Acts 5:4 BSB — MannaFest

Acts 5:4

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!”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

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 hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

KJV

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.

⋯

Commentary

3 voices

Ambrose of Milan

On the Holy Spirit, Book 3 (397)

"Thou hast not lied unto men but unto God": First, we understand that he called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of the Lord. Then, since he mentioned first the Holy Spirit and added: "Thou hast not lied unto men but unto God," you must necessarily either understand the oneness of the Godhead in the Holy Spirit, since when the Holy Spirit is tempted a lie is told to God; or, if you endeavour to exclude the oneness of the Godhead, you yourself according to the words of Scripture certainly believe Him to be God.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Satan is a lying spirit; he was so in the mouth of Ahab's prophets, and so he was in the mouth of Ananias, and by this made it appear that he filled his heart. The sin itself: He lied to the Holy Ghost; a sin of such a heinous nature that he could not have been guilty of it if Satan had not filled his heart.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Whiles it remained - As long as it remained unsold. This place proves that there was no “obligation” imposed on the disciples to sell their property. They who did it, did it voluntarily; and it does not appear that it was done by all, or expected to be done by all. And after it was sold ... - Even after the property was sold, and Ananias had the money, still there was no obligation on him to devote it in this way. He had the disposal of it still.

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

27 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
οὐχὶ	ouchi	Surely	G3780 →
μένον	menon	remaining	G3306 →
σοὶ	soi	to you	G4771 →
ἔμενεν	emenen	it was remaining	G3306 →
καὶ	kai	And	G2532 →
πραθὲν	prathen	having been sold	G4097 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
τῇ	tēa	the	G3588 →
σῇ	sēa	own	G4771 →
ἐξουσίᾳ	exousia	authority	G1849 →
ὑπῆρχεν;	hupērchen	it was?	G5225 →
τί	ti	Why	G5101 →
ὅτι	hoti	for	G3754 →
ἔθου	ethou	did you purpose	G5087 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
τῇ	tēa	the	G3588 →
καρδίᾳ	kardia	heart	G2588 →
σου	sou	of you	G4771 →
τὸ	to	<the>	G3588 →
πρᾶγμα	pragma	deed	G4229 →
τοῦτο;	touto	this?	G3778 →
οὐκ	ouk	Not	G3756 →
ἐψεύσω	epseusō	you have lied	G5574 →
ἀνθρώποις	anthrōpois	to men	G444 →
ἀλλὰ	alla	but	G235 →
τῷ	tō	<the>	G3588 →
θεῷ.	theō	to God!	G2316 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Acts 5:3
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?
leads to
- Jeremiah 23:24
  “Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
- Isaiah 29:15
  Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
- John 13:2
  The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
- Acts 5:9
  “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.”
- John 13:27
  And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”
Through
1 Thessalonians 4:8
Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
leads to
- 1 John 3:24
  Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.
- Luke 10:16
  Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
- 1 Samuel 8:7
  And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as…

Featured studies on this passage

On Acts 5:4

Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), MannaFest

Open the study →

Walks through Acts 5

The Sadducees, MannaFest

Open the study →

Judas Maccabeus before the Army of Nicanor — engraving by Gustave Doré

Walks through Acts 5

The Intertestamental Period

Open the study →

Walks through Acts 5

The Right Hand

Open the study →

Walks through Acts 5

The Shadow

Open the study →

Walks through Acts 5

The Tree

Open the study →

About Acts

The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Acts: the study guide →Read chapter 5 →The featured study →

Continue: Acts 5 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Acts

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Acts