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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 4:37Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
- 2 Pet 2:14–15Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
- Josh 7:11–12Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
- Mal 3:8–9Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
- John 12:6This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
- Matt 6:2–3Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
- Mal 1:14But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the LORD a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
- Acts 5:3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
- Acts 4:34–35Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
- Matt 23:5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
- 2 Kgs 5:21–25So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?
- 1 Tim 6:10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
- Phil 2:3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
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.