Acts:2-33)
Seeker Overlay ON
*
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come ,
they were all with one accord in one place .
*
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven ,
as of a rushing mighty wind ,
and it filled the whole house where they were sitting .
*
Then there appeared to them divided tongues ,
as of fire ,
and one sat upon each of them .
*
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues ,
as the Spirit gave them utterance .
*
And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews ,
devout men ,
from every nation under heaven .
*
And when this sound occurred ,
the multitude came together ,
and were confused ,
because everyone heard them speak in his own language .
*
Then they were all amazed and marveled ,
saying to one another , "
Look ,
are not all these who speak Galileans ?
*
And how is it that we hear ,
each in our own language in which we were born ?
*
Parthians and Medes and Elamites ,
those dwelling in Mesopotamia ,
Judea and Cappadocia ,
Pontus and Asia ,
*
Phrygia and Pamphylia ,
Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene ,
visitors from Rome ,
both Jews and proselytes ,
*
Cretans and Arabs--we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God ."
*
So they were all amazed and perplexed ,
saying to one another , "
Whatever could this mean ?"
*
Others mocking said , "
They are full of new wine ."
*
But Peter ,
standing up with the eleven ,
raised his voice and said to them , "
Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem ,
let this be known to you ,
and heed my words .
*
For these are not drunk ,
as you suppose ,
since it is only the third hour of the day .
*
But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel :
* "
And it shall come to pass in the last days ,
says God ,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh ;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy ,
Your young men shall see visions ,
Your old men shall dream dreams .
*
And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days ;
And they shall prophesy .
*
I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath :
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke .
*
The sun shall be turned into darkness ,
And the moon into blood ,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD .
*
And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved .'
* "
Men of Israel ,
hear these words :
Jesus of Nazareth ,
a Man attested by God to you by miracles ,
wonders ,
and signs which God did through Him in your midst ,
as you yourselves also know --
*
Him ,
being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God ,
you have taken by lawless hands ,
have crucified ,
and put to death ;
*
whom God raised up ,
having loosed the pains of death ,
because it was not possible that He should be held by it .
*
For David says concerning Him : "
I foresaw the LORD always before my face ,
For He is at my right hand ,
that I may not be shaken .
*
Therefore my heart rejoiced ,
and my tongue was glad ;
Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope .
*
For You will not leave my soul in Hades ,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption .
*
You have made known to me the ways of life ;
You will make me full of joy in Your presence .'
* "
Men and brethren ,
let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David ,
that he is both dead and buried ,
and his tomb is with us to this day .
*
Therefore ,
being a prophet ,
and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body ,
according to the flesh ,
He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne ,
*
he ,
foreseeing this ,
spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ ,
that His soul was not left in Hades ,
nor did His flesh see corruption .
*
This Jesus God has raised up ,
of which we are all witnesses .
*
Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God ,
and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit ,
He poured out this which you now see and hear .
* "
For David did not ascend into the heavens ,
but he says himself : "
The LORD said to my Lord , "
Sit at My right hand ,
*
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool ."'
* "
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus ,
whom you crucified ,
both Lord and Christ ."
*
Now when they heard this ,
they were cut to the heart ,
and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles , "
Men and brethren ,
what shall we do ?"
*
Then Peter said to them , "
Repent ,
and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins ;
and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit .
*
For the promise is to you and to your children ,
and to all who are afar off ,
as many as the Lord our God will call ."
*
And with many other words he testified and exhorted them ,
saying , "
Be saved from this perverse generation ."
*
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized ;
and that day about three thousand souls were added to them .
*
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles '
doctrine and fellowship ,
in the breaking of bread ,
and in prayers .
*
Then fear came upon every soul ,
and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles .
*
Now all who believed were together ,
and had all things in common ,
*
and sold their possessions and goods ,
and divided them among all ,
as anyone had need .
*
So continuing daily with one accord in the temple ,
and breaking bread from house to house ,
they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart ,
*
praising God and having favor with all the people .
And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved .
*
Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer ,
the ninth hour .
*
And a certain man lame from his mother '
s womb was carried ,
whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful ,
to ask alms from those who entered the temple ;
*
who ,
seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple ,
asked for alms .
*
And fixing his eyes on him ,
with John ,
Peter said , "
Look at us ."
*
So he gave them his attention ,
expecting to receive something from them .
*
Then Peter said , "
Silver and gold I do not have ,
but what I do have I give you :
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth ,
rise up and walk ."
*
And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up ,
and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength .
*
So he ,
leaping up ,
stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking ,
leaping ,
and praising God .
*
And all the people saw him walking and praising God .
*
Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple ;
and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him .
*
Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John ,
all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon '
s ,
greatly amazed .
*
So when Peter saw it ,
he responded to the people : "
Men of Israel ,
why do you marvel at this ?
Or why look so intently at us ,
as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk ?
*
The God of Abraham ,
Isaac ,
and Jacob ,
the God of our fathers ,
glorified His Servant Jesus ,
whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate ,
when he was determined to let Him go .
*
But you denied the Holy One and the Just ,
and asked for a murderer to be granted to you ,
*
and killed the Prince of life ,
whom God raised from the dead ,
of which we are witnesses .
*
And His name ,
through faith in His name ,
has made this man strong ,
whom you see and know .
Yes ,
the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all .
* "
Yet now ,
brethren ,
I know that you did it in ignorance ,
as did also your rulers .
*
But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets ,
that the Christ would suffer ,
He has thus fulfilled .
*
Repent therefore and be converted ,
that your sins may be blotted out ,
so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord ,
*
and that He may send Jesus Christ ,
who was preached to you before ,
*
whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things ,
which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began .
*
For Moses truly said to the fathers , "
The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren .
Him you shall hear in all things ,
whatever He says to you .
*
And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people .'
*
Yes ,
and all the prophets ,
from Samuel and those who follow ,
as many as have spoken ,
have also foretold these days .
*
You are sons of the prophets ,
and of the covenant which God made with our fathers ,
saying to Abraham , "
And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed .'
*
To you first ,
God ,
having raised up His Servant Jesus ,
sent Him to bless you ,
in turning away every one of you from your iniquities ."
*
Now as they spoke to the people ,
the priests ,
the captain of the temple ,
and the Sadducees came upon them ,
*
being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead .
*
And they laid hands on them ,
and put them in custody until the next day ,
for it was already evening .
*
However ,
many of those who heard the word believed ;
and the number of the men came to be about five thousand .
*
And it came to pass ,
on the next day ,
that their rulers ,
elders ,
and scribes ,
*
as well as Annas the high priest ,
Caiaphas ,
John ,
and Alexander ,
and as many as were of the family of the high priest ,
were gathered together at Jerusalem .
*
And when they had set them in the midst ,
they asked , "
By what power or by what name have you done this ?"
*
Then Peter ,
filled with the Holy Spirit ,
said to them , "
Rulers of the people and elders of Israel :
*
If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man ,
by what means he has been made well ,
*
let it be known to you all ,
and to all the people of Israel ,
that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth ,
whom you crucified ,
whom God raised from the dead ,
by Him this man stands here before you whole .
*
This is the "
stone which was rejected by you builders ,
which has become the chief cornerstone .'
*
Nor is there salvation in any other ,
for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved ."
*
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John ,
and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men ,
they marveled .
And they realized that they had been with Jesus .
*
And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them ,
they could say nothing against it .
*
But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council ,
they conferred among themselves ,
*
saying , "
What shall we do to these men ?
For ,
indeed ,
that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem ,
and we cannot deny it .
*
But so that it spreads no further among the people ,
let us severely threaten them ,
that from now on they speak to no man in this name ."
*
So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus .
*
But Peter and John answered and said to them , "
Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God ,
you judge .
*
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard ."
*
So when they had further threatened them ,
they let them go ,
finding no way of punishing them ,
because of the people ,
since they all glorified God for what had been done .
*
For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed .
*
And being let go ,
they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them .
*
So when they heard that ,
they raised their voice to God with one accord and said : "
Lord ,
You are God ,
who made heaven and earth and the sea ,
and all that is in them ,
*
who by the mouth of Your servant David have said : "
Why did the nations rage ,
And the people plot vain things ?
