Hebrew Names Version
When they had stood them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

International Standard Version
They made them stand in front of them and began asking, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"Exodus 2:14; Matthew 21:23; Acts 7:27;">[xr]

New American Standard Bible
When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

New Century Version
They made Peter and John stand before them and then asked them, "By what power or authority did you do this?"

Update Bible Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power, or in what name, have you done this?

Webster's Bible Translation
And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name have ye done this?

English Standard Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

World English Bible
When they had stood them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And having set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

Weymouth's New Testament
So they made the Apostles stand in the centre, and demanded of them, "By what power or in what name have you done this?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thei settiden hem in the myddil, and axiden, In what vertue, ether in what name, han ye don this thing?

English Revised Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power, or in what name, have ye done this?

Berean Standard Bible
They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

Contemporary English Version
They brought in Peter and John and made them stand in the middle while they questioned them. They asked, "By what power and in whose name have you done this?"

American Standard Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power, or in what name, have ye done this?

Bible in Basic English
Then sending for Peter and John, they said, By what power and in whose name have you done this?

Complete Jewish Bible
They had the emissaries stand before them and asked, "By what power or in what name did you do this?"

Darby Translation
and having placed them in the midst they inquired, In what power or in what name have *ye* done this?

Etheridge Translation
And when they had made them stand in the midst, they questioned them, By what power, or in what name, have you done this ?

Murdock Translation
And when they had set them in the midst, they interrogated them: By what power or what name, have ye done this?

King James Version (1611)
And when they had set them in the middest, they asked, By what power, or by what name haue ye done this?

New Living Translation
They brought in the two disciples and demanded, "By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?"

New Life Bible
They put the missionaries in front of them and asked, "By what power or in whose name have you done this?"

New Revised Standard
When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And whe they had set them before them, they asked, By what power, or in what Name haue ye done this?

George Lamsa Translation
And when they had made them to stand in the midst, they asked, By what power or by what name have you done this?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, setting them in the midst, they began to enquire - In what manner of power, or in what manner of name, did, ye, do this?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And setting them in the midst, they asked: By what power or by what name, have you done this?

Revised Standard Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when they had set them before them, they asked: by what power, or in what name haue ye done this?

Good News Translation
They made the apostles stand before them and asked them, "How did you do this? What power do you have or whose name did you use?"

Christian Standard Bible®
After they had Peter and John stand before them, they began to question them: “By what power or in what name have you done this?”

King James Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

Lexham English Bible
And they made them stand in their midst and began to ask, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

Literal Translation
And standing them in the midst, they were inquiring, By what sort of power, or by what sort of name did you do this?

Young's Literal Translation
and having set them in the midst, they were inquiring, `In what power, or in what name did ye do this?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and set them before them, and axed them: By what auctorite, Or in what name haue ye done this?

Mace New Testament (1729)
and having caused Peter and John to appear, they asked, by what influence, or by what authority have you done this?

New English Translation
After making Peter and John stand in their midst, they began to inquire, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

New King James Version
And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?"

Simplified Cowboy Version
They brought Pete and John into the meeting and asked them, "How did you do this? What name did you call down from heaven?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

Legacy Standard Bible
And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

Contextual Overview

⁵On the next day, their magistrates and elders and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) were gathered together in Jerusalem; ⁶and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all others who were of high-priestly descent. ⁷When they had put the men in front of them, they repeatedly asked, "By what sort of power, or in what name [that is, by what kind of authority], did you do this [healing]?"⁸Then Peter, filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people [members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Court], ⁹if we are being put on trial today [to interrogate us] for a good deed done to [benefit] a disabled man, as to how this man has been restored to health, ¹⁰let it be known and clearly understood by all of you, and by all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you [demanded be] crucified [by the Romans and], whom God raised from the dead—in this name [that is, by the authority and power of Jesus] this man stands here before you in good health. ¹¹"This Jesus is the STONE WHICH WAS DESPISED and REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE. ¹²"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation]." ¹³Now when the men of the Sanhedrin (Jewish High Court) saw the confidence and boldness of Peter and John, and grasped the fact that they were uneducated and untrained [ordinary] men, they were astounded, and began to recognize that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when: Acts 5:27, 1 Kings 21:12-14, John 8:3, John 8:9

