Acts 4-6 (New American Standard Bible)

Acts 4

Peter and John Arrested

 ¹As they were speaking to the people, the priests and ^(A)the captain of the temple guard and ^(B)the Sadducees ^(C)came up to them,

 ²being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming ^(D)in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

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

 ⁴But many of those who had heard the message believed; and ^(F)the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

 ⁵On the next day, their ^(G)rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;

 ⁶and ^(H)Annas the high priest was there, and ^(I)Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.

 ⁷When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"

 ⁸Then Peter, ^(J)filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "^(K)Rulers and elders of the people,

 ⁹if we are on trial today for ^(L)a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,

 ¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that ^(M)by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom ^(N)God raised from the dead--by this name this man stands here before you in good health.

 ¹¹"^(O)He is the ^(P)STONE WHICH WAS ^(Q)REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone.

 ¹²"And there is salvation in ^(R)no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

Threat and Release

 ¹³Now as they observed the ^(S)confidence of ^(T)Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and ^(U)began to recognize them as 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 ^(V)Council, they began to confer with one another,

 ¹⁶saying, "^(W)What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a ^(X)noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

 ¹⁷"But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man ^(Y)in this name."

 ¹⁸And when they had summoned them, they ^(Z)commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

 ¹⁹But ^(AA)Peter and John answered and said to them, "^(AB)Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;

 ²⁰for ^(AC)we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."

 ²¹When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) ^(AD)on account of the people, because they were all ^(AE)glorifying God for what had happened;

 ²²for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

 ²³When they had been 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 Lord, it is You who ^(AF)MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM,

 ²⁵who ^(AG)by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
         '^(AH)WHY DID THE ^[a]GENTILES RAGE,
         AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS?
    ²⁶'^(AI)THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND,
         AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER
         AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS ^(AJ)CHRIST.'

 ²⁷"For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy ^(AK)servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both ^(AL)Herod and ^(AM)Pontius Pilate, along with ^(AN)the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

 ²⁸to do whatever Your hand and ^(AO)Your purpose predestined to occur.

 ²⁹"And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may ^(AP)speak Your word with all ^(AQ)confidence,

 ³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and ^(AR)signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy ^(AS)servant Jesus."

 ³¹And when they had prayed, the ^(AT)place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all ^(AU)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to ^(AV)speak the word of God with ^(AW)boldness.

Sharing among Believers

 ³²And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but ^(AX)all things were common property to them.

 ³³And ^(AY)with great power the apostles were giving ^(AZ)testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

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

 ³⁵and ^(BB)lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would be ^(BC)distributed to each as any had need.

 ³⁶Now Joseph, a Levite of ^(BD)Cyprian birth, who was also called ^(BE)Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of ^(BF)Encouragement),

 ³⁷and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and ^(BG)laid it at the apostles' feet.

Acts 5

Fate of Ananias and Sapphira

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

 ²and ^(BH)kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he ^(BI)laid it at the apostles' feet.

 ³But Peter said, "Ananias, why has ^(BJ)Satan filled your heart to lie ^(BK)to the Holy Spirit and to ^(BL)keep 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 under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but ^(BM)to God."

 ⁵And as he heard these words, Ananias ^(BN)fell down and breathed his last; and ^(BO)great fear came over all who heard of it.

 ⁶The young men got up and ^(BP)covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

 ⁷Now there elapsed 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 sold the land ^(BQ)for such and such a price?" And she said, "Yes, that was the price."

 ⁹Then Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to ^(BR)put ^(BS)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."

 ¹⁰And immediately she ^(BT)fell 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 ^(BU)great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.

 ¹²At the hands of the apostles many ^(BV)signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in ^(BW)Solomon's portico.

 ¹³But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, ^(BX)the people held them in high esteem.

 ¹⁴And all the more ^(BY)believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly ^(BZ)added to their number,

 ¹⁵to 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 ^(CA)at least his shadow might fall on any one of them.

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

Imprisonment and Release

 ¹⁷But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is ^(CB)the sect of ^(CC)the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy.

 ¹⁸They laid hands on the apostles and ^(CD)put them in a public jail.

 ¹⁹But during the night ^(CE)an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said,

 ²⁰"Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple ^(CF)the whole message of this Life."

 ²¹Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple ^(CG)about daybreak and began to teach Now when ^(CH)the high priest and his associates came, they called ^(CI)the Council together, even all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison house for them to be brought.

 ²²But ^(CJ)the officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported back,

 ²³saying, "We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside."

 ²⁴Now when ^(CK)the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would 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 ^(CL)the captain went along with ^(CM)the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for ^(CN)they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).

 ²⁷When they had brought them, they stood them before ^(CO)the Council. The high priest questioned them,

 ²⁸saying, "We gave you ^(CP)strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and ^(CQ)intend to bring this man's blood upon us."

 ²⁹But Peter and the apostles answered, "^(CR)We must obey God rather than men.

 ³⁰"^(CS)The God of our fathers ^(CT)raised up Jesus, whom you had ^(CU)put to death by hanging Him on a cross.

 ³¹"^(CV)He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a ^(CW)Prince and a ^(CX)Savior, to grant ^(CY)repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

 ³²"And we are ^(CZ)witnesses ^[c]of these things; and ^(DA)so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."

Gamaliel's Counsel

 ³³But when they heard this, they were ^(DB)cut to the quick and intended to kill them.

 ³⁴But a Pharisee named ^(DC)Gamaliel, a ^(DD)teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in ^(DE)the Council 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, ^(DF)claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.

 ³⁷"After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of ^(DG)the census and drew away some people after him; he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered.

 ³⁸"So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action ^(DH)is of men, it will be overthrown;

 ³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found ^(DI)fighting against God."

 ⁴⁰They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they ^(DJ)flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.

 ⁴¹So they went on their way from the presence of the ^(DK)Council, ^(DL)rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame ^(DM)for His name.

 ^42(DN)And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and ^(DO)preaching Jesus as the Christ.

Acts 6

Choosing of the Seven

 ¹Now at this time while the ^(DP)disciples were ^(DQ)increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the ^[d](DR)Hellenistic Jews against the native ^(DS)Hebrews, because their ^(DT)widows were being overlooked in ^(DU)the daily serving of food.

 ²So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.

 ³"Therefore, ^(DV)brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, ^(DW)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

 ⁴"But we will ^(DX)devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

 ⁵The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose ^(DY)Stephen, a man ^(DZ)full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and ^(EA)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a ^[e](EB)proselyte from ^(EC)Antioch.

 ⁶And these they brought before the apostles; and after ^(ED)praying, they ^(EE)laid their hands on them.

 ^7(EF)The word of God kept on spreading; and ^(EG)the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to ^(EH)the faith.

 ⁸And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great ^(EI)wonders and signs among the people.

 ⁹But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both ^(EJ)Cyrenians and ^(EK)Alexandrians, and some from ^(EL)Cilicia and ^(EM)Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen.

 ¹⁰But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

 ¹¹Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God."

 ¹²And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they ^(EN)came up to him and dragged him away and brought him before ^(EO)the Council.

 ¹³They put forward ^(EP)false witnesses who said, "This man incessantly speaks against this ^(EQ)holy place and the Law;

 ¹⁴for we have heard him say that ^(ER)this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter ^(ES)the customs which Moses handed down to us."

 ¹⁵And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the ^(ET)Council saw his face like the face of an angel.