*
The kings of the earth took their stand ,
And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ .'
* "
For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus ,
whom You anointed ,
both Herod and Pontius Pilate ,
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel ,
were gathered together
*
to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done .
*
Now ,
Lord ,
look on their threats ,
and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word ,
*
by stretching out Your hand to heal ,
and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus ."
*
And when they had prayed ,
the place where they were assembled together was shaken ;
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit ,
and they spoke the word of God with boldness .
*
Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul ;
neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own ,
but they had all things in common .
*
And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus .
And great grace was upon them all .
*
Nor was there anyone among them who lacked ;
for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them ,
and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold ,
*
and laid them at the apostles '
feet ;
and they distributed to each as anyone had need .
*
And Joses ,
who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (
which is translated Son of Encouragement ),
a Levite of the country of Cyprus ,
*
having land ,
sold it ,
and brought the money and laid it at the apostles '
feet .
*
But a certain man named Ananias ,
with Sapphira his wife ,
sold a possession .
*
And he kept back part of the proceeds ,
his wife also being aware of it ,
and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles '
feet .
*
But Peter said , "
Ananias ,
why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself ?
*
While it remained ,
was it not your own ?
And after it was sold ,
was it not in your own control ?
Why have you conceived this thing in your heart ?
You have not lied to men but to God ."
*
Then Ananias ,
hearing these words ,
fell down and breathed his last .
So great fear came upon all those who heard these things .
*
And the young men arose and wrapped him up ,
carried him out ,
and buried him .
*
Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in ,
not knowing what had happened .
*
And Peter answered her , "
Tell me whether you sold the land for so much ?"
She said , "
Yes ,
for so much ."
*
Then Peter said to her , "
How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord ?
Look ,
the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door ,
and they will carry you out ."
*
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 .
*
So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things .
*
And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people .
And they were all with one accord in Solomon '
s Porch .
*
Yet none of the rest dared join them ,
but the people esteemed them highly .
*
And believers were increasingly added to the Lord ,
multitudes of both men and women ,
*
so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches ,
that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them .
*
Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem ,
bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits ,
and they were all healed .
*
Then the high priest rose up ,
and all those who were with him (
which is the sect of the Sadducees ),
and they were filled with indignation ,
*
and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison .
*
But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out ,
and said ,
* "
Go ,
stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life ."
*
And when they heard that ,
they entered the temple early in the morning and taught .
But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together ,
with all the elders of the children of Israel ,
and sent to the prison to have them brought .
*
But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison ,
they returned and reported ,
*
saying , "
Indeed we found the prison shut securely ,
and the guards standing outside before the doors ;
but when we opened them ,
we found no one inside !"
*
Now when the high priest ,
the captain of the temple ,
and the chief priests heard these things ,
they wondered what the outcome would be .
*
So one came and told them ,
saying , "
Look ,
the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people !"
*
Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence ,
for they feared the people ,
lest they should be stoned .
*
And when they had brought them ,
they set them before the council .
And the high priest asked them ,
*
saying , "
Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name ?
And look ,
you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine ,
and intend to bring this Man '
s blood on us !"
*
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said : "
We ought to obey God rather than men .
*
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree .
*
Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior ,
to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins .
*
And we are His witnesses to these things ,
and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him ."
*
When they heard this ,
they were furious and plotted to kill them .
*
Then one in the council stood up ,
a Pharisee named Gamaliel ,
a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people ,
and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while .
*
And he said to them : "
Men of Israel ,
take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men .
*
For some time ago Theudas rose up ,
claiming to be somebody .
A number of men ,
about four hundred ,
joined him .
He was slain ,
and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing .
*
After this man ,
Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census ,
and drew away many people after him .
He also perished ,
and all who obeyed him were dispersed .
*
And now I say to you ,
keep away from these men and let them alone ;
for if this plan or this work is of men ,
it will come to nothing ;
*
but if it is of God ,
you cannot overthrow it--lest you even be found to fight against God ."
*
And they agreed with him ,
and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them ,
they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus ,
and let them go .
*
So they departed from the presence of the council ,
rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name .
*
And daily in the temple ,
and in every house ,
they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ .
*
Now in those days ,
when the number of the disciples was multiplying ,
there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists ,
because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution .
*
Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said , "
It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables .
*
Therefore ,
brethren ,
seek out from among you seven men of good reputation ,
full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom ,
whom we may appoint over this business ;
*
but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word ."
*
And the saying pleased the whole multitude .
And they chose Stephen ,
a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit ,
and Philip ,
Prochorus ,
Nicanor ,
Timon ,
Parmenas ,
and Nicolas ,
a proselyte from Antioch ,
*
whom they set before the apostles ;
and when they had prayed ,
they laid hands on them .
*
Then the word of God spread ,
and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem ,
and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith .
*
And Stephen ,
full of faith and power ,
did great wonders and signs among the people .
*
Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (
Cyrenians ,
Alexandrians ,
and those from Cilicia and Asia ),
disputing with Stephen .
*
And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke .
*
Then they secretly induced men to say , "
We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God ."
*
And they stirred up the people ,
the elders ,
and the scribes ;
and they came upon him ,
seized him ,
and brought him to the council .
*
They also set up false witnesses who said , "
This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law ;
*
for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us ."
*
And all who sat in the council ,
looking steadfastly at him ,
saw his face as the face of an angel .
*
Then the high priest said , "
Are these things so ?"
*
And he said , "
Brethren and fathers ,
listen :
The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia ,
before he dwelt in Haran ,
*
and said to him , "
Get out of your country and from your relatives ,
and come to a land that I will show you .'
*
Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran .
And from there ,
when his father was dead ,
He moved him to this land in which you now dwell .
*
And God gave him no inheritance in it ,
not even enough to set his foot on .
But even when Abraham had no child ,
He promised to give it to him for a possession ,
and to his descendants after him .
*
But God spoke in this way :
that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land ,
and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years .
* "
And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge ,'
said God , "
and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place .'
*
Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision ;
and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day ;
and Isaac begot Jacob ,
and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs .
* "
And the patriarchs ,
becoming envious ,
sold Joseph into Egypt .
But God was with him
*
and delivered him out of all his troubles ,
and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh ,
king of Egypt ;
and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house .
*
Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan ,
and our fathers found no sustenance .
*
But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt ,
he sent out our fathers first .
*
And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers ,
and Joseph '
s family became known to the Pharaoh .
*
Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him ,
seventy-five people .
*
So Jacob went down to Egypt ;
and he died ,
he and our fathers .
*
And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor ,
the father of Shechem .
* "
But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham ,
the people grew and multiplied in Egypt
*
till another king arose who did not know Joseph .
*
This man dealt treacherously with our people ,
and oppressed our forefathers ,
making them expose their babies ,
so that they might not live .
*
At this time Moses was born ,
and was well pleasing to God ;
and he was brought up in his father '
s house for three months .
*
But when he was set out ,
Pharaoh '
s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son .
*
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians ,
and was mighty in words and deeds .
* "
Now when he was forty years old ,
it came into his heart to visit his brethren ,
the children of Israel .
*
And seeing one of them suffer wrong ,
he defended and avenged him who was oppressed ,
and struck down the Egyptian .
*
For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand ,
but they did not understand .
*
And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting ,
and tried to reconcile them ,
saying , "
Men ,
you are brethren ;
why do you wrong one another ?'
*
But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away ,
saying , "
Who made you a ruler and a judge over us ?
*
Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday ?'
*
Then ,
at this saying ,
Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian ,
where he had two sons .
* "
And when forty years had passed ,
an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush ,
in the wilderness of Mount Sinai .
*
When Moses saw it ,
he marveled at the sight ;
and as he drew near to observe ,
the voice of the Lord came to him ,
*
saying , "
I am the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham ,
the God of Isaac ,
and the God of Jacob .'
And Moses trembled and dared not look .
* "
Then the LORD said to him , "
Take your sandals off your feet ,
for the place where you stand is holy ground .
*
I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt ;
I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them .
And now come ,
I will send you to Egypt ."'
* "
This Moses whom they rejected ,
saying , "
Who made you a ruler and a judge ?'
is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush .
*
He brought them out ,
after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt ,
and in the Red Sea ,
and in the wilderness forty years .
* "
This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel , "
The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren .
Him you shall hear .'
* "
This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai ,
and with our fathers ,
the one who received the living oracles to give to us ,
*
whom our fathers would not obey ,
but rejected .
And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt ,
*
saying to Aaron , "
Make us gods to go before us ;
as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt ,
we do not know what has become of him .'
*
And they made a calf in those days ,
offered sacrifices to the idol ,
and rejoiced in the works of their own hands .
*
Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven ,
as it is written in the book of the Prophets : "
Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness ,
O house of Israel ?
*
You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch ,
And the star of your god Remphan ,
Images which you made to worship ;
And I will carry you away beyond Babylon .'
* "
Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness ,
as He appointed ,
instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen ,
*
which our fathers ,
having received it in turn ,
also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles ,
whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David ,
*
who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob .
*
But Solomon built Him a house .
* "
However ,
the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands ,
as the prophet says :
* "
Heaven is My throne ,
And earth is My footstool .
What house will you build for Me ?
says the LORD ,
Or what is the place of My rest ?
*
Has My hand not made all these things ?'
* "
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears !
You always resist the Holy Spirit ;
as your fathers did ,
so do you .
*
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute ?
And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One ,
of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers ,
*
who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it ."
*
When they heard these things they were cut to the heart ,
and they gnashed at him with their teeth .
*
But he ,
being full of the Holy Spirit ,
gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God ,
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God ,
*
and said , "
Look !
I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God !"
*
Then they cried out with a loud voice ,
stopped their ears ,
and ran at him with one accord ;
*
and they cast him out of the city and stoned him .
And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul .
*
And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying , "
Lord Jesus ,
receive my spirit ."
*
Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice , "
Lord ,
do not charge them with this sin ."
And when he had said this ,
he fell asleep .
*
Now Saul was consenting to his death .
At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem ;
and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria ,
except the apostles .
*
And devout men carried Stephen to his burial ,
and made great lamentation over him .
*
As for Saul ,
he made havoc of the church ,
entering every house ,
and dragging off men and women ,
committing them to prison .
*
Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word .
*
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them .
*
And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip ,
hearing and seeing the miracles which he did .
*
For unclean spirits ,
crying with a loud voice ,
came out of many who were possessed ;
and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed .
*
And there was great joy in that city .
*
But there was a certain man called Simon ,
who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria ,
claiming that he was someone great ,
*
to whom they all gave heed ,
from the least to the greatest ,
saying , "
This man is the great power of God ."
*
And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time .
*
But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ ,
both men and women were baptized .
*
Then Simon himself also believed ;
and when he was baptized he continued with Philip ,
and was amazed ,
seeing the miracles and signs which were done .
*
Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God ,
they sent Peter and John to them ,
*
who ,
when they had come down ,
prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit .
*
For as yet He had fallen upon none of them .
They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus .
*
Then they laid hands on them ,
and they received the Holy Spirit .
*
And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles '
hands the Holy Spirit was given ,
he offered them money ,
*
saying , "
Give me this power also ,
that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit ."
*
But Peter said to him , "
Your money perish with you ,
because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money !
*
You have neither part nor portion in this matter ,
for your heart is not right in the sight of God .
*
Repent therefore of this your wickedness ,
and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you .
*
For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity ."
*
Then Simon answered and said , "
Pray to the Lord for me ,
that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me ."
*
So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord ,
they returned to Jerusalem ,
preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans .
*
Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip ,
saying , "
Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza ."
This is desert .
*
So he arose and went .
And behold ,
a man of Ethiopia ,
a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians ,
who had charge of all her treasury ,
and had come to Jerusalem to worship ,
*
was returning .
And sitting in his chariot ,
he was reading Isaiah the prophet .
*
Then the Spirit said to Philip , "
Go near and overtake this chariot ."
*
So Philip ran to him ,
and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah ,
and said , "
Do you understand what you are reading ?"
*
And he said , "
How can I ,
unless someone guides me ?"
And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him .
*
The place in the Scripture which he read was this : "
He was led as a sheep to the slaughter ;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent ,
So He opened not His mouth .
*
In His humiliation His justice was taken away ,
And who will declare His generation ?
For His life is taken from the earth ."
*
So the eunuch answered Philip and said , "
I ask you ,
of whom does the prophet say this ,
of himself or of some other man ?"
*
Then Philip opened his mouth ,
and beginning at this Scripture ,
preached Jesus to him .
*
Now as they went down the road ,
they came to some water .
And the eunuch said , "
See ,
here is water .
What hinders me from being baptized ?"
*
Then Philip said , "
If you believe with all your heart ,
you may ."
And he answered and said , "
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God ."
*
So he commanded the chariot to stand still .
And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water ,
and he baptized him .
*
Now when they came up out of the water ,
the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away ,
so that the eunuch saw him no more ;
and he went on his way rejoicing .
*
But Philip was found at Azotus .
And passing through ,
he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea .
*
Then Saul ,
still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord ,
went to the high priest
*
and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus ,
so that if he found any who were of the Way ,
whether men or women ,
he might bring them bound to Jerusalem .
*
As he journeyed he came near Damascus ,
and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven .
*
Then he fell to the ground ,
and heard a voice saying to him , "
Saul ,
Saul ,
why are you persecuting Me ?"
*
And he said , "
Who are You ,
Lord ?"
Then the Lord said , "
I am Jesus ,
whom you are persecuting .
It is hard for you to kick against the goads ."
*
So he ,
trembling and astonished ,
said , "
Lord ,
what do You want me to do ?"
Then the Lord said to him , "
Arise and go into the city ,
and you will be told what you must do ."
*
And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless ,
hearing a voice but seeing no one .
*
Then Saul arose from the ground ,
and when his eyes were opened he saw no one .
But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus .
*
And he was three days without sight ,
and neither ate nor drank .
*
Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias ;
and to him the Lord said in a vision , "
Ananias ."
And he said , "
Here I am ,
Lord ."
*
So the Lord said to him , "
Arise and go to the street called Straight ,
and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus ,
for behold ,
he is praying .
*
And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him ,
so that he might receive his sight ."
*
Then Ananias answered , "
Lord ,
I have heard from many about this man ,
how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem .
*
And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name ."
*
But the Lord said to him , "
Go ,
for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles ,
kings ,
and the children of Israel .
*
For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name '
s sake ."
*
And Ananias went his way and entered the house ;
and laying his hands on him he said , "
Brother Saul ,
the Lord Jesus ,
who appeared to you on the road as you came ,
has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit ."
*
Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales ,
and he received his sight at once ;
and he arose and was baptized .
*
So when he had received food ,
he was strengthened .
Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus .
*
Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues ,
that He is the Son of God .
*
Then all who heard were amazed ,
and said , "
Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem ,
and has come here for that purpose ,
so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests ?"
*
But Saul increased all the more in strength ,
and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus ,
proving that this Jesus is the Christ .
*
Now after many days were past ,
the Jews plotted to kill him .
*
But their plot became known to Saul .
And they watched the gates day and night ,
to kill him .
*
Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket .
*
And when Saul had come to Jerusalem ,
he tried to join the disciples ;
but they were all afraid of him ,
and did not believe that he was a disciple .
*
But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles .
And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road ,
and that He had spoken to him ,
and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus .
*
So he was with them at Jerusalem ,
coming in and going out .
*
And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists ,
but they attempted to kill him .
*
When the brethren found out ,
they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus .
*
Then the churches throughout all Judea ,
Galilee ,
and Samaria had peace and were edified .
And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit ,
they were multiplied .
*
Now it came to pass ,
as Peter went through all parts of the country ,
that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda .
*
There he found a certain man named Aeneas ,
who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed .
*
And Peter said to him , "
Aeneas ,
Jesus the Christ heals you .
Arise and make your bed ."
Then he arose immediately .
*
So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord .
*
At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha ,
which is translated Dorcas .
This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did .
