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.
Currently Selected:
Acts 5: YLT98
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Acts 5
5
Ananias and Sapphira
1But there was a man named Ananias, who with his wife Sapphira sold some property that belonged to them. 2But with his wife's agreement he kept part of the money for himself and handed the rest over to the apostles. 3Peter said to him, “Ananias, why did you let Satan take control of you and make you lie to the Holy Spirit by keeping part of the money you received for the property? 4Before you sold the property, it belonged to you; and after you sold it, the money was yours. Why, then, did you decide to do such a thing? You have not lied to human beings — you have lied to God!” 5As soon as Ananias heard this, he fell down dead; and all who heard about it were terrified. 6The young men came in, wrapped up his body, carried him out, and buried him.
7About three hours later his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in. 8Peter asked her, “Tell me, was this the full amount you and your husband received for your property?”
“Yes,” she answered, “the full amount.”
9So Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband decide to put the Lord's Spirit to the test? The men who buried your husband are now at the door, and they will carry you out too!” 10At once she fell down at his feet and died. The young men came in and saw that she was dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11The whole church and all the others who heard of this were terrified.
Miracles and Wonders
12Many miracles and wonders were being performed among the people by the apostles. All the believers met together in Solomon's Porch. 13Nobody outside the group dared to join them, even though the people spoke highly of them. 14But more and more people were added to the group — a crowd of men and women who believed in the Lord. 15As a result of what the apostles were doing, sick people were carried out into the streets and placed on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16And crowds of people came in from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing those who were ill or who had evil spirits in them; and they were all healed.
The Apostles are Persecuted
17Then the High Priest and all his companions, members of the local party of the Sadducees, became extremely jealous of the apostles; so they decided to take action. 18They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19But that night an angel of the Lord opened the prison gates, led the apostles out, and said to them, 20“Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life.” 21The apostles obeyed, and at dawn they entered the Temple and started teaching.
The High Priest and his companions called together all the Jewish elders for a full meeting of the Council; then they sent orders to the prison to have the apostles brought before them. 22But when the officials arrived, they did not find the apostles in prison, so they returned to the Council and reported, 23“When we arrived at the jail, we found it locked up tight and all the guards on watch at the gates; but when we opened the gates, we found no one inside!” 24When the chief priests and the officer in charge of the temple guards heard this, they wondered what had happened to the apostles. 25Then a man came in and said to them, “Listen! The men you put in prison are in the Temple teaching the people!” 26So the officer went off with his men and brought the apostles back. They did not use force, however, because they were afraid that the people might stone them.
27They brought the apostles in, made them stand before the Council, and the High Priest questioned them. 28#Mt 27.25“We gave you strict orders not to teach in the name of this man,” he said; “but see what you have done! You have spread your teaching all over Jerusalem, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”
29Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God, not men. 30The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross. 31God raised him to his right-hand side as Leader and Saviour, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven. 32We are witnesses to these things — we and the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those who obey him.”
33When the members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death. 34But one of them, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was a teacher of the Law and was highly respected by all the people, stood up in the Council. He ordered the apostles to be taken out for a while, 35and then he said to the Council, “Fellow-Israelites, be careful what you do to these men. 36You remember that Theudas appeared some time ago, claiming to be somebody great, and about 400 men joined him. But he was killed, all his followers were scattered, and his movement died out. 37After that, Judas the Galilean appeared during the time of the census; he drew a crowd after him, but he also was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38And so in this case, I tell you, do not take any action against these men. Leave them alone! If what they have planned and done is of human origin, it will disappear, 39but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat them. You could find yourselves fighting against God!”
The Council followed Gamaliel's advice. 40They called the apostles in, had them whipped, and ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus; and then they set them free. 41As the apostles left the Council, they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus. 42And every day in the Temple and in people's homes they continued to teach and preach the Good News about Jesus the Messiah.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.