Acts 5-7

English Standard Version

Ananias and Sapphira

5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, ² and with his wife's knowledge ^(A)he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and ^(B)laid it at the apostles' feet. ³ But Peter said, “Ananias, why has ^(C)Satan filled your heart to lie ^(D)to the Holy Spirit and ^(E)to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴ While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but ^(F)to God.” ⁵ When Ananias heard these words, he ^(G)fell down and breathed his last. And ^(H)great fear came upon all who heard of it. ⁶ The young men rose and ^(I)wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

⁷ After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you^[a] sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” ⁹ But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together ^(J)to test ^(K)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 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ And ^(L)great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

Many Signs and Wonders Done

¹² Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people ^(M)by the hands of the apostles. And they were all ^(N)together in ^(O)Solomon's Portico. ¹³ None of the rest dared join them, but ^(P)the people held them in high esteem. ¹⁴ And ^(Q)more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, ^15 (R)so that they even ^(S)carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by ^(T)at least his shadow might fall on some of them. ¹⁶ The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, ^(U)bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

The Apostles Arrested and Freed

¹⁷ But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of ^(V)the Sadducees), and filled with ^(W)jealousy ¹⁸ they arrested the apostles and ^(X)put them in the public prison. ¹⁹ But during the night ^(Y)an angel of the Lord ^(Z)opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all ^(AA)the words of ^(AB)this ^(AC)Life.” ²¹ And when they heard this, ^(AD)they entered the temple ^(AE)at daybreak and began to teach.

Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. ²² But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, ²³ “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” ²⁴ Now when ^(AF)the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. ²⁵ And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison ^(AG)are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” ²⁶ Then ^(AH)the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for ^(AI)they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

²⁷ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, ²⁸ saying, ^(AJ)“We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you ^(AK)intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, ^(AL)“We must obey God rather than men. ^30 (AM)The God of our fathers ^(AN)raised Jesus, ^(AO)whom you killed by hanging him on ^(AP)a tree. ³¹ God exalted ^(AQ)him at his right hand as ^(AR)Leader and ^(AS)Savior, ^(AT)to give ^(AU)repentance to Israel and ^(AV)forgiveness of sins. ³² And ^(AW)we are witnesses to these things, and ^(AX)so is the Holy Spirit, ^(AY)whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³ When they heard this, they ^(AZ)were enraged and wanted to kill them. ³⁴ But a Pharisee in the council named ^(BA)Gamaliel, ^(BB)a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. ³⁵ And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. ³⁶ For ^(BC)before these days Theudas rose up, ^(BD)claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. ³⁷ After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of ^(BE)the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. ³⁸ So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for ^(BF)if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; ³⁹ but ^(BG)if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You ^(BH)might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, ⁴⁰ and ^(BI)when they had called in the apostles, ^(BJ)they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁴¹ Then they left the presence of the council, ^(BK)rejoicing that they were counted worthy ^(BL)to suffer dishonor for ^(BM)the name. ⁴² And every day, ^(BN)in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and ^(BO)preaching ^(BP)that the Christ is Jesus.

Seven Chosen to Serve

6 Now in these days ^(BQ)when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists^[b] arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in ^(BR)the daily distribution. ² And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. ^3 (BS)Therefore, brothers,^[c] pick out from among you seven men ^(BT)of good repute, ^(BU)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. ⁴ But ^(BV)we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ⁵ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, ^(BW)a man full of faith and ^(BX)of the Holy Spirit, and ^(BY)Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, ^(BZ)a proselyte of Antioch. ⁶ These they set before the apostles, and ^(CA)they prayed and ^(CB)laid their hands on them.

⁷ And ^(CC)the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests ^(CD)became obedient to ^(CE)the faith.

Stephen Is Seized

⁸ And Stephen, full of grace and ^(CF)power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. ¹⁰ But ^(CG)they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. ¹¹ Then ^(CH)they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹² And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, ¹³ and they ^(CI)set up false ^(CJ)witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against ^(CK)this holy place and the law, ¹⁴ for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth ^(CL)will destroy this place and will ^(CM)change ^(CN)the customs that Moses delivered to us.” ¹⁵ And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face ^(CO)was like the face of an angel.

