Acts 5:33 kjv
When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
Acts 5:33 nkjv
When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.
Acts 5:33 niv
When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.
Acts 5:33 esv
When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.
Acts 5:33 nlt
When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them.
Acts 5 33 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Acts 7:54 | When they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. | Similar reaction to Stephen's truth-telling. |
| John 8:59 | So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. | Attempt to kill Jesus after confronting their sin. |
| John 11:53 | So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. | Sanhedrin's decision to kill Jesus. |
| Luke 4:28-29 | When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath...they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down. | Anger at Jesus' words leading to violence. |
| Mark 14:1-2 | It was now two days before the Passover...the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by cunning and kill him. For they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” | Jewish leaders' plots to kill Jesus. |
| Matt 26:3-4 | Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. | Conspiracy against Jesus. |
| Matt 21:38-39 | But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. | Parable of the wicked tenants foreshadowing. |
| John 3:19-20 | And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light | Hatred of truth due to evil deeds. |
| 1 John 3:12 | We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. | Envy and hatred for righteousness leading to murder. |
| Jer 26:8-11 | When Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall surely die!” | Persecution of God's prophets. |
| Matt 23:31-35 | Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets...Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify... | Ancestral pattern of killing God's messengers. |
| Ps 2:2-3 | The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” | Rulers conspiring against God and His Anointed. |
| Is 30:9-11 | For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; who say to the seers, “Do not see!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth thin | Rejection of truth and desire for lies. |
| 2 Tim 3:12 | Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. | Inevitability of persecution for godliness. |
| Prov 29:9 | If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet. | Foolish rage against wisdom. |
| Acts 6:11-13 | Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people... and seized him and brought him before the Council. | False charges and instigation against Stephen. |
| Luke 19:14 | But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ | Rejection of rightful authority (Jesus). |
| Is 53:3 | He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. | Prophecy of Christ's rejection and contempt. |
| Ps 37:12-13 | The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. | The wicked's rage and God's sovereignty. |
| Rom 1:28 | And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. | The consequence of rejecting God's truth. |
| Gal 5:21 | Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. | Warning against unchecked envy and wrath. |
Acts 5 verses
Acts 5 33 Meaning
When the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme council, heard the apostles' bold declaration that they must obey God rather than men and that God had raised Jesus, whom they had killed, their hearts were deeply provoked to a murderous rage. They felt intense inward agony, a gnashing and grinding sensation, and, driven by this extreme frustration and anger, they determined to put the apostles to death.
Acts 5 33 Context
Acts chapter 5 presents the escalating conflict between the early Christian community and the Jewish religious establishment, the Sanhedrin. Having already been warned and commanded not to speak in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18-20), the apostles continued their bold proclamation and miraculous signs among the people (Acts 5:12-16). This led to their second arrest and imprisonment by the high priest and the Sadducees, who were "filled with jealousy" (Acts 5:17-18). Miraculously, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and commanded them to continue preaching in the temple (Acts 5:19-20). The apostles obeyed, and upon being brought before the Sanhedrin once more, Peter, speaking for all, reiterated their defiant stand: "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). He then directly accused the council of crucifying Jesus, affirming God's resurrection and exaltation of Him as Prince and Savior, and testifying to the Holy Spirit given to those who obey God (Acts 5:30-32). It is in response to this clear, confrontational, and divinely empowered testimony that Acts 5:33 describes the Sanhedrin's violent reaction, culminating in their desire to kill the apostles. Their historical role was to uphold the Law, but here they actively plot murder against those delivering God's message.