*
But it happened in those days that she became sick and died .
When they had washed her ,
they laid her in an upper room .
*
And since Lydda was near Joppa ,
and the disciples had heard that Peter was there ,
they sent two men to him ,
imploring him not to delay in coming to them .
*
Then Peter arose and went with them .
When he had come ,
they brought him to the upper room .
And all the widows stood by him weeping ,
showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them .
*
But Peter put them all out ,
and knelt down and prayed .
And turning to the body he said , "
Tabitha ,
arise ."
And she opened her eyes ,
and when she saw Peter she sat up .
*
Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up ;
and when he had called the saints and widows ,
he presented her alive .
*
And it became known throughout all Joppa ,
and many believed on the Lord .
*
So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon ,
a tanner .
*
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius ,
a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment ,
*
a devout man and one who feared God with all his household ,
who gave alms generously to the people ,
and prayed to God always .
*
About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him , "
Cornelius !"
*
And when he observed him ,
he was afraid ,
and said , "
What is it ,
lord ?"
So he said to him , "
Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God .
*
Now send men to Joppa ,
and send for Simon whose surname is Peter .
*
He is lodging with Simon ,
a tanner ,
whose house is by the sea .
He will tell you what you must do ."
*
And when the angel who spoke to him had departed ,
Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually .
*
So when he had explained all these things to them ,
he sent them to Joppa .
*
The next day ,
as they went on their journey and drew near the city ,
Peter went up on the housetop to pray ,
about the sixth hour .
*
Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat ;
but while they made ready ,
he fell into a trance
*
and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners ,
descending to him and let down to the earth .
*
In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth ,
wild beasts ,
creeping things ,
and birds of the air .
*
And a voice came to him , "
Rise ,
Peter ;
kill and eat ."
*
But Peter said , "
Not so ,
Lord !
For I have never eaten anything common or unclean ."
*
And a voice spoke to him again the second time , "
What God has cleansed you must not call common ."
*
This was done three times .
And the object was taken up into heaven again .
*
Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant ,
behold ,
the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon '
s house ,
and stood before the gate .
*
And they called and asked whether Simon ,
whose surname was Peter ,
was lodging there .
*
While Peter thought about the vision ,
the Spirit said to him , "
Behold ,
three men are seeking you .
*
Arise therefore ,
go down and go with them ,
doubting nothing ;
for I have sent them ."
*
Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius ,
and said , "
Yes ,
I am he whom you seek .
For what reason have you come ?"
*
And they said , "
Cornelius the centurion ,
a just man ,
one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews ,
was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house ,
and to hear words from you ."
*
Then he invited them in and lodged them .
On the next day Peter went away with them ,
and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him .
*
And the following day they entered Caesarea .
Now Cornelius was waiting for them ,
and had called together his relatives and close friends .
*
As Peter was coming in ,
Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him .
*
But Peter lifted him up ,
saying , "
Stand up ;
I myself am also a man ."
*
And as he talked with him ,
he went in and found many who had come together .
*
Then he said to them , "
You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation .
But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean .
*
Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for .
I ask ,
then ,
for what reason have you sent for me ?"
*
So Cornelius said , "
Four days ago I was fasting until this hour ;
and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house ,
and behold ,
a man stood before me in bright clothing ,
*
and said , "
Cornelius ,
your prayer has been heard ,
and your alms are remembered in the sight of God .
*
Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here ,
whose surname is Peter .
He is lodging in the house of Simon ,
a tanner ,
by the sea .
When he comes ,
he will speak to you .'
*
So I sent to you immediately ,
and you have done well to come .
Now therefore ,
we are all present before God ,
to hear all the things commanded you by God ."
*
Then Peter opened his mouth and said : "
In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality .
*
But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him .
*
The word which God sent to the children of Israel ,
preaching peace through Jesus Christ--He is Lord of all --
*
that word you know ,
which was proclaimed throughout all Judea ,
and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached :
*
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power ,
who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil ,
for God was with Him .
*
And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem ,
whom they killed by hanging on a tree .
*
Him God raised up on the third day ,
and showed Him openly ,
*
not to all the people ,
but to witnesses chosen before by God ,
even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead .
*
And He commanded us to preach to the people ,
and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead .
*
To Him all the prophets witness that ,
through His name ,
whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins ."
*
While Peter was still speaking these words ,
the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word .
*
And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished ,
as many as came with Peter ,
because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also .
*
For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God .
Then Peter answered ,
* "
Can anyone forbid water ,
that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have ?"
*
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord .
Then they asked him to stay a few days .
*
Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God .
*
And when Peter came up to Jerusalem ,
those of the circumcision contended with him ,
*
saying , "
You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them !"
*
But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning ,
saying :
* "
I was in the city of Joppa praying ;
and in a trance I saw a vision ,
an object descending like a great sheet ,
let down from heaven by four corners ;
and it came to me .
*
When I observed it intently and considered ,
I saw four-footed animals of the earth ,
wild beasts ,
creeping things ,
and birds of the air .
*
And I heard a voice saying to me , "
Rise ,
Peter ;
kill and eat .'
*
But I said , "
Not so ,
Lord !
For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth .'
*
But the voice answered me again from heaven , "
What God has cleansed you must not call common .'
*
Now this was done three times ,
and all were drawn up again into heaven .
*
At that very moment ,
three men stood before the house where I was ,
having been sent to me from Caesarea .
*
Then the Spirit told me to go with them ,
doubting nothing .
Moreover these six brethren accompanied me ,
and we entered the man '
s house .
*
And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house ,
who said to him , "
Send men to Joppa ,
and call for Simon whose surname is Peter ,
*
who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved .'
*
And as I began to speak ,
the Holy Spirit fell upon them ,
as upon us at the beginning .
*
Then I remembered the word of the Lord ,
how He said , "
John indeed baptized with water ,
but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit .'
*
If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ ,
who was I that I could withstand God ?"
*
When they heard these things they became silent ;
and they glorified God ,
saying , "
Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life ."
*
Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia ,
Cyprus ,
and Antioch ,
preaching the word to no one but the Jews only .
*
But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene ,
who ,
when they had come to Antioch ,
spoke to the Hellenists ,
preaching the Lord Jesus .
*
And the hand of the Lord was with them ,
and a great number believed and turned to the Lord .
*
Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem ,
and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch .
*
When he came and had seen the grace of God ,
he was glad ,
and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord .
*
For he was a good man ,
full of the Holy Spirit and of faith .
And a great many people were added to the Lord .
*
Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul .
*
And when he had found him ,
he brought him to Antioch .
So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people .
And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch .
*
And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch .
*
Then one of them ,
named Agabus ,
stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world ,
which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar .
*
Then the disciples ,
each according to his ability ,
determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea .
*
This they also did ,
and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul .
*
Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church .
*
Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword .
*
And because he saw that it pleased the Jews ,
he proceeded further to seize Peter also .
Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread .
*
So when he had arrested him ,
he put him in prison ,
and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him ,
intending to bring him before the people after Passover .
*
Peter was therefore kept in prison ,
but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church .
*
And when Herod was about to bring him out ,
that night Peter was sleeping ,
bound with two chains between two soldiers ;
and the guards before the door were keeping the prison .
*
Now behold ,
an angel of the Lord stood by him ,
and a light shone in the prison ;
and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up ,
saying , "
Arise quickly !"
And his chains fell off his hands .
*
Then the angel said to him , "
Gird yourself and tie on your sandals ";
and so he did .
And he said to him , "
Put on your garment and follow me ."
*
So he went out and followed him ,
and did not know that what was done by the angel was real ,
but thought he was seeing a vision .
*
When they were past the first and the second guard posts ,
they came to the iron gate that leads to the city ,
which opened to them of its own accord ;
and they went out and went down one street ,
and immediately the angel departed from him .
*
And when Peter had come to himself ,
he said , "
Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel ,
and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people ."
*
So ,
when he had considered this ,
he came to the house of Mary ,
the mother of John whose surname was Mark ,
where many were gathered together praying .
*
And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate ,
a girl named Rhoda came to answer .
*
When she recognized Peter '
s voice ,
because of her gladness she did not open the gate ,
but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate .
