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Fate of Ananias and Sapphira

¹ But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,² and ^(C1)kept back some of the ^(F1)proceeds for himself, with his wife's ^(F2)full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he ^(C2)laid it at the apostles' feet.³ But Peter said, "Ananias, why has ^(C1)Satan filled your heart to lie ^(C2)to the Holy Spirit and to ^(C3)keep back some of the ^(F1)proceeds of the land?⁴ "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not ^(F1)under your control? Why is it that you have ^(F2)conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but ^(C1)to God."⁵ And as he heard these words, Ananias ^(C1)collapsed and ^(F1)died; and ^(C2)great fear came over all who heard about it.⁶ The young men got up and ^(C1)covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

⁷ Now an interval of about three hours elapsed, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.⁸ And Peter responded to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land ^(C1)for ^(F1)this price?" And she said, "Yes, for ^(F1)that price."⁹ Then Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to ^(C1)put ^(C2)the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well."¹⁰ And immediately she ^(C1)collapsed at his feet and ^(F1)died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.¹¹ And ^(C1)great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard about these things.

^12 (F1)At the hands of the apostles many ^(F2)(C1)signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all ^(F3)together in ^(C2)Solomon's ^(F4)portico.¹³ But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, ^(C1)the people held them in high esteem.¹⁴ And increasingly ^(C1)believers in the Lord, large numbers of men and women, were being ^(C2)added to their number,¹⁵ to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by ^(C1)at least his shadow might fall on any of them.¹⁶ The ^(F1)people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together as well, bringing people who were sick ^(F2)or tormented with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.

Imprisonment and Release

¹⁷ But the high priest stood up, along with all his associates (that is ^(C1)the sect of ^(C2)the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy.¹⁸ They laid hands on the apostles and ^(C1)put them in a public prison.¹⁹ But during the night ^(C1)an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and leading them out, he said,²⁰ "Go, stand and ^(F1)speak to the people in the temple area ^(F2)(C1)the whole message of this Life."

²¹ Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple area ^(C1)about daybreak and began to teach. Now when ^(C2)the high priest and his associates came, they called ^(C3)the ^(F1)Council together, that is, all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison for them to be brought.²² But ^(C1)the officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported,²³ saying, "We found the prison locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside."²⁴ Now when ^(C1)the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what ^(F1)would come of this.²⁵ But someone came and reported to them, "The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple area and teaching the people!"²⁶ Then ^(C1)the captain went along with ^(C2)the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for ^(C3)they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).

²⁷ When they had brought them, they had them stand ^(F1)before ^(C1)the Council. The high priest interrogated them,²⁸ saying, "We gave you ^(C1)strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and ^(F1)yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and ^(C2)intend to bring this Man's blood upon us."²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, "^(C1)We must obey God rather than men.³⁰ "^(C1)The God of our fathers ^(C2)raised up Jesus, whom you ^(C3)put to death by hanging Him on ^(F1)(C4)a cross.³¹ "^(C1)He is the One whom God exalted ^(F1)to His right hand as a ^(F2)(C2)Prince and a ^(C3)Savior, to grant ^(C4)repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.³² "And we are ^(C1)witnesses ^(F1)of these things; and ^(C2)so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."

Gamaliel's Counsel

³³ But when they heard this, they became ^(C1)infuriated and nearly decided to execute them.³⁴ But a Pharisee named ^(C1)Gamaliel, a ^(C2)teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in ^(C3)the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.³⁵ And he said to them, "Men of Israel, be careful as to what you are about to do with these men.³⁶ "For, some time ago Theudas appeared, ^(C1)claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined him. ^(F1)But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.³⁷ "After this man, Judas of Galilee appeared in the days of ^(C1)the census and drew away some people after him; he also perished, and all those who followed him were scattered.³⁸ "And so in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, for if the source of this plan or ^(F1)movement ^(C1)is men, it will be overthrown;³⁹ but if the source is God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found ^(C1)fighting against God."

⁴⁰ They followed his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they ^(C1)flogged them and ordered them not to ^(F1)speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.⁴¹ So they went on their way from the presence of the ^(F1)(C1)Council, ^(C2)rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame ^(C3)for His name.^42 (C1)And every day, in the temple and ^(F1)from house to house, they did not stop teaching and ^(C2)preaching the good news of Jesus as the ^(F2)Christ.