Gevurot 5

1 And a certain man by the name Chananyah, with his wife Shappira, sold property2 And he, with his wife in collusion as to da'as, misappropriated from the price, and having brought a certain part, laid it at the feet of the Moshiach's Shlichim. [YEHOSHUA 7:11]3 But Kefa said, "Chananyah, why has Hasatan filled your lev (heart) that you lied to the Ruach Hakodesh and misappropriated from the price of the land? [DEVARIM 23:21]4 "While it remained with you, did it not remain yours? And after it was sold, were the proceeds not under your samchut (authority)? How is it that you have hatched this deed in your lev (heart)? Your sheker (lie) was not to Bnei Adam but to the Ruach Hakodesh." [DEVARIM 23:22; VAYIKRA 6:2]5 And hearing these dvarim, having fallen down, Chananyah died; and there came great yirat Shomayim upon all the ones listening. [TEHILLIM 5:6]6 And having got up, the bochrim threw the tachrichin shroud over him and, having carried him out, they buried him in a kever.7 And there was an interval of lav davka (approximately) shloshah sha'ot and then his isha, not having da'as of what had happened, entered.8 And in reply to her, Kefa said "Tell me, you sold the sadeh for such and such a price, did you?" And she said, "Ken, for such and such a price, that was the amount."9 And Kefa said to her, "Why was it agreed by the two of you to put the Ruach Hakodesh of Hashem to the test? Hinei! The feet of the ones having buried your ba'al are at the petach (doorway), and they will carry you out."10 And she fell immediately at his feet and died. And, the bochrim, having entered, found her dead; and, having carried her out, they buried her with her ba'al.11 And there came great yirat Shomayim upon the whole Messianic kehillah and upon all the ones hearing these things.12 Now by the hands of the Moshiach's Shlichim were being effected many otot and moftim among the people and with a sense of achdus they were all in the Ulam Sh'lomo.13 But none of the rest was daring to be mishtatef in a chavura (becoming involved, joining a fellowship) with them; however, the Am Yisroel held the Messianic Jews in high esteem.14 And more and more ma'aminim hameshichiyim in Adoneinu were being added, multitudes of anashim and nashim,15 So much so that even out into the rekhovot they would carry the cholim and put them on pallets and mats, that when Kefa came by, at least his shadow might fall upon some of them.16 And also the multitudes from the shtetlach surrounding Yerushalayim were coming together, carrying the cholim and the ones being tormented by ruchot teme'ot (unclean spirits); and they were all receiving refu'ah shleimah.17 But there was an uprising of the Kohen Gadol and all the ones with him of the Tzedukim kat, and they were filled with kinah.18 And they laid their hands upon the Moshiach's Shlichim and they put them in a public beis hasohar.19 And a malach Adonoi (an angel of Hashem) opened the doors of the beis hasohar balailah, and having led them out, said, [BERESHIS 16:7; SHEMOT 3:2; TEHILLIM 34:7]20 "Go and stand and speak in the Beis Hamikdash to the people kol divrei HaChayyim haelleh."21 And having heard, the Moshiach's Shlichim entered the Beis Hamikdash at Shachrit and were saying shiurim. And when the Kohen Gadol and the ones with him had come, they called together the Sanhedrin and all the assembly of Zekenim of the Bnei Yisroel, and they sent to the beis hasohar for the prisoners to be brought to them.22 But their mesharetim, having come, did not find them in the beis hasohar. And having returned, they reported these things23 Saying, "We found the beis hasohar locked tight and the shomrim standing at the doors; but when we opened up, we found no one inside."24 And when the Sar Tzeva HaHeikhal of the Beis Hamikdash and the Rashei Hakohanim heard these words, they were perplexed about them, as far as what would come of all this.25 But someone came and reported to them, "Hinei, the men whom you put in the beis hasohar are in the Beis Hamikdash standing and saying shiurim to the people."26 Then the Sar Tzeva HaHeikhal went along with the mesharetim and brought the Moshiach's Shlichim back, but not with force--for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.27 And when they had brought them, they stood the Moshiach's Shlichim before the Sanhedrin, and the Kohen Gadol questioned them,28 Saying, "Did we not with a strict command charge you not to say shiurim b'shem hazeh and, hinei, you have filled Yerushalayim with your torah and are determined to bring upon us the dahm of this man."29 And in reply Kefa and the Moshiach's Shlichim said, "It is necessary to obey Hashem rather than Bnei Adam. [SHEMOT 1:17]30 "Elohei Avoteinu made Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua to stand up alive again, the very one whom you killed, having made him talui al haEtz (being hanged on the tree). [DEVARIM 21:23]31 "This one Hashem exalted as Sar and Moshi'a (Oisleizer) to His right hand to grant teshuva to Yisroel and selicha (forgiveness) of chatta'im (averos, sins).32 "And we are the eidus (witness) of these matters and so is the Ruach Hakodesh whom Hashem gave to the ones obeying Him."33 And the ones having heard were cut to the quick and in fury were deciding to do away with them.34 But a certain Parush got up in the Sanhedrin, a moreh of Torah by name Rabban Gamli'el, respected by kol Am Yisroel, and he gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.35 And Rabban Gamli'el said to them, "Anshei Yisroel, pay attention to yourselves what you are about to do with these anashim.36 "For at an earlier tekufa (era, period), there was the uprising of Theudas, who claimed to be somebody himself, with whom were associated a number of anashim lav davka (approximately) four hundred; who was done away with and as many as were obeying him were all dispersed and it came to nothing.37 "After this there was Yehudah HaGelili in the yamim of the census; who misled the people to follow after him and that man perished and, as many as were obeying him, were all scattered.38 "And now I say to you, stay away from these anashim, and leave them alone, because if this cheshbon (plan) or this matter is of Bnei Adam, it will be overthrown.39 "But if it is from Hashem, you are not able to overthrow them--in that case you may even be found to be fighting keneged (against, opposing) Hashem." And they were persuaded by Rabban Gamli'el. [2Ch 13:12; Prov 21:30; Isa 46:10]40 And having called together the Moshiach's Shluchim and having flogged them, they warned them not to speak in the shem of Yehoshua, and they released them.41 Therefore Moshiach's Shluchim were going rejoicing from the presence of the Sanhedrin, that they were considered worthy to suffer shame for ha-Shem (the Name).42 And every day in the Beis Hamikdash and from bais to bais they did not stop saying shiurim and drashot about Yehoshua as Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.