*
But they said to her , "
You are beside yourself !"
Yet she kept insisting that it was so .
So they said , "
It is his angel ."
*
Now Peter continued knocking ;
and when they opened the door and saw him ,
they were astonished .
*
But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent ,
he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison .
And he said , "
Go ,
tell these things to James and to the brethren ."
And he departed and went to another place .
*
Then ,
as soon as it was day ,
there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter .
*
But when Herod had searched for him and not found him ,
he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death .
And he went down from Judea to Caesarea ,
and stayed there .
*
Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon ;
but they came to him with one accord ,
and having made Blastus the king '
s personal aide their friend ,
they asked for peace ,
because their country was supplied with food by the king '
s country .
*
So on a set day Herod ,
arrayed in royal apparel ,
sat on his throne and gave an oration to them .
*
And the people kept shouting , "
The voice of a god and not of a man !"
*
Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him ,
because he did not give glory to God .
And he was eaten by worms and died .
*
But the word of God grew and multiplied .
*
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry ,
and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark .
*
Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers :
Barnabas ,
Simeon who was called Niger ,
Lucius of Cyrene ,
Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch ,
and Saul .
*
As they ministered to the Lord and fasted ,
the Holy Spirit said , "
Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them ."
*
Then ,
having fasted and prayed ,
and laid hands on them ,
they sent them away .
*
So ,
being sent out by the Holy Spirit ,
they went down to Seleucia ,
and from there they sailed to Cyprus .
*
And when they arrived in Salamis ,
they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews .
They also had John as their assistant .
*
Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos ,
they found a certain sorcerer ,
a false prophet ,
a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus ,
*
who was with the proconsul ,
Sergius Paulus ,
an intelligent man .
This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God .
*
But Elymas the sorcerer (
for so his name is translated )
withstood them ,
seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith .
*
Then Saul ,
who also is called Paul ,
filled with the Holy Spirit ,
looked intently at him
*
and said , "
O full of all deceit and all fraud ,
you son of the devil ,
you enemy of all righteousness ,
will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord ?
*
And now ,
indeed ,
the hand of the Lord is upon you ,
and you shall be blind ,
not seeing the sun for a time ."
And immediately a dark mist fell on him ,
and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand .
*
Then the proconsul believed ,
when he saw what had been done ,
being astonished at the teaching of the Lord .
*
Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos ,
they came to Perga in Pamphylia ;
and John ,
departing from them ,
returned to Jerusalem .
*
But when they departed from Perga ,
they came to Antioch in Pisidia ,
and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down .
*
And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets ,
the rulers of the synagogue sent to them ,
saying , "
Men and brethren ,
if you have any word of exhortation for the people ,
say on ."
*
Then Paul stood up ,
and motioning with his hand said , "
Men of Israel ,
and you who fear God ,
listen :
*
The God of this people Israel chose our fathers ,
and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt ,
and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it .
*
Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness .
*
And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan ,
He distributed their land to them by allotment .
* "
After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years ,
until Samuel the prophet .
*
And afterward they asked for a king ;
so God gave them Saul the son of Kish ,
a man of the tribe of Benjamin ,
for forty years .
*
And when He had removed him ,
He raised up for them David as king ,
to whom also He gave testimony and said , "
I have found David the son of Jesse ,
a man after My own heart ,
who will do all My will .'
*
From this man '
s seed ,
according to the promise ,
God raised up for Israel a Savior--Jesus --
*
after John had first preached ,
before His coming ,
the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel .
*
And as John was finishing his course ,
he said , "
Who do you think I am ?
I am not He .
But behold ,
there comes One after me ,
the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose .'
* "
Men and brethren ,
sons of the family of Abraham ,
and those among you who fear God ,
to you the word of this salvation has been sent .
*
For those who dwell in Jerusalem ,
and their rulers ,
because they did not know Him ,
nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath ,
have fulfilled them in condemning Him .
*
And though they found no cause for death in Him ,
they asked Pilate that He should be put to death .
*
Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him ,
they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb .
*
But God raised Him from the dead .
*
He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem ,
who are His witnesses to the people .
*
And we declare to you glad tidings--that promise which was made to the fathers .
*
God has fulfilled this for us their children ,
in that He has raised up Jesus .
As it is also written in the second Psalm : "
You are My Son ,
Today I have begotten You .'
*
And that He raised Him from the dead ,
no more to return to corruption ,
He has spoken thus : "
I will give you the sure mercies of David .'
*
Therefore He also says in another Psalm : "
You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption .'
* "
For David ,
after he had served his own generation by the will of God ,
fell asleep ,
was buried with his fathers ,
and saw corruption ;
*
but He whom God raised up saw no corruption .
*
Therefore let it be known to you ,
brethren ,
that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins ;
*
and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses .
*
Beware therefore ,
lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you :
* "
Behold ,
you despisers ,
Marvel and perish !
For I work a work in your days ,
A work which you will by no means believe ,
Though one were to declare it to you ."'
*
So when the Jews went out of the synagogue ,
the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath .
*
Now when the congregation had broken up ,
many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas ,
who ,
speaking to them ,
persuaded them to continue in the grace of God .
*
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God .
*
But when the Jews saw the multitudes ,
they were filled with envy ;
and contradicting and blaspheming ,
they opposed the things spoken by Paul .
*
Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said , "
It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first ;
but since you reject it ,
and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life ,
behold ,
we turn to the Gentiles .
*
For so the Lord has commanded us : "
I have set you as a light to the Gentiles ,
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth ."'
*
Now when the Gentiles heard this ,
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord .
And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed .
*
And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region .
*
But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city ,
raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas ,
and expelled them from their region .
*
But they shook off the dust from their feet against them ,
and came to Iconium .
*
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit .
*
Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews ,
and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed .
*
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren .
*
Therefore they stayed there a long time ,
speaking boldly in the Lord ,
who was bearing witness to the word of His grace ,
granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands .
*
But the multitude of the city was divided :
part sided with the Jews ,
and part with the apostles .
*
And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews ,
with their rulers ,
to abuse and stone them ,
*
they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe ,
cities of Lycaonia ,
and to the surrounding region .
*
And they were preaching the gospel there .
*
And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting ,
a cripple from his mother '
s womb ,
who had never walked .
*
This man heard Paul speaking .
Paul ,
observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed ,
*
said with a loud voice , "
Stand up straight on your feet !"
And he leaped and walked .
*
Now when the people saw what Paul had done ,
they raised their voices ,
saying in the Lycaonian language , "
The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men !"
*
And Barnabas they called Zeus ,
and Paul ,
Hermes ,
because he was the chief speaker .
*
Then the priest of Zeus ,
whose temple was in front of their city ,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates ,
intending to sacrifice with the multitudes .
*
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this ,
they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude ,
crying out
*
and saying , "
Men ,
why are you doing these things ?
We also are men with the same nature as you ,
and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God ,
who made the heaven ,
the earth ,
the sea ,
and all things that are in them ,
*
who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways .
*
Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness ,
in that He did good ,
gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons ,
filling our hearts with food and gladness ."
*
And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them .
*
Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there ;
and having persuaded the multitudes ,
they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city ,
supposing him to be dead .
*
However ,
when the disciples gathered around him ,
he rose up and went into the city .
And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe .
*
And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples ,
they returned to Lystra ,
Iconium ,
and Antioch ,
*
strengthening the souls of the disciples ,
exhorting them to continue in the faith ,
and saying , "
We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God ."
*
So when they had appointed elders in every church ,
and prayed with fasting ,
they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed .
*
And after they had passed through Pisidia ,
they came to Pamphylia .
*
Now when they had preached the word in Perga ,
they went down to Attalia .
*
From there they sailed to Antioch ,
where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed .
*
Now when they had come and gathered the church together ,
they reported all that God had done with them ,
and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles .
*
So they stayed there a long time with the disciples .
*
And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren , "
Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses ,
you cannot be saved ."
*
Therefore ,
when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them ,
they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem ,
to the apostles and elders ,
about this question .
*
So ,
being sent on their way by the church ,
they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria ,
describing the conversion of the Gentiles ;
and they caused great joy to all the brethren .
