New Living Translation
Acts 3:12
12Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness?
Acts 3:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
- New International Version (NIV)When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
- English Standard Version (ESV)And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
- New King James Version (NKJV)So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
Context of Acts 3:12
10When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John. Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 13For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. 14You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer.
Read all of Acts 3Acts 3:12 word by word
ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Πέτρος ἀπεκρίνατο πρὸς τὸν λαόν· ἄνδρες Ἰσραηλῖται, τί θαυμάζετε ἐπὶ τούτῳ, ἢ ἡμῖν τί ἀτενίζετε ὡς ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει ἢ εὐσεβείᾳ πεποιηκόσιν τοῦ περιπατεῖν αὐτόν;Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- whenὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- PeterΠέτροςPetros · PeterG4074
- he answeredἀποκρίνωapokrinomai · to answerG611
- untoπρόςpros · to/withG4314
- the peopleὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the peopleλαόςlaos · a peopleG2992
- Ye menἀνήρanēr · manG435
- of IsraelἸσραηλίτηςIsraēlitēs · IsraeliteG2475
- whyτίςtis · which?G5101
- marvel yeθαυμάζωthaumazō · to marvelG2296
- atἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- orἤē · orG2228
- look ye so earnestlyἀτενίζωatenizō · to gazeG816
- on usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- though by ourδύναμιςdunamis · powerG1411
- ownἴδιοςidios · one's own/privateG2398
- holinessεὐσέβειαeusebeia · pietyG2150
- we had madeποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
- manαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- to walkπεριπατέωperipateō · to walkG4043
Cross-references for Acts 3:12
- Acts 2:22“People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.
- Acts 13:26“Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us!
- Romans 9:4They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.
- Romans 11:1I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
- Acts 10:25As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him.
- Acts 14:11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!”
- Genesis 40:8And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.” “Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”
- Genesis 41:16“It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”
- Daniel 2:28But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.
- John 3:27John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.
- John 7:18Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.
- 2 Corinthians 3:5It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.
Commentaries on Acts 3:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12As though by our own power - , Miraculous energy. Or holiness - ͅ, Meaning religious attachment to the worship of God. Do not think that we have wrought this miracle by any power of our own; or that any supereminent piety in us should have induced God thus to honor us, by enabling us to work it. Instead of ͅ, holiness, the Syriac of Erpen, Armenian, Vulgate, and some copies of the Itala, have ͅ, power or authority; but the first appears to be the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12When Peter saw it - Saw the people assembling in such multitudes and wondering at the miracle. He answered - The word “answer,” with us, implies that a question had been asked, or that some subject had been proposed for consideration. But the word is used in a different sense in the Bible. It is often used when no question was asked, but when an occasion was offered for remarks, or when an opportunity was presented to make a statement. It is the same as…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-18Verses 12-18 Observe the difference in the manner of working the miracles. Our Lord always spoke as having Almighty power, never hesitated to receive the greatest honour that was given to him on account of his Divine miracles. But the apostles referred all to their Lord, and refused to receive any honour, except as his undeserving instruments. This shows that Jesus was one with the Father, and co-equal with Him; while the apostles knew that they were…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-26The speeches in the book of Acts about telling others the good news focus on Jesus, who was put to death on a cross and raised to life. These speeches call people to repent and to place their faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah and the judge God has appointed (2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 26:20). They also announce the same good news for the people of Israel and for Gentiles everywhere: there is "peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all" (10:36).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1612-16. why marvel at this?--For miracles are marvels only in relation to the limited powers of man. as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk--Neither the might nor the merit of the cure are due to us, mere agents of Him whom we preach.Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 3:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Acts 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
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