Acts 4–5

CHAPTER 4

Peter and John Arrested

¹Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests and ^athe captain of the temple guard and ^bthe Sadducees ^ccame up to them,

²being greatly agitated because they were teaching the people and proclaiming ^1ain Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³And they laid hands on them and ^aput them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.

⁴But many of those who had heard the ¹message believed, and ^athe number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵Now it happened that on the next day, their ^arulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;

⁶and ^aAnnas the high priest was there, and ^bCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.

⁷And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

⁸Then Peter, ^1afilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “^2bRulers and elders of the people,

⁹if we are ¹being examined today for ^aa good deed done to a sick man, ²as to how this man has been ³saved from his sickness,

¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that ^1aby the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom ^bGod raised from the dead—²by ³this name this man stands here before you in good health.

¹¹“^1aHe is the ^bstone which was ^crejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.

¹²“And there is salvation in ^ano one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Peter and John Threatened and Released

¹³Now as they observed the ^aconfidence of ^bPeter and John and comprehended that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were marveling, and ^cbegan to recognize them ¹as having been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

¹⁵But when they had ordered them to leave the ^1aSanhedrin, they began to confer with one another,

¹⁶saying, “^aWhat should we do with these men? For the fact that a ^bnoteworthy ¹sign has happened through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷“But lest it spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man ^ain this name.”

¹⁸And when they had summoned them, they ^acommanded them not to speak or teach at all ¹in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But ^aPeter and John answered and said to them, “^bWhether it is right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, you be the judge;

²⁰for ^awe cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²¹And when they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) ^aon account of the people, because they were all ^bglorifying God for what had happened;

²²for the man was more than forty years old on whom this sign of healing had occurred.

²³So when they were released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

²⁴And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Master, it is You who ^amade the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

²⁵who ^aby the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,

‘^bWhy did the ¹Gentiles rage,

And the peoples devise vain things?

²⁶‘^aThe kings of the earth ¹took their stand,

And the rulers were gathered together

Against the lord and against His ^2bChrist.’

²⁷“For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy ^1aServant Jesus, whom You anointed, both ^bHerod and ^cPontius Pilate, along with ^dthe ²Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and ^aYour purpose predestined to occur.

²⁹“And ¹now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your slaves may ^aspeak Your word with all ^bconfidence,

³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and ^1asigns and wonders happen through the name of Your holy ^2bServant Jesus.”

³¹And when they had prayed earnestly, the ^aplace where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all ^bfilled with the Holy Spirit and began to ^cspeak the word of God with ^dconfidence.

Distribution Among Needy Believers

³²And the ¹congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one was saying that any of his possessions was his own, but, for them, ^aeverything was common.

³³And ^awith great power the apostles were bearing ^bwitness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

³⁴For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses ^awould sell them and bring the ¹proceeds of the sales

³⁵and ^alay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be ^bdistributed to each as any had need.

³⁶Now Joseph, a Levite of ^aCyprian birth, who was also called ^bBarnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of ^1cEncouragement),

³⁷and who owned a field, sold it and brought the money and ^alaid it at the apostles’ feet.

CHAPTER 5

Ananias and Sapphira

¹But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,

²and ^akept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s ¹full knowledge. And bringing a portion of it, he ^blaid it at the apostles’ feet.

³But Peter said, “Ananias, why has ^aSatan filled your heart to lie ^bto the Holy Spirit and to ^ckeep back some of the price of the land?

⁴“While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not ¹under your authority? Why is it that you laid this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but ^ato God.”

⁵And as he heard these words, Ananias ^afell down and breathed his last; and ^bgreat fear came over all who heard.

⁶And the young men rose up and ^awrapped him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

⁷Now there was an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you were paid ^athis much for the land?” And she said, “Yes, that much.”

⁹Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to ^aput ^bthe Spirit of the ¹Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.”

¹⁰And immediately she ^afell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹And ^agreat fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard these things.

¹²Now ¹at the hands of the apostles many ^asigns and wonders were happening among the people, and they were all with one accord in ^bSolomon’s Portico.

¹³But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, ^athe people were holding them in high esteem.

¹⁴And more than ever ^abelievers in the Lord were ^badded to their number, multitudes of men and women,

¹⁵to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that when Peter came by ^aat least his shadow might fall on any one of them.

¹⁶Also the multitude from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick ¹or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.

The Apostles Jailed and Freed

¹⁷But the high priest rose up and those with him (that is ^athe sect of ^bthe Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy.

¹⁸And they laid hands on the apostles and ^aput them in a public jail.

¹⁹But during the night ^aan angel of the ¹Lord opened the doors of the prison, and taking them out, he said,

²⁰“Go, stand and ¹speak to the people in the temple ^2athe whole message of this Life.”

²¹Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple ^aabout daybreak and began to teach.

Now when ^bthe high priest and those with him came, they called ^cthe Sanhedrin together, even all the Council of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the jailhouse for them to be brought.

²²But ^athe officers who came did not find them in the prison, and they returned and reported back,

²³saying, “We found the jailhouse locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors, but we opened it and found no one inside.”

²⁴Now when ^athe captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what ¹would come of this.

²⁵But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”

²⁶Then ^athe captain went along with ^bthe officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for ^cthey were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).

²⁷And when they had brought them, they stood them ¹before ^athe Sanhedrin. And the high priest questioned them,

²⁸saying, “We ^astrictly commanded you not to continue teaching in this name, and ¹yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and ^bintend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

²⁹But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “^aWe must obey God rather than men.

³⁰“^aThe God of our fathers ^braised up Jesus, ¹whom you ^cput to death by hanging Him on a tree.

³¹“^aThis One God exalted ¹to His right hand as ²a ^bLeader and a ^cSavior, to grant ^drepentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

³²“And we are ^awitnesses ¹of these things, and ^bso is the Holy Spirit, whom God gave to those who obey Him.”

Gamaliel’s Counsel

³³But when they heard this, they became ^afurious and intended to kill them.

³⁴But a Pharisee named ^aGamaliel, a ^bteacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in ^cthe Sanhedrin and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.

³⁵And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men.

³⁶“For some time ago Theudas rose up, ^aclaiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. ¹But he was killed, and all who ²were following him were dispersed and came to nothing.

³⁷“After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of ^athe census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all those who ¹were following him were scattered.

³⁸“So in…