Kisah Para Rasul 2:42-47

The Fellowship of the Early Believers

2:42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, ¹  to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ²  2:43 Reverential awe ³  came over everyone, ⁴  and many wonders and miraculous signs ⁵  came about by the apostles. 2:44 All who believed were together and held ⁶  everything in common, 2:45 and they began selling ⁷  their property ⁸  and possessions and distributing the proceeds ⁹  to everyone, as anyone had need. 2:46 Every day ¹⁰  they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, ¹¹  breaking bread from ¹²  house to house, sharing their food with glad ¹³  and humble hearts, ¹⁴  2:47 praising God and having the good will ¹⁵  of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day ¹⁶  those who were being saved.

Kisah Para Rasul 4:32--5:11

Conditions Among the Early Believers

4:32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, ¹⁷  and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. ¹⁸  4:33 With ¹⁹  great power the apostles were giving testimony ²⁰  to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. 4:34 For there was no one needy ²¹  among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling ²²  them ²³  and bringing the proceeds from the sales 4:35 and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds ²⁴  were distributed to each, as anyone had need. 4:36 So Joseph, a Levite who was a native of Cyprus, called by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated “son of encouragement”), ²⁵  4:37 sold ²⁶  a field ²⁷  that belonged to him and brought the money ²⁸  and placed it at the apostles’ feet.

The Judgment on Ananias and Sapphira

5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. 5:2 He ²⁹  kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought ³⁰  only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet. 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled ³¹  your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of ³²  the land? 5:4 Before it was sold, ³³  did it not ³⁴  belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money ³⁵  not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? ³⁶  You have not lied to people ³⁷  but to God!”

5:5 When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped ³⁸  all who heard about it. 5:6 So the young men came, ³⁹  wrapped him up, ⁴⁰  carried him out, and buried ⁴¹  him. 5:7 After an interval of about three hours, ⁴²  his wife came in, but she did not know ⁴³  what had happened. 5:8 Peter said to her, “Tell me, were the two of you ⁴⁴  paid this amount ⁴⁵  for the land?” Sapphira ⁴⁶  said, “Yes, that much.” 5:9 Peter then told her, “Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!” 5:10 At once ⁴⁷  she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 5:11 Great ⁴⁸  fear gripped ⁴⁹  the whole church ⁵⁰  and all who heard about these things.

[2:42]  ¹ sn Fellowship refers here to close association involving mutual involvement and relationships.

[2:42]  ² tn Grk “prayers.” This word was translated as a collective singular in keeping with English style.

[2:43]  ³ tn Or “Fear.”

[2:43]  ⁴ tn Grk “on every soul” (here “soul” is an idiom for the whole person).

[2:43]  ⁵ tn In this context the miraculous nature of these signs is implied. Cf. BDAG 920 s.v. σημεῖον 2.a.

[2:44]  ⁶ tn Grk “had.”

[2:45]  ⁷ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive (“began…”). Since in context this is a description of the beginning of the community of believers, it is more likely that these statements refer to the start of various activities and practices that the early church continued for some time.

[2:45]  ⁸ tn It is possible that the first term for property (κτήματα, kthmata) refers to real estate (as later usage seems to indicate) while the second term (ὑπάρξεις, Juparxeis) refers to possessions in general, but it may also be that the two terms are used together for emphasis, simply indicating that all kinds of possessions were being sold. However, if the first term is more specifically a reference to real estate, it foreshadows the incident with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.

[2:45]  ⁹ tn Grk “distributing them” (αὐτά, auta). The referent (the proceeds of the sales) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:46]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[2:46]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[2:46]  ¹² tn Here κατά (kata) is used as a distributive (BDAG 512 s.v. B.1.d).

[2:46]  ¹³ sn The term glad (Grk “gladness”) often refers to joy brought about by God’s saving acts (Luke 1:14, 44; also the related verb in 1:47; 10:21).

[2:46]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “with gladness and humbleness of hearts.” It is best to understand καρδίας (kardias) as an attributed genitive, with the two nouns it modifies actually listing attributes of the genitive noun which is related to them.

