Acts 5

But a man named Ananias, along with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property he owned.

1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

NoteThis continues a scene begun at the end of chapter 4, where members of the Jerusalem group were selling land and houses and handing the proceeds to the apostles for distribution to the needy. The giving was voluntary, as Peter's question in verse 4 assumes. "A possession" translates a word for a piece of real estate, a field or plot of land.

2He secretly kept back part of the money for himself, and his wife knew all about it. He brought the rest and laid it at the apostles' feet.

2And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Note"Privy to it" is 1611 English for "in on it" or "aware of it." The verb behind "kept back" is a commercial term for pilfering or embezzling, siphoning off part of a sum you are handling on someone else's behalf; the same Greek word is used in the Greek Old Testament for Achan's theft of goods set apart for God in Joshua 7. "Laid it at the apostles' feet" is a set phrase for surrendering something into another's control, not a description of where the money landed.

3But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart, so that you lied to the Holy Spirit and kept back part of the money from the land?

3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

Note"Holy Ghost" is the King James rendering of the phrase now usually given as "Holy Spirit." In 1611 "ghost" simply meant spirit or breath and carried none of the modern sense of a haunting.

4While you still had the land, wasn't it yours? And after you sold it, wasn't the money yours to do with as you pleased? Why did you plan this in your heart? You have not lied to people, but to God."

4Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

Note"Whiles" is an older form of "while." "Heart" in this idiom is not the seat of feeling but of thought, planning and will, so "conceived this thing in thine heart" means "formed this plan in your mind."

5When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And everyone who heard about it was filled with fear.

5And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

Note"Gave up the ghost" is 1611 English for "died." The Greek verb means to breathe out one's life. The text reports the death without saying what caused it. "Great fear" translates a word that spans dread and awe.

6The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.

6And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

NoteBurial in this culture normally happened within hours of death, before nightfall, so there is nothing strange in the speed. "Wound him up" means wrapped the body in cloth, the standard preparation. The "young men" are simply the younger men present, the ones who would do the carrying.

7About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

7And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

8Peter said to her, "Tell me, is this the amount you sold the land for?" She said, "Yes, that is the amount."

8And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

Note"For so much" stands in for an actual figure that Peter names in the conversation but that the narrator does not repeat. The point of the question is that she is being given a chance to state the real sale price.

9Then Peter said to her, "How could the two of you agree to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out too."

9Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

Note"Tempt" in 1611 English means to test or put to the proof, not to entice into wrongdoing. The phrase echoes Israel in the wilderness "testing" God, that is, seeing how far God can be pushed.

10At once she fell down at his feet and died. The young men came in, found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband.

10Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

11Great fear came over the whole church and over everyone who heard about these things.

11And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

Note"Church" here translates a Greek word meaning an assembly or gathered community; in the Greek Old Testament it is the standard term for Israel assembled. This is the first time the word is applied in Acts to the group of believers in Jerusalem.

12The apostles did many signs and wonders among the people. All the believers met together, united, in Solomon's Porch.

12And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

Note"Signs and wonders" is a fixed Old Testament pair, used above all of the miracles at the exodus. Solomon's Porch was a long roofed colonnade running along the eastern side of the temple's outer court, open to the public and a normal place for teachers to gather listeners.

13None of the others dared to join them, but the people spoke highly of them.

13And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.

NoteWho "the rest" are is genuinely unclear in the Greek. It may mean outsiders who admired the movement but were afraid to attach themselves to it, or others within the wider circle who hung back from joining the apostles in the colonnade. The verse is hard either way, and translations differ.

14And more and more believers were added to the Lord, large numbers of both men and women.

14And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

15Because of this, people carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and mats, hoping that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he walked by.

15Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

NoteThe two words rendered "beds and couches" distinguish a proper bed or stretcher from the light mat a poor person slept on and could be carried in. The hope attached to Peter's shadow reflects a widespread ancient assumption that a person's power could extend through what touched them or fell across them; the narrator reports the hope without commenting on it.

16Crowds also came to Jerusalem from the towns nearby, bringing sick people and people troubled by unclean spirits, and every one of them was healed.

16There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

Note"Unclean" is a ritual term rather than a hygienic one: it marks something as outside the sphere of the holy, unfit to approach God. "Vexed" in 1611 English means tormented or afflicted.

17Then the high priest and all who were with him, who belonged to the group called the Sadducees, stood up, full of jealous anger.

17Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,

NoteThe Sadducees were an aristocratic group centered on the priestly families who ran the temple, and the high priest's circle belonged to it. They accepted only the written Law as authoritative and, unlike the Pharisees, rejected belief in resurrection, which is why preaching about a raised Jesus struck at them directly. The word the King James gives as "indignation" means jealousy or resentful zeal, the anger of people watching rivals gain ground.

18They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

18And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.

Note"The common prison" means the public jail, the state's holding cell, as opposed to private detention in a house or courtyard.

19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the jail doors and led them out. The angel said,

19But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,

20"Go, stand in the temple, and tell the people everything about this life."

20Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

Note"The temple" throughout this chapter means the temple complex, the great walled courts open to the public, not the sanctuary building itself, which only priests entered. "All the words of this life" is an awkward phrase in Greek too, roughly "the whole message about this life."

21When they heard this, they went into the temple at daybreak and began teaching. Meanwhile the high priest and those with him called the council together, along with all the elders of Israel, and sent to the jail for the apostles.

