The stories of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament and of Uzzah and Uriah in the Old Testament are fraught with difficulties: notably, the pastoral implications of divine judgement and/or allowing. A close reading of John Calvin’s comments on these difficult passages shows that he consciously employs reading strategies to resolve the disturbing problems of the text – particularly as he faces the relation-ship and connection of God to the narrated deaths. The following examines his response.