Acts 5 33 Word analysis
When they heard this (Greek: ἀκούσαντες, akousantes): This implies more than merely an auditory perception. It denotes that they fully grasped and understood the implications of what Peter said—a direct accusation of deicide, a challenge to their authority, and the continued affirmation of Jesus's resurrection and messianic status. The hearing led to conviction, which, for them, resulted in extreme indignation rather than repentance.
they were cut to the quick (Greek: διεπρίοντο, dieprionto): This is a powerful and vivid word, an imperfect tense verb suggesting a continuous or prolonged state of being. Literally, it means "they were sawn through" or "they were ground up." It conveys an intense, gut-wrenching, gnawing pain, a sense of being lacerated or utterly infuriated. This extreme vexation was caused by the apostles' truth, which pricked their consciences and exposed their guilt, mirroring the reaction in Acts 7:54. It indicates extreme anger and an internal torment or vexation at the irrefutable truth presented.
and intended (Greek: ἐβούλοντο, eboulonto): This is an imperfect tense verb derived from boulomai, which means "to will," "to wish," or "to purpose" with full deliberation and definite intention. It's a strong expression of a fixed and determined desire, not merely a fleeting thought. This highlights their calculated, murderous intent. Their rage wasn't a sudden, uncontrolled outburst but settled into a clear design to eliminate the source of their irritation and threat.
to kill them (Greek: ἀνελεῖν, anelein): This is the infinitive form of anaireo, meaning "to take up," "to take away," or specifically "to kill," "to put to death." This shows the extreme measure they were willing to take. Having previously failed to silence them by threats and imprisonment, their next logical, albeit evil, step was to remove them permanently, mirroring their earlier actions against Jesus.
"When they heard this, they were cut to the quick": This phrase encapsulates the potent impact of divine truth on a hardened heart. The apostles' words, empowered by the Holy Spirit, acted like a surgeon's scalpel or a saw, cutting deep into the council's conscience, not to heal but to provoke their festering sin and pride, which erupted into murderous rage. This highlights the double-edged nature of the Word of God—it can bring life to some and provoke deadly opposition in others (2 Cor 2:15-16).
"cut to the quick and intended to kill them": This shows the direct causal link between internal rage and external, murderous intent. The intense emotional and psychological torment caused by confronting the truth about Jesus and their own actions did not lead them to repentance, but rather hardened their hearts further, channeling their deep vexation into a desire for extreme violence to silence the truth and those who spoke it. This demonstrates the spiritual blindness and animosity against God's plan.
Acts 5 33 Bonus section
The intensity of the Sanhedrin's reaction reflects not just their political frustration but a profound spiritual blindness and animosity towards God's appointed Christ. Their pride would not allow them to accept that the very one they condemned and crucified was now declared by God to be both Lord and Christ. Their desire to kill the apostles mirrors the biblical pattern of hostility towards God's messengers found throughout the Old Testament (e.g., Elijah, Jeremiah, the prophets murdered by previous generations, Matt 23:37), demonstrating a continuity of resistance to divine revelation. The dramatic shift in their demeanor from stern warning to homicidal intent highlights how truth, if not embraced in humility, can exacerbate human depravity. God, however, protected His servants, often through seemingly mundane means like Gamaliel's counsel (Acts 5:34-39), ensuring His Word continued to spread.
Acts 5 33 Commentary
Acts 5:33 vividly portrays the Sanhedrin's violent rejection of the gospel message. Peter's sermon was not an academic debate but a direct, Spirit-empowered proclamation of Jesus' resurrection and exaltation, and a stark indictment of their role in His crucifixion. The council members were not merely angered; they were "cut to the quick," an intense physical sensation implying that the truth felt like a saw gnawing at their souls. This visceral reaction reveals the depths of their spiritual anguish and pride, exposed by the light of Christ. Their immediate response—a determined intention to kill—was born out of deep-seated jealousy (Acts 5:17) and an inability to refute the apostles' miraculous works or logical testimony.
This murderous intent underscores the conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world, particularly when truth confronts established power structures that resist divine authority. It shows the extreme nature of humanity's opposition to God when pride and self-interest are challenged. However, their plan was ultimately frustrated by divine providence, demonstrating that while the adversaries of God may plot, their ultimate victory is never assured. This scene is a sobering reminder that the truth, when spoken powerfully, does not always lead to conversion but can often provoke the greatest wrath, testing the resolve of God's messengers.