21And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

Note"The council" is the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish court in Jerusalem, some seventy members plus the high priest as president, with authority over religious and much civil law under Roman oversight. "The senate of the children of Israel" translates a second word for the body of elders; the phrase probably describes the same assembly in fuller terms rather than naming a separate group. Teaching at first light in the temple courts was ordinary practice.

22But when the officers got there, they did not find them in the jail. So they went back and reported,

22But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told,

23"We found the jail locked up tight, with the guards standing at the doors. But when we opened it, we found no one inside."

23Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.

Note"Standing without" means standing outside. The details listed, locked doors and posted guards, are the standard marks of secure custody, which is why the report is framed the way it is.

24When the high priest, the captain of the temple guard, and the chief priests heard this, they were at a loss, wondering what this would lead to.

24Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.

NoteThe captain of the temple was the officer in charge of the Levite guard that policed the temple precincts, the highest-ranking priest after the high priest himself. "They doubted of them whereunto this would grow" does not mean they disbelieved; "doubted" here has its older sense of being at a loss, so the phrase means they were baffled about where this was heading.

25Then someone came and told them, "Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple, teaching the people!"

25Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.

26So the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles in, but without force, because they were afraid the people would stone them.

26Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.

NoteStoning by an angry crowd was a real hazard, a rough and immediate form of execution that did not wait for a court. The officers' caution is about the crowd's sympathy for the apostles, not about legal procedure.

27They brought them in and stood them before the council, and the high priest questioned them.

27And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,

28He said, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you mean to make us guilty of this man's death."

28Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.

Note"Straitly command" means gave strict orders. Notice that the high priest avoids saying the name Jesus, using "this name" and "this man" instead. "To bring this man's blood upon us" is a legal idiom: to have blood on you is to bear the guilt and the liability for a killing.

29Then Peter and the other apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.

29Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

30The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.

30The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

Note"Raised up" is ambiguous in the Greek and both senses are live: it can mean brought onto the scene, the way God is said to raise up a prophet or a judge, or raised from the dead. "Hanged on a tree" uses a word meaning wood or timber, applied to the cross, and it deliberately echoes Deuteronomy 21:22 to 23, where a body hung on wood is under a curse.

31God lifted him up to his right hand as Prince and Savior, to give Israel a change of heart and forgiveness of sins.

31Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Note"With his right hand" can mean either "to his right hand," that is, to the place of honor beside a king, or "by his right hand," that is, by his power; the Greek allows both. "Prince" translates a word meaning leader, founder or the one who goes first and opens the way. "Repentance" translates a word meaning a change of mind and direction, a turning around, not primarily an emotion of regret.

32We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

32And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

33When they heard this, they were furious, and they decided to kill them.

33When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.

Note"Cut to the heart" translates a vivid Greek verb meaning sawn through. It describes fury here, not remorse.

34But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the council and ordered that the men be taken outside for a little while.

34Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;

NoteThe Pharisees were a movement of lay experts in the Law, influential with ordinary people, who accepted oral tradition alongside the written Law and did believe in resurrection, which puts Gamaliel at odds with the Sadducees who dominated this council. "A doctor of the law" means a teacher and legal scholar. Gamaliel was among the most respected rabbis of his generation; Paul later claims to have studied under him.

35Then he said to them, "Men of Israel, be careful about what you are planning to do to these men.

35And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.

36Some time ago Theudas came along, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were scattered, and it all came to nothing.

36For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.

NoteTheudas is a real difficulty. The historian Josephus describes a Theudas who led a following to the Jordan and was killed, but he dates him to around the year 44, roughly a decade after this speech. Either a different and earlier Theudas is meant, the name was common, or Luke has placed the example out of order. There is no agreed solution.

37After him, Judas the Galilean came along in the days of the census and drew people away after him. He also died, and all his followers were scattered.

37After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.

Note"The taxing" is the Roman census of Judea in about the year 6, when the province came under direct Roman rule and was assessed for taxation. Judas the Galilean led an armed revolt against it on the grounds that submitting to the count was submitting to a master other than God.

38So now I tell you: keep away from these men and leave them alone. If this plan or this work comes from people, it will fail.

38And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:

39But if it comes from God, you will not be able to stop them. You might even find that you are fighting against God."

39But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Note"Lest haply" means "in case it turns out that." The word behind "fight against God" is a single Greek term for someone at war with a deity, a word at home in Greek tragedy.

40They agreed with him. They called the apostles in, had them beaten, ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

40And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

NoteThe beating is a flogging, most likely the standard synagogue punishment of thirty-nine strokes with a whip, one short of the forty allowed in Deuteronomy 25:3 so as not to risk exceeding the limit. It was a legal penalty imposed by the court, not a beating by a mob.

41The apostles left the council, glad that they had been counted worthy to be shamed for the sake of his name.

41And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

NoteThe Greek plays honor against dishonor: they were held worthy of being treated as unworthy. Most early manuscripts read simply "for the name," with no "his"; "the Name" used absolutely was a way of referring to Jesus, and in Jewish usage a way of referring to God without pronouncing the divine name.

42And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and announcing the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

42And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Note"Christ" is a title, not a surname. It translates the Hebrew "Messiah," meaning anointed one, so the content of the preaching is the claim that Jesus is that figure. "In every house" may mean from one house to another or simply at home, in private houses as against the public temple courts.