*
And when they had come to Jerusalem ,
they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders ;
and they reported all things that God had done with them .
*
But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up ,
saying , "
It is necessary to circumcise them ,
and to command them to keep the law of Moses ."
*
Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter .
*
And when there had been much dispute ,
Peter rose up and said to them : "
Men and brethren ,
you know that a good while ago God chose among us ,
that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe .
*
So God ,
who knows the heart ,
acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit ,
just as He did to us ,
*
and made no distinction between us and them ,
purifying their hearts by faith .
*
Now therefore ,
why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear ?
*
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they ."
*
Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles .
*
And after they had become silent ,
James answered ,
saying , "
Men and brethren ,
listen to me :
*
Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name .
*
And with this the words of the prophets agree ,
just as it is written :
* '
After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David ,
which has fallen down ;
I will rebuild its ruins ,
And I will set it up ;
*
So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD .
Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name ,
Says the LORD who does all these things .'
* "
Known to God from eternity are all His works .
*
Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God ,
*
but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols ,
from sexual immorality ,
from things strangled ,
and from blood .
*
For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city ,
being read in the synagogues every Sabbath ."
*
Then it pleased the apostles and elders ,
with the whole church ,
to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas ,
namely ,
Judas who was also named Barsabas ,
and Silas ,
leading men among the brethren .
*
They wrote this ,
letter by them :
The apostles ,
the elders ,
and the brethren ,
To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch ,
Syria ,
and Cilicia :
Greetings .
*
Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words ,
unsettling your souls ,
saying , "
You must be circumcised and keep the law " --
to whom we gave no such commandment --
*
it seemed good to us ,
being assembled with one accord ,
to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul ,
*
men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ .
*
We have therefore sent Judas and Silas ,
who will also report the same things by word of mouth .
*
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit ,
and to us ,
to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things :
*
that you abstain from things offered to idols ,
from blood ,
from things strangled ,
and from sexual immorality .
If you keep yourselves from these ,
you will do well .
Farewell .
*
So when they were sent off ,
they came to Antioch ;
and when they had gathered the multitude together ,
they delivered the letter .
*
When they had read it ,
they rejoiced over its encouragement .
*
Now Judas and Silas ,
themselves being prophets also ,
exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words .
*
And after they had stayed there for a time ,
they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles .
*
However ,
it seemed good to Silas to remain there .
*
Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch ,
teaching and preaching the word of the Lord ,
with many others also .
*
Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas , "
Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord ,
and see how they are doing ."
*
Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark .
*
But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia ,
and had not gone with them to the work .
*
Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another .
And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus ;
*
but Paul chose Silas and departed ,
being commended by the brethren to the grace of God .
*
And he went through Syria and Cilicia ,
strengthening the churches .
*
Then he came to Derbe and Lystra .
And behold ,
a certain disciple was there ,
named Timothy ,
the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed ,
but his father was Greek .
*
He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium .
*
Paul wanted to have him go on with him .
And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region ,
for they all knew that his father was Greek .
*
And as they went through the cities ,
they delivered to them the decrees to keep ,
which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem .
*
So the churches were strengthened in the faith ,
and increased in number daily .
*
Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia ,
they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia .
*
After they had come to Mysia ,
they tried to go into Bithynia ,
but the Spirit did not permit them .
*
So passing by Mysia ,
they came down to Troas .
*
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night .
A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him ,
saying , "
Come over to Macedonia and help us ."
*
Now after he had seen the vision ,
immediately we sought to go to Macedonia ,
concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them .
*
Therefore ,
sailing from Troas ,
we ran a straight course to Samothrace ,
and the next day came to Neapolis ,
*
and from there to Philippi ,
which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia ,
a colony .
And we were staying in that city for some days .
*
And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside ,
where prayer was customarily made ;
and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there .
*
Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us .
She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira ,
who worshiped God .
The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul .
*
And when she and her household were baptized ,
she begged us ,
saying , "
If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord ,
come to my house and stay ."
So she persuaded us .
*
Now it happened ,
as we went to prayer ,
that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us ,
who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling .
*
This girl followed Paul and us ,
and cried out ,
saying , "
These men are the servants of the Most High God ,
who proclaim to us the way of salvation ."
*
And this she did for many days .
But Paul ,
greatly annoyed ,
turned and said to the spirit , "
I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her ."
And he came out that very hour .
*
But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone ,
they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities .
*
And they brought them to the magistrates ,
and said , "
These men ,
being Jews ,
exceedingly trouble our city ;
*
and they teach customs which are not lawful for us ,
being Romans ,
to receive or observe ."
*
Then the multitude rose up together against them ;
and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods .
*
And when they had laid many stripes on them ,
they threw them into prison ,
commanding the jailer to keep them securely .
*
Having received such a charge ,
he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks .
*
But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God ,
and the prisoners were listening to them .
*
Suddenly there was a great earthquake ,
so that the foundations of the prison were shaken ;
and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone '
s chains were loosed .
*
And the keeper of the prison ,
awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open ,
supposing the prisoners had fled ,
drew his sword and was about to kill himself .
*
But Paul called with a loud voice ,
saying , "
Do yourself no harm ,
for we are all here ."
*
Then he called for a light ,
ran in ,
and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas .
*
And he brought them out and said , "
Sirs ,
what must I do to be saved ?"
*
So they said , "
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ ,
and you will be saved ,
you and your household ."
*
Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house .
*
And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes .
And immediately he and all his family were baptized .
*
Now when he had brought them into his house ,
he set food before them ;
and he rejoiced ,
having believed in God with all his household .
*
And when it was day ,
the magistrates sent the officers ,
saying , "
Let those men go ."
*
So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul ,
saying , "
The magistrates have sent to let you go .
Now therefore depart ,
and go in peace ."
*
But Paul said to them , "
They have beaten us openly ,
uncondemned Romans ,
and have thrown us into prison .
And now do they put us out secretly ?
No indeed !
Let them come themselves and get us out ."
*
And the officers told these words to the magistrates ,
and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans .
*
Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out ,
and asked them to depart from the city .
*
So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia ;
and when they had seen the brethren ,
they encouraged them and departed .
*
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia ,
they came to Thessalonica ,
where there was a synagogue of the Jews .
*
Then Paul ,
as his custom was ,
went in to them ,
and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures ,
*
explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead ,
and saying , "
This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ ."
*
And some of them were persuaded ;
and a great multitude of the devout Greeks ,
and not a few of the leading women ,
joined Paul and Silas .
*
But the Jews who were not persuaded ,
becoming envious ,
took some of the evil men from the marketplace ,
and gathering a mob ,
set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason ,
and sought to bring them out to the people .
*
But when they did not find them ,
they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city ,
crying out , "
These who have turned the world upside down have come here too .
*
Jason has harbored them ,
and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar ,
saying there is another king--Jesus ."
*
And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things .
*
So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest ,
they let them go .
*
Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea .
When they arrived ,
they went into the synagogue of the Jews .
*
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica ,
in that they received the word with all readiness ,
and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so .
*
Therefore many of them believed ,
and also not a few of the Greeks ,
prominent women as well as men .
*
But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea ,
they came there also and stirred up the crowds .
*
Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away ,
to go to the sea ;
but both Silas and Timothy remained there .
*
So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens ;
and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed ,
they departed .
*
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens ,
his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols .
*
Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers ,
and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there .
*
Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him .
And some said , "
What does this babbler want to say ?"
Others said , "
He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods ,"
because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection .
*
And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus ,
saying , "
May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak ?
*
For you are bringing some strange things to our ears .
Therefore we want to know what these things mean ."
*
For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing .
*
Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said , "
Men of Athens ,
I perceive that in all things you are very religious ;
*
for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship ,
I even found an altar with this inscription :
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD .
Therefore ,
the One whom you worship without knowing ,
Him I proclaim to you :
*
God ,
who made the world and everything in it ,
since He is Lord of heaven and earth ,
does not dwell in temples made with hands .
*
Nor is He worshiped with men '
s hands ,
as though He needed anything ,
since He gives to all life ,
breath ,
and all things .