ACTS 5

Peter Condemns //Ananias and Sapphira

1 Ananias and his wife Sapphira also sold a piece of property.

2 But they agreed to cheat and keep some of the money for themselves.
So when Ananias took the rest of the money to the apostles, 3 Peter said, “Why has Satan made you keep back some of the money from the sale of the property? Why have you lied to the Holy Spirit?

4 The property was yours before you sold it, and even after you sold it, the money was still yours. What made you do such a thing? You didn't lie to people. You lied to God!”
5  t As soon as Ananias heard this, he dropped dead, and everyone who heard about it was frightened.

6 Some young men came in and wrapped up his body. Then they took it out and buried it.
7 Three hours later Sapphira came in, but she did not know what had happened to her husband.

8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, did you sell the property for this amount?”
“Yes,” she answered, “that's the amount.”
9 Then Peter said, “Why did the two of you agree to test the Lord's Spirit? The men who buried Ananias are by the door, and they will carry you out!”

10 At once she fell at Peter's feet and died.
When the young men came back in, they found Sapphira lying there dead. So they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

11 The church members were afraid, and so was everyone else who heard what had happened.

Peter's Unusual Power

13 No one outside their group dared join them, even though everyone liked them very much.
14 Many men and women started having faith in the Lord. 15 Then sick people were brought out to the road and placed on mats. It was hoped that Peter would walk by, and his shadow would fall on them and heal them.

16 A lot of people living in the towns near Jerusalem brought those who were sick or troubled by evil spirits, and they were all healed.

Trouble for the Apostles

21 So they went into the temple before sunrise and started teaching.
The high priest and his men called together their council, which included all of Israel's leaders. Then they ordered the apostles to be brought to them from the jail. 22 The temple police who were sent to the jail did not find the apostles. They returned and said, 23 “We found the jail locked tight and the guards standing at the doors. But when we opened the doors and went in, we didn't find anyone there.”

24 The captain of the temple police and the chief priests listened to their report, but they did not know what to think about it.
25 Just then someone came in and said, “Now those men you put in jail are in the temple, teaching the people!”

26 The captain went with some of the temple police and brought the apostles back. But they did not use force. They were afraid that the people might start throwing stones at them.
27 When the apostles were brought before the council, the high priest said to them,

28 t “We told you plainly not to teach in the name of Jesus. But look what you have done! You have been teaching all over Jerusalem, and you are trying to blame us for his death.”

29 Peter and the apostles replied:
We don't obey people. We obey God. 30 You killed Jesus by nailing him to a cross. But the God our ancestors worshiped raised him to life 31 and made him our Leader and Savior. Then God gave him a place at his right side, t so that the people of Israel would turn back to him and be forgiven.

32 We are here to tell you about all this, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to everyone who obeys God.
33 When the council members heard this, they became so angry they wanted to kill the apostles. 34 But one of the members was the Pharisee Gamaliel, a highly respected teacher. He ordered the apostles to be taken out of the room for a little while.

35 Then he said to the council:
Men of Israel, be careful what you do with these men.

36 Not long ago Theudas claimed to be someone important, and about 400 men joined him. But he was killed, and all his followers were scattered. That was the end of that.

37 Later, when the people of our nation were being counted, Judas from Galilee showed up. A lot of people followed him, but he was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
38 So I advise you to stay away from these men. Leave them alone. If what they are planning is something of their own doing, it will fail.

39 t But if God is behind it, you cannot stop it anyway, unless you want to fight against God.
The council members agreed with what he said,

40 and they called the apostles back in. They had them beaten with a whip and warned them not to speak in the name of Jesus. Then they let them go.
41 The apostles left the council and were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer for the sake of Jesus. 42 Every day they spent time in the temple and in one home after another. They never stopped teaching and telling the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.