Acts 5
5
1And a certain man, Ananias by name, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2and did keep back of the price — his wife also knowing — and having brought a certain part, at the feet of the apostles he laid [it].
3And Peter said, ‘Ananias, wherefore did the Adversary fill thy heart, for thee to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back of the price of the place?
4while it remained, did it not remain thine? and having been sold, in thy authority was it not? why [is] it that thou didst put in thy heart this thing? thou didst not lie to men, but to God;’
5and Ananias hearing these words, having fallen down, did expire, and great fear came upon all who heard these things,
6and having risen, the younger men wound him up, and having carried forth, they buried [him].
7And it came to pass, about three hours after, that his wife, not knowing what hath happened, came in,
8and Peter answered her, ‘Tell me if for so much ye sold the place;’ and she said, ‘Yes, for so much.’
9And Peter said unto her, ‘How was it agreed by you, to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? lo, the feet of those who did bury thy husband [are] at the door, and they shall carry thee forth;’
10and she fell down presently at his feet, and expired, and the young men having come in, found her dead, and having carried forth, they buried [her] by her husband;
11and great fear came upon all the assembly, and upon all who heard these things.
12And through the hands of the apostles came many signs and wonders among the people, and they were with one accord all in the porch of Solomon;
13and of the rest no one was daring to join himself to them, but the people were magnifying them,
14(and the more were believers added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women,)
15so as into the broad places to bring forth the ailing, and to lay [them] upon couches and mats, that at the coming of Peter, even [his] shadow might overshadow some one of them;
16and there were coming together also the people of the cities round about to Jerusalem, bearing ailing persons, and those harassed by unclean spirits — who were all healed.
17And having risen, the chief priest, and all those with him — being the sect of the Sadducees — were filled with zeal,
18and laid their hands upon the apostles, and did put them in a public prison;
19and a messenger of the Lord through the night opened the doors of the prison, having also brought them forth, he said,
20‘Go on, and standing, speak in the temple to the people all the sayings of this life;’
21and having heard, they did enter at the dawn into the temple, and were teaching. And the chief priest having come, and those with him, they called together the sanhedrim and all the senate of the sons of Israel, and they sent to the prison to have them brought,
22and the officers having come, did not find them in the prison, and having turned back, they told,
23saying — ‘The prison indeed we found shut in all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors, and having opened — within we found no one.’
24And as the priest, and the magistrate of the temple, and the chief priests, heard these words, they were doubting concerning them to what this would come;
25and coming near, a certain one told them, saying — ‘Lo, the men whom ye did put in the prison are in the temple standing and teaching the people;’
26then the magistrate having gone away with officers, brought them without violence, for they were fearing the people, lest they should be stoned;
27and having brought them, they set [them] in the sanhedrim, and the chief priest questioned them,
28saying, ‘Did not we strictly command you not to teach in this name? and lo, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and ye intend to bring upon us the blood of this man.’
29And Peter and the apostles answering, said, ‘To obey God it behoveth, rather than men;
30and the God of our fathers did raise up Jesus, whom ye slew, having hanged upon a tree;
31this one God, a Prince and a Saviour, hath exalted with His right hand, to give reformation to Israel, and forgiveness of sins;
32and we are His witnesses of these sayings, and the Holy Spirit also, whom God gave to those obeying him.’
33And they having heard, were cut [to the heart], and were taking counsel to slay them,
34but a certain one, having risen up in the sanhedrim — a Pharisee, by name Gamaliel, a teacher of law honoured by all the people — commanded to put the apostles forth a little,
35and said unto them, ‘Men, Israelites, take heed to yourselves about these men, what ye are about to do,
36for before these days rose up Theudas, saying, that himself was some one, to whom a number of men did join themselves, as it were four hundred, who was slain, and all, as many as were obeying him, were scattered, and came to nought.
37‘After this one rose up, Judas the Galilean, in the days of the enrolment, and drew away much people after him, and that one perished, and all, as many as were obeying him, were scattered;
38and now I say to you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone, because if this counsel or this work may be of men, it will be overthrown,
39and if it be of God, ye are not able to overthrow it, lest perhaps also ye be found fighting against God.’
40And to him they agreed, and having called near the apostles, having beaten [them], they commanded [them] not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go;
41they, indeed, then, departed from the presence of the sanhedrim, rejoicing that for his name they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour,
42every day also in the temple, and in every house, they were not ceasing teaching and proclaiming good news — Jesus the Christ.
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Acts 5: YLT98
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Acts of the Apostles 5
5
Pretenders of sharing
1However, a man named Ananias, along with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. 2With his wife’s knowledge, he withheld some of the proceeds from the sale. He brought the rest and placed it in the care and under the authority of the apostles. 3Peter asked, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has influenced you to lie to the Holy Spirit by withholding some of the proceeds from the sale of your land? 4Wasn’t that property yours to keep? After you sold it, wasn’t the money yours to do with whatever you wanted? What made you think of such a thing? You haven’t lied to other people but to God!” 5When Ananias heard these words, he dropped dead. Everyone who heard this conversation was terrified. 6Some young men stood up, wrapped up his body, carried him out, and buried him.
7About three hours later, his wife entered, but she didn’t know what had happened to her husband. 8Peter asked her, “Tell me, did you and your husband receive this price for the field?”
She responded, “Yes, that’s the amount.”
9He replied, “How could you scheme with each other to challenge the Lord’s Spirit? Look! The feet of those who buried your husband are at the door. They will carry you out too.” 10At that very moment, she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men entered and found her dead, they carried her out and buried her with her husband. 11Trepidation and dread seized the whole church and all who heard what had happened.
Responses to the church
12The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. They would come together regularly at Solomon’s Porch. 13No one from outside the church dared to join them, even though the people spoke highly of them. 14Indeed, more and more believers in the Lord, large numbers of both men and women, were added to the church. 15As a result, they would even bring the sick out into the main streets and lay them on cots and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow could fall on some of them as he passed by. 16Even large numbers of persons from towns around Jerusalem would gather, bringing the sick and those harassed by unclean spirits. Everyone was healed.
The Jerusalem Council harasses the apostles
17The high priest, together with his allies, the Sadducees, was overcome with jealousy. 18They seized the apostles and made a public show of putting them in prison. 19An angel from the Lord opened the prison doors during the night and led them out. The angel told them, 20“Go, take your place in the temple, and tell the people everything about this new life.” 21Early in the morning, they went into the temple as they had been told and began to teach.
When the high priest and his colleagues gathered, they convened the Jerusalem Council, that is, the full assembly of Israel’s elders. They sent word to the prison to have the apostles brought before them. 22However, the guards didn’t find them in the prison. They returned and reported, 23“We found the prison locked and well-secured, with guards standing at the doors, but when we opened the doors we found no one inside!” 24When they received this news, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were baffled and wondered what might be happening. 25Just then, someone arrived and announced, “Look! The people you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” 26Then the captain left with his guards and brought the apostles back. They didn’t use force because they were afraid the people would stone them.
27The apostles were brought before the council where the high priest confronted them: 28“In no uncertain terms, we demanded that you not teach in this name. And look at you! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. And you are determined to hold us responsible for this man’s death.”
29Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than humans! 30The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31God has exalted Jesus to his right side as leader and savior so that he could enable Israel to change its heart and life and to find forgiveness for sins. 32We are witnesses of such things, as is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33When the council members heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill the apostles. 34One council member, a Pharisee and teacher of the Law named Gamaliel, well-respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be taken outside for a few moments. 35He said, “Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you intend to do to these people. 36Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and some four hundred men joined him. After he was killed, all of his followers scattered, and nothing came of that. 37Afterward, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got some people to follow him in a revolt. He was killed too, and all his followers scattered far and wide. 38Here’s my recommendation in this case: Distance yourselves from these men. Let them go! If their plan or activity is of human origin, it will end in ruin. 39If it originates with God, you won’t be able to stop them. Instead, you would actually find yourselves fighting God!” The council was convinced by his reasoning. 40After calling the apostles back, they had them beaten. They ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, then let them go. 41The apostles left the council rejoicing because they had been regarded as worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the name. 42Every day they continued to teach and proclaim the good news that Jesus is the Christ, both in the temple and in houses.
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