Stephen's Speech

7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” ² And Stephen said:

^(CP)“Brothers and fathers, hear me. ^(CQ)The God ^(CR)of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, ^(CS)before he lived in Haran, ³ and said to him, ^(CT)‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ ^4 (CU)Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And ^(CV)after his father died, ^(CW)God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. ⁵ Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised ^(CX)to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, ^(CY)though he had no child. ⁶ And God spoke to this effect—that ^(CZ)his offspring would ^(DA)be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them ^(DB)four hundred years. ⁷ ‘But ^(DC)I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out ^(DD)and worship me in this place.’ ⁸ And ^(DE)he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And ^(DF)so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and ^(DG)circumcised him on the eighth day, and ^(DH)Isaac became the father of Jacob, and ^(DI)Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹ “And the patriarchs, ^(DJ)jealous of Joseph, ^(DK)sold him into Egypt; but ^(DL)God was with him ¹⁰ and rescued him out of all his afflictions and ^(DM)gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ^(DN)who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. ¹¹ Now ^(DO)there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. ^12 (DP)But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. ¹³ And ^(DQ)on the second visit ^(DR)Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and ^(DS)Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ And ^(DT)Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, ^(DU)seventy-five persons in all. ¹⁵ And ^(DV)Jacob went down into Egypt, and ^(DW)he died, he ^(DX)and our fathers, ¹⁶ and ^(DY)they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that ^(DZ)Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷ “But ^(EA)as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, ^(EB)the people increased and multiplied in Egypt ¹⁸ until there arose over Egypt another king ^(EC)who did not know Joseph. ^19 (ED)He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, ^(EE)so that they would not be kept alive. ^20 (EF)At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, ²¹ and ^(EG)when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. ²² And Moses ^(EH)was instructed in ^(EI)all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was ^(EJ)mighty in his words and deeds.

²³ “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart ^(EK)to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. ²⁴ And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. ²⁵ He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. ^26 (EL)And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ ²⁷ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ^(EM)‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? ²⁸ Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ ²⁹ At this retort ^(EN)Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, ^(EO)where he became the father of two sons.

³⁰ “Now when forty years had passed, ^(EP)an angel appeared to him ^(EQ)in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ^32 (ER)‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. ³³ Then the Lord said to him, ^(ES)‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. ^34 (ET)I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and ^(EU)have heard their groaning, and ^(EV)I have come down to deliver them. ^(EW)And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵ “This Moses, whom they rejected, ^(EX)saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer ^(EY)by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ^36 (EZ)This man led them out, performing ^(FA)wonders and signs ^(FB)in Egypt and ^(FC)at the Red Sea and ^(FD)in the wilderness for ^(FE)forty years. ³⁷ This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you ^(FF)a prophet like me from your brothers.’ ³⁸ This is the one ^(FG)who was in the congregation in the wilderness with ^(FH)the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. ^(FI)He received ^(FJ)living ^(FK)oracles to give to us. ³⁹ Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and ^(FL)in their hearts they turned to Egypt, ⁴⁰ saying to Aaron, ^(FM)‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ⁴¹ And ^(FN)they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and ^(FO)were rejoicing in ^(FP)the works of their hands. ⁴² But ^(FQ)God turned away and ^(FR)gave them over to worship ^(FS)the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

⁴⁴ “Our fathers had ^(FW)the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses ^(FX)directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. ⁴⁵ Our fathers in turn ^(FY)brought it in with Joshua when they ^(FZ)dispossessed the nations ^(GA)that God drove out before our fathers. So it was ^(GB)until the days of David, ^46 (GC)who found favor in the sight of God and ^(GD)asked to find a dwelling place for ^(GE)the God of Jacob.^{[d] 47} But it was ^(GF)Solomon who built a house for him. ^48 (GG)Yet the Most High does not dwell ^(GH)in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

^51 (GK)“You stiff-necked people, ^(GL)uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^(GM)As your fathers did, so do you. ^52 (GN)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of ^(GO)the Righteous One, ^(GP)whom you have now betrayed and murdered, ⁵³ you who received the law ^(GQ)as delivered by angels and ^(GR)did not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

⁵⁴ Now when they heard these things ^(GS)they were enraged, and they ^(GT)ground their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But he, ^(GU)full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw ^(GV)the glory of God, and Jesus standing ^(GW)at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ And he said, “Behold, I see ^(GX)the heavens opened, and ^(GY)the Son of Man standing ^(GZ)at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together^[e] at him. ⁵⁸ Then ^(HA)they cast him out of the city and ^(HB)stoned him. And ^(HC)the witnesses laid down their garments ^(HD)at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ And as they were stoning Stephen, ^(HE)he called out, “Lord Jesus, ^(HF)receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ And ^(HG)falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ^(HH)“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ^(HI)he fell asleep.