Acts 5:1-7

1 But a man named Ananias - his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him - sold a piece of land,
2 secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it.
3 Peter said, "Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field?
4 Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn't lie to men but to God."
5 Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it.
6 The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.
7 Not more than three hours later, his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.