Acts 5:1-21

Easy-to-Read Version

Ananias and Sapphira

5 There was a man named Ananias. His wife’s name was Sapphira. Ananias sold some land he had, ² but he gave only part of the money to the apostles. He secretly kept some of the money for himself. His wife knew this, and she agreed with it.

³ Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan fill your mind with such an idea? You kept part of the money for yourself and lied about it to the Holy Spirit! ⁴ Before you sold the field, it belonged to you, right? And even after you sold it, you could have used the money any way you wanted. How could you even think of doing such a thing? You lied to God, not to us!”

^5-6 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Some young men came and wrapped his body. They carried it out and buried it. And everyone who heard about this was filled with fear.

⁷ About three hours later his wife came in. Sapphira did not know about what had happened to her husband. ⁸ Peter said to her, “Tell me how much money you got for your field. Was it this much?”

Sapphira answered, “Yes, that was all we got for the field.”

⁹ Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! Do you hear those footsteps? The men who buried your husband are at the door. They will carry you out in the same way.” ¹⁰ At that moment Sapphira fell down by his feet and died. The young men came in and saw that she was dead. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ The whole church and all the other people who heard about this were filled with fear.

Proofs From God

¹² The apostles were given the power to do many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. They were together in Solomon’s Porch, and they all had the same purpose. ¹³ None of the other people dared to stand with the apostles, but everyone was saying wonderful things about them. ¹⁴ More and more people believed in the Lord, and many men and women were added to the group of believers. ¹⁵ So the people brought those who were sick into the streets and put them on little beds and mats. They were hoping that Peter’s shadow might fall on them as he walked by. ¹⁶ People came from all the towns around Jerusalem. They brought those who were sick or troubled by evil spirits. All of them were healed.

The Apostles Are Arrested

¹⁷ The high priest and all his friends, a group called the Sadducees, became very jealous. ¹⁸ They grabbed the apostles and put them in jail. ¹⁹ But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail. The angel led the apostles outside and said, ²⁰ “Go and stand in the Temple area. Tell the people everything about this new life.” ²¹ When the apostles heard this, they did what they were told. They went into the Temple area about sunrise and began to teach the people.

The high priest and his friends came together and called a meeting of the high council and all the older Jewish leaders. They sent some men to the jail to bring the apostles to them.