With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Parallel translations
- WEB and kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
- KJV And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
- NKJV And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
- NASB and kept back some of the proceeds for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.
- NLT He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
With his wife's knowledge, Ananias kept back part of the price but presented the rest as if it were the whole. Their sin was deception, not the withholding itself.
Overview
The couple's offense was not in keeping some proceeds, which was their right, but in lying about it to appear more generous than they were. Their shared plan made it a deliberate, mutual deceit. The contrast with Barnabas's openness is pointed. This sets up Peter's confrontation, exposing that the real sin was hypocrisy and lying to God while seeking the appearance of wholehearted devotion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Acts 4:37sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
- 2 Pet 2:14–15Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.
- Josh 7:11–12Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.
- Mal 3:8–9Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
- John 12:6Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it.
- Matt 6:2–3So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
- Mal 1:14“But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.
- Acts 5:3Then 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?
- Acts 4:34–35There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales,
- Matt 23:5All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
- 2 Kgs 5:21–25So Gehazi pursued Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?”
- 1 Tim 6:10For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
- Phil 2:3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 5:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.