Acts 5:29
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Study Note
Study Note
'We ought to obey God rather than men' — Peter and the apostles' reply to the Sanhedrin when commanded to stop preaching encapsulates the fundamental Christian principle of hierarchical obligation: divine command takes precedence over human authority when the two conflict. The phrasing echoes Socrates's defense in Plato's Apology (29d), suggesting that Luke was aware of the Hellenistic tradition of principled civil disobedience grounded in higher loyalty. The verse has been foundational in the theology of conscience, religious liberty, and civil disobedience from Tertullian and Polycarp through the Reformation to the modern civil rights and resistance movements.
Other Translations
But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men.
And Peter and the apostles answering, said, `To obey God it behoveth, rather than men;
But Peter and the Apostles, answering, said, We have to do the orders of God, not of man.
Cross References
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the …
And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: …
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken …
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink …
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of …