The verb tenses in these two verses are such as to suggest continued or repeated action on the part of the Christian community: whenever the believers would sell a field or house they would bring the money they received and “place it at the feet of the apostles,” that is, they turned the money over to (the authority of) the apostles (see 4.37 and 5.2). Then the money would be distributed by the apostles to each one according to his need.

It is generally impossible to employ the idiom “placed it at the feet of the apostles,” since it might not imply entrusting it to their care. It is also important to be careful in the choice of the word for “give,” since this might indicate that it was merely a gift to the apostles rather than something entrusted to them to be used for the believers. In some instances this must be made specific, for example, “gave it to the apostles for the believers.”

The agents of was distributed were the apostles. Therefore, in the active form one can have “the apostles distributed the money to each one as that person had need.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .