Acts 5 10

Acts 5:10 kjv

Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

Acts 5:10 nkjv

Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.

Acts 5:10 niv

At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

Acts 5:10 esv

Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

Acts 5:10 nlt

Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

Acts 5 verses

Acts 5 10 Meaning

Acts 5:10 describes the instantaneous death of Sapphira, Ananias's wife, immediately after Peter confronted her lie regarding the sale of their property. It details the discovery of her lifeless body by the same young men who had just buried her husband, and their subsequent actions of carrying her out to be buried beside him, thus completing the divine judgment for their deception of the Holy Spirit and the early Christian community.

Acts 5 10 Context

Acts 5:10 concludes the dramatic account of Ananias and Sapphira, found in Acts 5:1-11. This narrative follows directly from descriptions of the early Christian community's practice of radical generosity and shared resources, exemplified by Barnabas (Acts 4:32-37). Ananias and Sapphira, seemingly wanting to appear as devout as others, conspired to sell a piece of land but deceitfully withheld a portion of the sale price while claiming to give the whole amount to the apostles. Their sin was not the withholding of funds—as Peter clarified they had the right to do so (Acts 5:4)—but the act of lying about it, effectively deceiving the Holy Spirit and the entire community.

Ananias's death in Acts 5:5 was an immediate, divinely administered judgment. Acts 5:10 describes Sapphira's identical fate moments later, after she, unaware of her husband's demise, repeated the same lie to Peter. This swift, severe judgment served to purify the nascent church, establishing its sanctity and the gravity of sin against God within the new covenant community. In the historical and cultural context, the act of deception within a community bound by covenant and divine presence was gravely serious, reminiscent of Old Testament judgments for defiling God's holiness (e.g., Achan, Nadab and Abihu). This incident profoundly impressed "great fear" upon the believers and those outside, defining the church as a holy assembly directly accountable to God, contrasting sharply with any pagan concept of manipulative or appeasable deities.

Acts 5 10 Word analysis

• "Then immediately" (Greek: εὐθέως - eutheōs): This adverb emphasizes the instantaneous nature of Sapphira's death. It highlights that the consequence was direct and without delay, serving as clear evidence of supernatural judgment in response to her deceit. This immediacy parallels her husband's death and underscores the profound seriousness of lying to the Holy Spirit.
• "she fell down" (Greek: ἔπεσεν - epesen): This simple yet powerful verb indicates her sudden physical collapse. Combined with "immediately," it depicts a rapid onset of death, an effect directly attributed to divine action rather than a natural cause.
• "at his feet": This detail specifies the exact location of her fall – in Peter's immediate presence. It visually underscores the direct link between Peter's confrontation, guided by the Holy Spirit, and the execution of the divine judgment. It emphasizes the spiritual authority Peter wielded in that moment.
• "and breathed her last" (Greek: ἐξέψυξεν - exepsyxen): This euphemistic phrase clearly denotes her death, meaning "she expired." It is the very same verb used for Ananias's death in Acts 5:5, forging an undeniable linguistic and thematic link between their shared sin and identical fatal consequence.
• "When the young men came in" (Greek: οἱ νεανίσκοι - hoi neaniskoi): Refers to the specific group of younger men who had earlier carried out and buried Ananias (Acts 5:6). Their arrival, perfectly timed with Sapphira's death, emphasizes the rapid succession of events and reinforces the divinely orchestrated nature of the judgment. These "young men" seem to function as a dedicated group within the early community, tasked with specific practical duties, possibly even disciplinary ones.
• "they found her dead": A straightforward statement confirming the reality of her lifeless state. This observation by the young men serves as a detached, factual corroboration of her demise, solidifying the shocking conclusion to the entire episode.
• "and they carried her out": This action mirrors the carrying out of Ananias (Acts 5:6), reinforcing the parallel and immediate handling of both bodies without extended mourning or traditional funerary rites. It shows a rapid and decisive response to an extreme situation.
• "and buried her beside her husband": This final act closes the narrative arc, demonstrating the swift completion of the judgment. Burying them together in the same manner signifies their shared guilt, shared consequence, and shared, tragic end, emphasizing that God dealt with both partners in the deception equally and decisively.

• "Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last": This powerful phrase encapsulates the swift, divine intervention that struck Sapphira. It vividly portrays the sudden collapse and expiration in Peter's presence, signifying a direct and undeniable act of God's judgment in response to her profound spiritual lie. The parallelism with Ananias's death is intentional, cementing their shared fate due to a shared sin.
• "When the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her": This sequence of actions underlines the practical, almost routine, immediate response to divine judgment in the early church. The discovery of her death by the same young men, their immediate action of carrying her out, and her subsequent burial all without a lengthy period for public grieving, highlight the shock and gravity of the event, emphasizing the need for quick resolution and reinforcing the stark warning to the community about the seriousness of hypocrisy.

Acts 5 10 Bonus section

The synchronized and rapid burial of Ananias and Sapphira described in Acts 5:10 (and Acts 5:6) speaks to the exceptional nature of their deaths. There was no usual mourning period, no lengthy funeral rites, suggesting that the event instilled such a deep sense of fear and divine awe that conventional practices were set aside. This immediate disposal was a clear signal of divine rejection and exclusion from the holy community, even in death. This incident is singular in the New Testament in its direct and immediate judgment unto death for hypocrisy within the Church. It reveals that the purity of the early body of Christ was paramount in God's eyes, and His standard of holiness was established from the outset to preserve the integrity of the gospel message and the spiritual health of His people. The account stands as a unique precedent, emphasizing the vital importance of authenticity and integrity for those who profess to follow Christ, and highlighting that while God is gracious, He is also righteous and just in addressing sin that seeks to undermine His Spirit and His Church.

Acts 5 10 Commentary

Acts 5:10 provides the chilling culmination of the Ananias and Sapphira account, serving as a profound illustration of God's zero-tolerance policy for deceit and hypocrisy within His newly established covenant community. Sapphira's instantaneous death, precisely mirroring her husband's, unequivocally underscored the sanctity of the early Church and the severity of lying to the Holy Spirit, whom Peter equated with God (Acts 5:3-4). This judgment was not merely for a financial transgression but for a fundamental breach of integrity and truth at the core of discipleship, polluting the wellspring of authenticity from which the nascent church was to flow. God's swift, direct action through Peter's Spirit-filled discernment purged an impurity that could have otherwise undermined the church's foundational purity, inspiring a "great fear" (Acts 5:11) and confirming the Holy Spirit's active, powerful presence among them. This dramatic event served as a definitive boundary marker, affirming that grace does not negate holiness or accountability for intentional, grave sin, ensuring the early church's witness was founded on unblemished truth and devotion. It remains a timeless reminder for believers today about the importance of integrity, genuine surrender, and the seriousness of our dealings with God and His church.