*
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth ,
and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings ,
*
so that they should seek the Lord ,
in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him ,
though He is not far from each one of us ;
*
for in Him we live and move and have our being ,
as also some of your own poets have said , "
For we are also His offspring .'
*
Therefore ,
since we are the offspring of God ,
we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone ,
something shaped by art and man '
s devising .
*
Truly ,
these times of ignorance God overlooked ,
but now commands all men everywhere to repent ,
*
because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained .
He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead ."
*
And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead ,
some mocked ,
while others said , "
We will hear you again on this matter ."
*
So Paul departed from among them .
*
However ,
some men joined him and believed ,
among them Dionysius the Areopagite ,
a woman named Damaris ,
and others with them .
*
After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth .
*
And he found a certain Jew named Aquila ,
born in Pontus ,
who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (
because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome );
and he came to them .
*
So ,
because he was of the same trade ,
he stayed with them and worked ;
for by occupation they were tentmakers .
*
And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath ,
and persuaded both Jews and Greeks .
*
When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia ,
Paul was compelled by the Spirit ,
and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ .
*
But when they opposed him and blasphemed ,
he shook his garments and said to them , "
Your blood be upon your own heads ;
I am clean .
From now on I will go to the Gentiles ."
*
And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus ,
one who worshiped God ,
whose house was next door to the synagogue .
*
Then Crispus ,
the ruler of the synagogue ,
believed on the Lord with all his household .
And many of the Corinthians ,
hearing ,
believed and were baptized .
*
Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision , "
Do not be afraid ,
but speak ,
and do not keep silent ;
*
for I am with you ,
and no one will attack you to hurt you ;
for I have many people in this city ."
*
And he continued there a year and six months ,
teaching the word of God among them .
*
When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia ,
the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat ,
*
saying , "
This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law ."
*
And when Paul was about to open his mouth ,
Gallio said to the Jews , "
If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes ,
O Jews ,
there would be reason why I should bear with you .
*
But if it is a question of words and names and your own law ,
look to it yourselves ;
for I do not want to be a judge of such matters ."
*
And he drove them from the judgment seat .
*
Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes ,
the ruler of the synagogue ,
and beat him before the judgment seat .
But Gallio took no notice of these things .
*
So Paul still remained a good while .
Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria ,
and Priscilla and Aquila were with him .
He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea ,
for he had taken a vow .
*
And he came to Ephesus ,
and left them there ;
but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews .
*
When they asked him to stay a longer time with them ,
he did not consent ,
*
but took leave of them ,
saying , "
I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem ;
but I will return again to you ,
God willing ."
And he sailed from Ephesus .
*
And when he had landed at Caesarea ,
and gone up and greeted the church ,
he went down to Antioch .
*
After he had spent some time there ,
he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order ,
strengthening all the disciples .
*
Now a certain Jew named Apollos ,
born at Alexandria ,
an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures ,
came to Ephesus .
*
This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord ;
and being fervent in spirit ,
he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord ,
though he knew only the baptism of John .
*
So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue .
When Aquila and Priscilla heard him ,
they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately .
*
And when he desired to cross to Achaia ,
the brethren wrote ,
exhorting the disciples to receive him ;
and when he arrived ,
he greatly helped those who had believed through grace ;
*
for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly ,
showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ .
*
And it happened ,
while Apollos was at Corinth ,
that Paul ,
having passed through the upper regions ,
came to Ephesus .
And finding some disciples
*
he said to them , "
Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed ?"
So they said to him , "
We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit ."
*
And he said to them , "
Into what then were you baptized ?"
So they said , "
Into John '
s baptism ."
*
Then Paul said , "
John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance ,
saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him ,
that is ,
on Christ Jesus ."
*
When they heard this ,
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus .
*
And when Paul had laid hands on them ,
the Holy Spirit came upon them ,
and they spoke with tongues and prophesied .
*
Now the men were about twelve in all .
*
And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months ,
reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God .
*
But when some were hardened and did not believe ,
but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude ,
he departed from them and withdrew the disciples ,
reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus .
*
And this continued for two years ,
so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus ,
both Jews and Greeks .
*
Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul ,
*
so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick ,
and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them .
*
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits ,
saying , "
We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches ."
*
Also there were seven sons of Sceva ,
a Jewish chief priest ,
who did so .
*
And the evil spirit answered and said , "
Jesus I know ,
and Paul I know ;
but who are you ?"
*
Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them ,
overpowered them ,
and prevailed against them ,
so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded .
*
This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus ;
and fear fell on them all ,
and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified .
*
And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds .
*
Also ,
many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all .
And they counted up the value of them ,
and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver .
*
So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed .
*
When these things were accomplished ,
Paul purposed in the Spirit ,
when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia ,
to go to Jerusalem ,
saying , "
After I have been there ,
I must also see Rome ."
*
So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him ,
Timothy and Erastus ,
but he himself stayed in Asia for a time .
*
And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way .
*
For a certain man named Demetrius ,
a silversmith ,
who made silver shrines of Diana ,
brought no small profit to the craftsmen .
*
He called them together with the workers of similar occupation ,
and said : "
Men ,
you know that we have our prosperity by this trade .
*
Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus ,
but throughout almost all Asia ,
this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people ,
saying that they are not gods which are made with hands .
*
So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute ,
but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed ,
whom all Asia and the world worship ."
*
Now when they heard this ,
they were full of wrath and cried out ,
saying , "
Great is Diana of the Ephesians !"
*
So the whole city was filled with confusion ,
and rushed into the theater with one accord ,
having seized Gaius and Aristarchus ,
Macedonians ,
Paul '
s travel companions .
*
And when Paul wanted to go in to the people ,
the disciples would not allow him .
*
Then some of the officials of Asia ,
who were his friends ,
sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater .
*
Some therefore cried one thing and some another ,
for the assembly was confused ,
and most of them did not know why they had come together .
*
And they drew Alexander out of the multitude ,
the Jews putting him forward .
And Alexander motioned with his hand ,
and wanted to make his defense to the people .
*
But when they found out that he was a Jew ,
all with one voice cried out for about two hours , "
Great is Diana of the Ephesians !"
*
And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd ,
he said : "
Men of Ephesus ,
what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana ,
and of the image which fell down from Zeus ?
*
Therefore ,
since these things cannot be denied ,
you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly .
*
For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess .
*
Therefore ,
if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone ,
the courts are open and there are proconsuls .
Let them bring charges against one another .
*
But if you have any other inquiry to make ,
it shall be determined in the lawful assembly .
*
For we are in danger of being called in question for today '
s uproar ,
there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering ."
*
And when he had said these things ,
he dismissed the assembly .
*
After the uproar had ceased ,
Paul called the disciples to himself ,
embraced them ,
and departed to go to Macedonia .
*
Now when he had gone over that region and encouraged them with many words ,
he came to Greece
*
and stayed three months .
And when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria ,
he decided to return through Macedonia .
*
And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia--also Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians ,
and Gaius of Derbe ,
and Timothy ,
and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia .
*
These men ,
going ahead ,
waited for us at Troas .
*
But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread ,
and in five days joined them at Troas ,
where we stayed seven days .
*
Now on the first day of the week ,
when the disciples came together to break bread ,
Paul ,
ready to depart the next day ,
spoke to them and continued his message until midnight .
*
There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together .
*
And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus ,
who was sinking into a deep sleep .
He was overcome by sleep ;
and as Paul continued speaking ,
he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead .
*
But Paul went down ,
fell on him ,
and embracing him said , "
Do not trouble yourselves ,
for his life is in him ."
*
Now when he had come up ,
had broken bread and eaten ,
and talked a long while ,
even till daybreak ,
he departed .
*
And they brought the young man in alive ,
and they were not a little comforted .
*
Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos ,
there intending to take Paul on board ;
for so he had given orders ,
intending himself to go on foot .
*
And when he met us at Assos ,
we took him on board and came to Mitylene .
*
We sailed from there ,
and the next day came opposite Chios .
The following day we arrived at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium .
The next day we came to Miletus .
