ACTS 4 NLT
1 While Peter and John were speaking to
the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple
guard, and some of the Sadducees.
2 These leaders were very disturbed that
Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a
resurrection of the dead.
3 They arrested them and, since it was
already evening, put them in jail until morning.
4 But many of the people who heard their
message believed it, so the number of believers now totaled about 5,000 men,
not counting women and children.
5 The next day the council of all the
rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem.
6 Annas the high priest was there, along
with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest.
7 They brought in the two disciples and
demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,
said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people,
9 are we being questioned today because
we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was
healed?
10 Let me clearly state to all of you and
to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus
Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the
dead.
11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the
Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become
the cornerstone.’
12 There is salvation in no one else! God
has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
13 The members of the council were amazed
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were
ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized
them as men who had been with Jesus.
14 But since they could see the man who had
been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council
could say.
15 So they ordered Peter and John out of
the council chamber and conferred among themselves.
16 “What should we do with these men?” they
asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign,
and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it.
17But to keep them from spreading their
propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name
again.”
18 So they called the apostles back in and
commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you
think God wants us to obey you rather than him?
20 We cannot stop telling about everything
we have seen and heard.”
21 The council then threatened them
further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish
them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God
22 for this miraculous sign—the healing of
a man who had been lame for more than forty years.
23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and
John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and
elders had said.
24 When they heard the report, all the
believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign
Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—
25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit
through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, ‘Why were the nations so
angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans?
26 The kings of the earth prepared for
battle; the rulers gathered together against the LORD and against his
Messiah.’
27 “In fact, this has happened here in this
very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and
the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you
anointed.
28 But everything they did was determined
beforehand according to your will.
29 And now, O Lord, hear their
threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your
word.
30 Stretch out your hand with healing
power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy
servant Jesus.”
31 After this prayer, the meeting place
shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the
word of God with boldness.
32 All the believers were united in heart
and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared
everything they had.
33 The apostles testified powerfully to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them
all.
34 There were no needy people among them,
because those who owned land or houses would sell them
35 and bring the money to the apostles to
give to those in need.
36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one
the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was
from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus.
37 He sold a field he owned and brought the
money to the apostles.
ACTS 5 NLT
1 But there was a certain man named
Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.
2 He brought part of the money to the
apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the
rest.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you
let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of
the money for yourself.
4 The property was yours to sell or not
sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give
away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to
God!”
5 As soon as Ananias heard these words, he
fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified.
6 Then some young men got up, wrapped him
in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came
in, not knowing what had happened.
8 Peter asked her, “Was this the price you
and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the
price.”
9 And Peter said, “How could the two of
you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The
young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will
carry you out, too.”
10 Instantly, she fell to the floor and
died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her
out and buried her beside her husband.
11 Great fear gripped
the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened
