SEV Biblia, Chapter 5:3
Y dijo Pedro: Ananías, ¿por qu ha llenado Satans tu corazn a que mintieses al Espíritu Santo, y defraudases del precio de la heredad?
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Acts 5:3
Verse 3. Why hath Satan filled thine heart] The verb plhroein, which we translate to fill, Kypke has showed by many examples to signify, to instigate, excite, impel, &c., and it was a common belief, as well among the heathens as among the Jews and Christians, that, when a man did evil, he was excited to it by the influence and malice of an evil spirit. It is strange that, by the general consent of mankind, sin against God has been ever considered so perfectly unnatural, and so evil in itself, that no man would commit it unless impelled to it by the agency of the devil. The words of St. Peter here prove that such an agency is not fictitious: if there had been no devil, as some wish and perhaps feel it their interest to believe, or if this devil had no influence on the souls of men, Peter, under the agency of the Holy Spirit, would not have expressed himself in this way; for, if the thing were not so, it would have been the most direct means to lead the disciples to form false opinions, or to confirm them in old and absurd prejudices. To lie to the Holy Ghost] ueusasqai to pneuma to agion, To deceive the Holy Spirit. Every lie is told with the intention to deceive; and they wished to deceive the apostles, and, in effect, that Holy Spirit under whose influence they professed to act. Lying against the Holy Ghost is in the next verse said to be lying against God; therefore the Holy Ghost is GOD.
To keep back part of the price] nosfisasqai apo thv timhv. The verb nosfizein, nosfizesqai, is used by the Greek writers to signify purloining part of the public money, peculation. The word is used here with great propriety, as the money for which the estate was sold was public property; as it was for this purpose alone that the sale was made.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 3. But Peter said, Ananias , etc.] Peter, by divine revelation, or by a spirit of discerning, such as Elisha had, who knew what his servant Gehazi had done, knowing what a reserve Ananias had made, calls him by his name, and says to him, why hath Satan filled thine heart ? or emboldened thee, given thee so much spirit and courage to act in such an impudent and audacious manner; so the phrase is used in ( Esther 7:5 Ecclesiastes 8:11) see the Septuagint there, and often in Talmudic writings. Says R. Joshua, I never ybl ynalm , filled my heart; or my heart never filled me to say to a man, go and take the change of these three things, etc. f195 .
And says another Rabbi f196 , though I say so, ybl ynalm al , I never filled my heart, or my heart never filled me to transgress the words of the companions; that is, I never durst do so. And again f197 , it being observed, that Isaiah should say, hear, O heavens! it is said, who, or what is this, who wbl walm , hath filled his heart, or whose heart has filled him to call to the heavens to hear.
But this instance of Ananias was such, that none but Satan could have put him upon, or emboldened him to have done; who from hence appeared to have the power over him, and to have possessed him, to have great access to him, even to his heart, and great influence upon it, so as to prompt him to lie to the Holy Ghost ; who was in the apostles, and by whom they were acted, and to whom he had given a discerning of spirits; so that it was a daring action, and downright madness, to go about to deceive them: or he pretended he had an impulse from the Spirit of God to sell his estate, and give the whole price of it to the apostles, and yet kept back part of it; which was acting contrary to that Spirit he pretended to be influenced by. And to keep back part of the price of the land : that is, he lied against the Holy Ghost, by keeping back part of the price the land was sold for; when he had declared he sold it with this view, to give the whole for charitable uses, and affirmed that what he brought was the whole.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-11 - The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was, that they were ambitious of being thought eminent disciples, when they were not true disciples Hypocrites may deny themselves, may forego their worldly advantage i one instance, with a prospect of finding their account in somethin else. They were covetous of the wealth of the world, and distrustful of God and his providence. They thought they might serve both God an mammon. They thought to deceive the apostles. The Spirit of God in Peter discerned the principle of unbelief reigning in the heart of Ananias. But whatever Satan might suggest, he could not have filled the heart of Ananias with this wickedness had he not been consenting. The falsehood was an attempt to deceive the Spirit of truth, who s manifestly spoke and acted by the apostles. The crime of Ananias wa not his retaining part of the price of the land; he might have kept it all, had he pleased; but his endeavouring to impose upon the apostle with an awful lie, from a desire to make a vain show, joined with covetousness. But if we think to put a cheat upon God, we shall put fatal cheat upon our own souls. How sad to see those relations wh should quicken one another to that which is good, hardening one anothe in that which is evil! And this punishment was in reality mercy to vas numbers. It would cause strict self-examination, prayer, and dread of hypocrisy, covetousness, and vain-glory, and it should still do so. I would prevent the increase of false professors. Let us learn hence ho hateful falsehood is to the God of truth, and not only shun a direc lie, but all advantages from the use of doubtful expressions, an double meaning in our speech.
Greek Textus Receptus
ειπεν 2036 5627 V-2AAI-3S δε 1161 CONJ πετρος 4074 N-NSM ανανια 367 N-VSM δια 1223 PREP τι 5101 I-ASN επληρωσεν 4137 5656 V-AAI-3S ο 3588 T-NSM σατανας 4567 N-NSM την 3588 T-ASF καρδιαν 2588 N-ASF σου 4675 P-2GS ψευσασθαι 5574 5664 V-ADN σε 4571 P-2AS το 3588 T-ASN πνευμα 4151 N-ASN το 3588 T-ASN αγιον 40 A-ASN και 2532 CONJ νοσφισασθαι 3557 5670 V-AMN απο 575 PREP της 3588 T-GSF τιμης 5092 N-GSF του 3588 T-GSN χωριου 5564 N-GSN
Vincent's NT Word Studies
3. To lie to (yeusasqai). Rather, to deceive. The design of Satan was to deceive the Holy Ghost. To lie to would require a different case in the noun, which occurs in ver. 4, where the same verb is properly rendered lie (unto God). Satan fills the heart to deceive. The result of the attempt is merely to lie.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
5:3 {Filled} (eplerwsen). The very verb used of the filling by the Holy Spirit (#4:31). Satan the adversary is the father of lies (#Joh 8:44). He had entered into Judas (#Lu 22:3; Joh 13:27) and now he has filled the heart of Ananias with a lie. {To lie to the Holy Spirit} (yeusasqai se to pneuma to hagion). Infinitive (aorist middle) of purpose with accusative of general reference (se) and the accusative of the person (object) as often in Greek writers, though here only in the N.T. with this verb. Usual dative of the person in verse #4 (anqrwpois, men, twi qewi, God). The Holy Spirit had been given them to guide them into truth (#Joh 15:13).
