Passage

Acts 5.1-11

Book: Acts · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2. and 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. 3. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4. While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? thou has not lied unto men, but unto God. 5. And Ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost: and great fear came upon all that heard it. 6. And the young men arose and wrapped him round, and they carried him out and buried him. 7. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. 8. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much. And she said, Yea, for so much. 9. But Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to try the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them that have buried thy husband are at the door, and they shall carry thee out. 10. And she fell down immediately at his feet, and gave up the ghost: and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her husband. 11. And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all that heard these things."

"12. And 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. 13. But of the rest durst no man join himself to them: howbeit the people magnified them;" (Acts 5:1-13, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession, 2. and kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4. While you kept it, didn’t it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn’t it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven’t lied to men, but to God.” 5. Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and died. Great fear came on all who heard these things. 6. The young men arose and wrapped him up, and they carried him out and buried him. 7. About three hours later, his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in. 8. Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” She said, “Yes, for so much.” 9. But Peter asked her, “How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10. She fell down immediately at his feet, and died. The young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her husband. 11. Great fear came on the whole assembly, and on all who heard these things."

"12. By the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. They were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. 13. None of the rest dared to join them, however the people honored them." (Acts 5:1-13, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2. And 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. 3. But 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? ^{to lie to: or, to deceive} 4. Whiles 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. 5. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. 7. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. 8. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. 9. Then 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. 10. Then 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. 11. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things."

"12. And 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. 13. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them." (Acts 5:1-13, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And a certain man, Ananias by name, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2. and 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]. 3. And 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? 4. while 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;' 5. and Ananias hearing these words, having fallen down, did expire, and great fear came upon all who heard these things, 6. and having risen, the younger men wound him up, and having carried forth, they buried [him]. 7. And it came to pass, about three hours after, that his wife, not knowing what hath happened, came in, 8. and Peter answered her, 'Tell me if for so much ye sold the place;' and she said, 'Yes, for so much.' 9. And 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;' 10. and 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; 11. and great fear came upon all the assembly, and upon all who heard these things."

"12. And 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; 13. and of the rest no one was daring to join himself to them, but the people were magnifying them," (Acts 5:1-13, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.