By what power: Exodus 2:14, Matthew 21:23, Mark 11:28, John 2:18

by what name: Acts 4:10, Acts 5:28, Acts 5:40

Reciprocal: Ezra 5:3 - Who hath commanded you Psalms 69:6 - Let not Luke 20:2 - who Acts 3:6 - In Acts 3:16 - his Acts 5:21 - sent Acts 7:27 - Who 1 Corinthians 5:4 - the name

Cross-References

Genesis 3:16
To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth; In pain you will give birth to children; Yet your desire and longing will be for your husband, And he will rule [with authority] over you and be responsible for you."

Genesis 4:6
And the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you so angry? And why do you look annoyed?

Genesis 4:8
Cain talked with Abel his brother [about what God had said]. And when they were [alone, working] in the field, Cain attacked Abel his brother and killed him.

Genesis 4:9
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he [lied and] said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

Genesis 4:10
The LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's [innocent] blood is crying out to Me from the ground [for justice].

Genesis 4:11
"And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's [shed] blood from your hand.

Genesis 4:12
"When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength [it will resist producing good crops] for you; you shall be a fugitive and a vagabond [roaming aimlessly] on the earth [in perpetual exile without a home, a degraded outcast]."

Genesis 4:13
Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.

Genesis 19:21
And the angel said to him, "Behold, I grant you this request also; I will not destroy this town of which you have spoken.

Numbers 32:23
"But if you do not do this, behold, you will have sinned against the LORD; and be sure that your sin will find you out.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when they had set them in the midst,.... Of the assembly, as the Ethiopic version adds; in the middle of the sanhedrim, which sat in a semicircular form; or as the Jews express it, as the half of a round corn floor, or as a half moon, and not in a perfect circle; because it was necessary that the contending parties, and the witnesses, might go in and speak before them all b; so that those that were set before them, were placed in the middle of them: and here Peter and John were set; so the Arabic version renders it, "when they set both": they sent for them out of the hold, or custody, where they had been all night, and ordered them to be brought before them, to be examined about their doctrine and practice:

they asked, by what power, or by what name have ye done this? they inquired of them, whether it was by a natural, or by a divine, or by a diabolical power, that they had wrought the cure upon the lame man? whether it was by the use of medicine, or by the help of magic art, and the assistance of the devil, which they were very ready to charge Christ and his disciples with? or whether they pretended to a divine and supernatural aid? and also what name they had made use of, and by whose authority they acted?

b Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 4. sect. 3. & Bartenora in ib.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In the midst - In the presence of the Great Council.

By what power ... - A similar question was put to Christ in the temple, Matthew 21:23.

By what name - That is, by whose authority. It is very probable that they expected to intimidate the apostles by this question. They claimed the right of regulating the religious affairs of the nation. They had vast power with the people. They assumed that all power to instruct the people should originate with them; and they expected that the apostles would be confounded, as having violated the established usage of the nation. It did not seem to occur to them to enter into an investigation of the question whether this acknowledged miracle did not prove that they were sent by God, but they assumed that they were impostors, and attempted to silence them by authority. It has been usual with the enemies of religion to attempt to intimidate its friends, and when argument fails, to attempt to silence Christians by appealing to their fears.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 4:7. By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? — It seems that this council were convinced that the lame man was miraculously healed; but it is very likely that they believed the whole to be the effect of magic; and, as all intercourse with familiar spirits, and all spells, charms, c., were unlawful, they probably hoped that, on the examination, this business would come out, and that then these disturbers of their peace would be put to death. Hence they inquired by what power, ενποιαδυναμει, by what supernatural energy or in what name, by what mode of incantation; and who is the spirit you invoke, in order to do these things? False prophets, reputed witches, wizards, &c., were to be brought before the sanhedrin, to be by them judged, acquitted, or condemned, according to the evidence. Some think the words should be thus understood: Who gave you authority to teach publicly! This belongs to the sanhedrin. What, therefore, is your authority, and who is he who gave it to you?