VERSE STUDY • KJV

Acts 5:1-11

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? 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.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

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? 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.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

¹ Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. ² With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ³ Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land? ⁴ Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!” ⁵ On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened. ⁶ Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. ⁷ About three hours later his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened. ⁸ “Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?” “Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.” ⁹ “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” ¹⁰ At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.

WEB World English Bible

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.

ASV American Standard Version

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.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

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.

Surrounding context — Acts 5

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?

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.

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

Read the whole chapter → · About Acts →

HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

Compare classic commentaries on Acts 5:1-11

Put Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Calvin, Wesley, Barnes, Jamieson–Fausset–Brown, Aquinas’ Catena and other public-domain sources beside the passage.

Compare commentaries →