1 But a certaine man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, solde a possession, 2 And kept away part of the price, his wife also being of counsell, and brought a certaine part, and layde it downe at the Apostles feete. 3 Then saide Peter, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart, that thou shouldest lye vnto the holy Ghost, and keepe away part of the price of this possession? 4 Whiles it remained, appertained it not vnto thee? and after it was solde, was it not in thine owne power? howe is it that thou hast conceiued this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lyed vnto men, but vnto God. 5 Now when Ananias heard these wordes, he fell downe, and gaue vp the ghost. Then great feare came on all them that heard these things. 6 And the yong men rose vp, and tooke him vp, and caried him out, and buried him. 7 And it came to passe about the space of three houres after, that his wife came in, ignorant of that which was done. 8 And Peter sayd vnto her, Tell me, solde ye the land for so much? And she sayd, Yea, for so much. 9 Then Peter sayde vnto her, Why haue ye agreed together, to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? beholde, the feete of them which haue buried thine husband, are at the doore, and shall carie thee out. 10 Then she fell downe straightway at his feete, and yeelded vp the ghost: and the yong men came in, and found her dead, and caried her out, and buried her by her husband. 11 And great feare came on all the Church, and on as many as heard these things. 12 Thus by the hands of the Apostles were many signes and wonders shewed among the people (and they were all with one accorde in Salomons porche. 13 And of the other durst no man ioyne him selfe to them: neuerthelesse the people magnified them. 14 Also the number of them that beleeued in the Lord, both of men and women, grewe more and more) 15 In so much that they brought the sicke into the streetes, and layd them on beds and couches, that at the least way the shadowe of Peter, when he came by, might shadow some of them. 16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about vnto Hierusalem, bringing sicke folkes, and them which were vexed with vncleane spirits, who were all healed. 17 Then the chiefe Priest rose vp, and all they that were with him (which was the sect of the Sadduces) and were full of indignation, 18 And laide hands on the Apostles, and put them in the common prison. 19 But the Angel of the Lord, by night opened the prison doores, and brought them forth, and sayd, 20 Go your way, and stand in the Temple, and speake to the people, all the wordes of this life. 21 So when they heard it, they entred into the Temple early in the morning, and taught. And the chiefe Priest came, and they that were with him, and called the Councill together, and all the Elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison, to cause them to be brought. 22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and tolde it, 23 Saying, Certainely we founde the prison shut as sure as was possible, and the keepers standing without, before the doores: but when we had opened, we found no man within. 24 Then when the chiefe Priest, and the captaine of the Temple, and the hie Priestes heard these things, they doubted of them, whereunto this would growe. 25 Then came one and shewed them, saying, Beholde, the men that ye put in prison, are standing in the Temple, and teach the people. 26 Then went the captaine with the officers, and brought them without violence (for they feared the people, lest they should haue bene stoned) 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the Councill, and the chiefe Priest asked them, 28 Saying, Did not we straightly commaund you, that ye should not teach in this Name? and behold, ye haue filled Hierusale with your doctrine, and ye would bring this mans blood vpon vs. 29 Then Peter and the Apostles answered, and sayd, We ought rather to obey God then men. 30 The God of our fathers hath raised vp Iesus, whom ye slewe, and hanged on a tree. 31 Him hath God lift vp with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Sauiour, to giue repentance to Israel, and forgiuenes of sinnes. 32 And we are his witnesses concerning these things which we say: yea, and the holy Ghost, whome God hath giuen to them that obey him. 33 Now when they heard it, they brast for anger, and consulted to slay them. 34 Then stoode there vp in the Councill a certaine Pharise named Gamaliel, a doctour of the Lawe, honoured of all the people, and commanded to put the Apostles forth a litle space, 35 And sayd vnto them, Men of Israel, take heede to your selues, what ye intende to doe touching these men. 36 For before these times, rose vp Theudas boasting himselfe, to whom resorted a number of men, about a foure hundreth, who was slaine: and they all which obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. 37 After this man, arose vp Iudas of Galile, in the dayes of the tribute, and drewe away much people after him: hee also perished, and all that obeyed him, were scattered abroad. 38 And nowe I say vnto you, Refraine your selues from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsell, or this worke be of men, it will come to nought: 39 But if it be of God, ye can not destroy it, lest ye be found euen fighters against God. 40 And to him they agreed, and called the Apostles: and when they had beaten them, they commanded that they should not speake in the Name of Iesus, and let them goe. 41 So they departed from the Councill, reioycing, that they were counted worthy to suffer rebuke for his Name. 42 And dayly in the Temple, and from house to house they ceased not to teach, and preach Iesus Christ.
Ananias and Sapphira
1 But there was a man named Ananias, who with his wife Sapphira sold some property that belonged to them. 2 But with his wife's agreement he kept part of the money for himself and turned the rest over to the apostles. 3 Peter 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? 4 Before 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 people—you have lied to God!” 5 As soon as Ananias heard this, he fell down dead; and all who heard about it were terrified. 6 The young men came in, wrapped up his body, carried him out, and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, was this the full amount you and your husband received for your property?”
“Yes,” she answered, “the full amount.”
9 So 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 at the door right now, and they will carry you out too!” 10 At 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. 11 The whole church and all the others who heard of this were terrified.
Miracles and Wonders
12 Many miracles and wonders were being performed among the people by the apostles. All the believers met together in Solomon's Porch. 13 Nobody outside the group dared join them, even though the people spoke highly of them. 14 But more and more people were added to the group—a crowd of men and women who believed in the Lord. 15 As 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. 16 And crowds of people came in from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing those who were sick or who had evil spirits in them; and they were all healed.
The Apostles Are Persecuted
17 Then 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. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But 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.” 21 The 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. 22 But 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!” 24 When the chief priests and the officer in charge of the Temple guards heard this, they wondered what had happened to the apostles. 25 Then a man came in and said to them, “Listen! The men you put in prison are in the Temple teaching the people!” 26 So 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.
27 They brought the apostles in, made them stand before the Council, and the High Priest questioned them. 28 “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!”
29 Peter and the other apostles answered, “We must obey God, not men. 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross. 31 God raised him to his right side as Leader and Savior, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven. 32 We are witnesses to these things—we and the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those who obey him.”
33 When the members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death. 34 But 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, 35 and then he said to the Council, “Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men. 36 You remember that Theudas appeared some time ago, claiming to be somebody great, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, all his followers were scattered, and his movement died out. 37 After 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. 38 And 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, 39 but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat them. You could find yourselves fighting against God!”
The Council followed Gamaliel's advice. 40 They 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. 41 As the apostles left the Council, they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus. 42 And every day in the Temple and in people's homes they continued to teach and preach the Good News about Jesus the Messiah.