[2:47]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the favor.”

[2:47]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[4:32]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “soul.”

[4:32]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “but all things were to them in common.”

[4:32]  sn Everything was held in common. The remark is not a reflection of political philosophy, but of the extent of their spontaneous commitment to one another. Such a response does not have the function of a command, but is reflective of an attitude that Luke commends as evidence of their identification with one another.

[4:33]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And with.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[4:33]  ²⁰ tn Or “were witnessing.”

[4:34]  ²¹ tn Or “poor.”

[4:34]  ²² tn Grk “houses, selling them were bringing.” The participle πωλοῦντες (pwlounte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:34]  ²³ tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[4:35]  ²⁴ tn Grk “It” (or “They,” plural). The referent of the understood pronoun subject, the proceeds from the sales, of the verb διεδίδετο (diedideto) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:36]  ²⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Note how the actions of Barnabas are in keeping with the meaning of his nickname. He stands in contrast to Ananias and Sapphira in 5:1-11.

[4:37]  ²⁶ tn Grk “selling a field that belonged to him, brought” The participle πωλήσας (pwlhsa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:37]  ²⁷ tn Or “a farm.”

[4:37]  ²⁸ tn Normally a reference to actual coins (“currency”). See L&N 6.68.

[5:2]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[5:2]  ³⁰ tn The participle ἐνέγκας (enenka") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[5:3]  ³¹ sn This is a good example of the Greek verb fill (πληρόω, plhrow) meaning “to exercise control over someone’s thought and action” (cf. Eph 5:18).

[5:3]  ³² tn The words “from the sale of” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the meaning, since the phrase “proceeds from the land” could possibly be understood as crops rather than money from the sale.

[5:4]  ³³ tn Grk “Remaining to you.”

[5:4]  ³⁴ tn The negative interrogative particle οὐχί (ouci) expects a positive reply to this question and the following one (“And when it was sold, was it not at your disposal?”).

[5:4]  ³⁵ tn Grk “it”; the referent of the pronoun (the money generated from the sale of the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:4]  ³⁶ tn Grk “How is it that you have [or Why have you] placed this deed in your heart?” Both of these literal translations differ from the normal way of expressing the thought in English.

[5:4]  ³⁷ tn Grk “to men.” If Peter’s remark refers only to the apostles, the translation “to men” would be appropriate. But if (as is likely) the action was taken to impress the entire congregation (who would presumably have witnessed the donation or been aware of it) then the more general “to people” is more appropriate, since the audience would have included both men and women.

[5:5]  ³⁸ tn Or “fear came on,” “fear seized”; Grk “fear happened to.”

[5:6]  ³⁹ tn Or “arose.”

[5:6]  ⁴⁰ tn The translation “wrapped up” for συνέστειλαν (sunesteilan) is suggested by L&N 79.119, but another interpretation is possible. The same verb could also be translated “removed” (see L&N 15.200), although that sense appears somewhat redundant and out of sequence with the following verb and participle (“carried him out and buried him”).

[5:6]  ⁴¹ sn Buried. Same day burial was a custom in the Jewish world of the first century (cf. also Deut 21:23).

[5:7]  ⁴² tn Grk “It happened that after an interval of about three hours.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[5:7]  ⁴³ tn Grk “came in, not knowing.” The participle has been translated with concessive or adversative force: “although she did not know.” In English, the adversative conjunction (“but”) conveys this nuance more smoothly.

[5:8]  ⁴⁴ tn The words “the two of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate that the verb (ἀπέδοσθε, apedosqe) is plural and thus refers to both Ananias and Sapphira.

[5:8]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “so much,” “as much as this.”

[5:8]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “She”; the referent (Sapphira) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:10]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “And at once.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[5:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “And great.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[5:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “fear came on,” “fear seized”; Grk “fear happened to.”

[5:11]  ⁵⁰ sn This is the first occurrence of the term church (ἐκκλησία, ekklhsia) in Acts. It refers to an assembly of people.