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!”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Peter speaks to Ananias immediately after exposing his partial donation of sold land. The moment occurs during the early church’s voluntary sharing period, directly preceding Ananias’s death.

The words — The Greek οὐχὶ (ouchi) introduces a rhetorical question about prior ownership. The phrase ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ (en tē kardia) literally means "in the heart," locating the deception's origin internally.

The thread — The text records Peter’s confrontation, which parallels Joshua’s rebuke of Achan for secretly keeping devoted goods (Joshua 7:25) and Elisha’s inquiry into Gehazi’s hidden travels (2 Kings 5:25). These passages all describe concealed actions that trigger immediate divine reckoning.

Why it lands — The verse states that property rights remain with the owner until voluntarily transferred and that God receives the full truth of the heart. It requires readers to stop treating outward religious gestures as cover for internal deceit.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

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?
Joshua 7:25 “Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
2 Kings 5:25 When Gehazi went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Gehazi, where have you been?” “Your servant did not go anywhere,” he replied.
1 Chronicles 29:3 Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this holy temple:
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.
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.”
Exodus 35:21 And everyone whose heart stirred him and whose spirit prompted him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its services, and for the holy garments.
Psalms 139:4 Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O LORD.
Isaiah 59:4 No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
Ezekiel 38:10 This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.