*
For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus ,
so that he would not have to spend time in Asia ;
for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem ,
if possible ,
on the Day of Pentecost .
*
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church .
*
And when they had come to him ,
he said to them : "
You know ,
from the first day that I came to Asia ,
in what manner I always lived among you ,
*
serving the Lord with all humility ,
with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews ;
*
how I kept back nothing that was helpful ,
but proclaimed it to you ,
and taught you publicly and from house to house ,
*
testifying to Jews ,
and also to Greeks ,
repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ .
*
And see ,
now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem ,
not knowing the things that will happen to me there ,
*
except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city ,
saying that chains and tribulations await me .
*
But none of these things move me ;
nor do I count my life dear to myself ,
so that I may finish my race with joy ,
and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus ,
to testify to the gospel of the grace of God .
* "
And indeed ,
now I know that you all ,
among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God ,
will see my face no more .
*
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men .
*
For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God .
*
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock ,
among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers ,
to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood .
*
For I know this ,
that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you ,
not sparing the flock .
*
Also from among yourselves men will rise up ,
speaking perverse things ,
to draw away the disciples after themselves .
*
Therefore watch ,
and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears .
* "
So now ,
brethren ,
I commend you to God and to the word of His grace ,
which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified .
*
I have coveted no one '
s silver or gold or apparel .
*
Yes ,
you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities ,
and for those who were with me .
*
I have shown you in every way ,
by laboring like this ,
that you must support the weak .
And remember the words of the Lord Jesus ,
that He said , "
It is more blessed to give than to receive ."'
*
And when he had said these things ,
he knelt down and prayed with them all .
*
Then they all wept freely ,
and fell on Paul '
s neck and kissed him ,
*
sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke ,
that they would see his face no more .
And they accompanied him to the ship .
*
Now it came to pass ,
that when we had departed from them and set sail ,
running a straight course we came to Cos ,
the following day to Rhodes ,
and from there to Patara .
*
And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia ,
we went aboard and set sail .
*
When we had sighted Cyprus ,
we passed it on the left ,
sailed to Syria ,
and landed at Tyre ;
for there the ship was to unload her cargo .
*
And finding disciples ,
we stayed there seven days .
They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem .
*
When we had come to the end of those days ,
we departed and went on our way ;
and they all accompanied us ,
with wives and children ,
till we were out of the city .
And we knelt down on the shore and prayed .
*
When we had taken our leave of one another ,
we boarded the ship ,
and they returned home .
*
And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre ,
we came to Ptolemais ,
greeted the brethren ,
and stayed with them one day .
*
On the next day we who were Paul '
s companions departed and came to Caesarea ,
and entered the house of Philip the evangelist ,
who was one of the seven ,
and stayed with him .
*
Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied .
*
And as we stayed many days ,
a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea .
*
When he had come to us ,
he took Paul '
s belt ,
bound his own hands and feet ,
and said , "
Thus says the Holy Spirit , "
So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt ,
and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles ."'
*
Now when we heard these things ,
both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem .
*
Then Paul answered , "
What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart ?
For I am ready not only to be bound ,
but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus ."
*
So when he would not be persuaded ,
we ceased ,
saying , "
The will of the Lord be done ."
*
And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem .
*
Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus ,
an early disciple ,
with whom we were to lodge .
*
And when we had come to Jerusalem ,
the brethren received us gladly .
*
On the following day Paul went in with us to James ,
and all the elders were present .
*
When he had greeted them ,
he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry .
*
And when they heard it ,
they glorified the Lord .
And they said to him , "
You see ,
brother ,
how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed ,
and they are all zealous for the law ;
*
but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses ,
saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs .
*
What then ?
The assembly must certainly meet ,
for they will hear that you have come .
*
Therefore do what we tell you :
We have four men who have taken a vow .
*
Take them and be purified with them ,
and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads ,
and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing ,
but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law .
*
But concerning the Gentiles who believe ,
we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing ,
except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols ,
from blood ,
from things strangled ,
and from sexual immorality ."
*
Then Paul took the men ,
and the next day ,
having been purified with them ,
entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification ,
at which time an offering should be made for each one of them .
*
Now when the seven days were almost ended ,
the Jews from Asia ,
seeing him in the temple ,
stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him ,
*
crying out , "
Men of Israel ,
help !
This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people ,
the law ,
and this place ;
and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place ."
* (
For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city ,
whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple .)
*
And all the city was disturbed ;
and the people ran together ,
seized Paul ,
and dragged him out of the temple ;
and immediately the doors were shut .
*
Now as they were seeking to kill him ,
news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar .
*
He immediately took soldiers and centurions ,
and ran down to them .
And when they saw the commander and the soldiers ,
they stopped beating Paul .
*
Then the commander came near and took him ,
and commanded him to be bound with two chains ;
and he asked who he was and what he had done .
*
And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another .
So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult ,
he commanded him to be taken into the barracks .
*
When he reached the stairs ,
he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob .
*
For the multitude of the people followed after ,
crying out , "
Away with him !"
*
Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks ,
he said to the commander , "
May I speak to you ?"
He replied , "
Can you speak Greek ?
*
Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness ?"
*
But Paul said , "
I am a Jew from Tarsus ,
in Cilicia ,
a citizen of no mean city ;
and I implore you ,
permit me to speak to the people ."
*
So when he had given him permission ,
Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people .
And when there was a great silence ,
he spoke to them in the Hebrew language ,
saying ,
* "
Brethren and fathers ,
hear my defense before you now ."
*
And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language ,
they kept all the more silent .
Then he said :
* "
I am indeed a Jew ,
born in Tarsus of Cilicia ,
but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel ,
taught according to the strictness of our fathers '
law ,
and was zealous toward God as you all are today .
*
I persecuted this Way to the death ,
binding and delivering into prisons both men and women ,
*
as also the high priest bears me witness ,
and all the council of the elders ,
from whom I also received letters to the brethren ,
and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished .
* "
Now it happened ,
as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon ,
suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me .
*
And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me , "
Saul ,
Saul ,
why are you persecuting Me ?'
*
So I answered , "
Who are You ,
Lord ?'
And He said to me , "
I am Jesus of Nazareth ,
whom you are persecuting .'
* "
And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid ,
but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me .
*
So I said , "
What shall I do ,
Lord ?'
And the Lord said to me , "
Arise and go into Damascus ,
and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do .'
*
And since I could not see for the glory of that light ,
being led by the hand of those who were with me ,
I came into Damascus .
* "
Then a certain Ananias ,
a devout man according to the law ,
having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there ,
*
came to me ;
and he stood and said to me , "
Brother Saul ,
receive your sight .'
And at that same hour I looked up at him .
*
Then he said , "
The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will ,
and see the Just One ,
and hear the voice of His mouth .
*
For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard .
*
And now why are you waiting ?
Arise and be baptized ,
and wash away your sins ,
calling on the name of the Lord .'
* "
Now it happened ,
when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple ,
that I was in a trance
*
and saw Him saying to me , "
Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly ,
for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me .'
*
So I said , "
Lord ,
they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You .
*
And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed ,
I also was standing by consenting to his death ,
and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him .'
*
Then He said to me , "
Depart ,
for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles ."'
*
And they listened to him until this word ,
and then they raised their voices and said , "
Away with such a fellow from the earth ,
for he is not fit to live !"
*
Then ,
as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air ,
*
the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks ,
and said that he should be examined under scourging ,
so that he might know why they shouted so against him .
*
And as they bound him with thongs ,
Paul said to the centurion who stood by , "
Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman ,
and uncondemned ?"
*
When the centurion heard that ,
he went and told the commander ,
saying , "
Take care what you do ,
for this man is a Roman ."
*
Then the commander came and said to him , "
Tell me ,
are you a Roman ?"
He said , "
Yes ."
*
The commander answered , "
With a large sum I obtained this citizenship ."
And Paul said , "
But I was born a citizen ."
*
Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him ;
and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman ,
and because he had bound him .
*
The next day ,
because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews ,
he released him from his bonds ,
and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear ,
and brought Paul down and set him before them .
*
Then Paul ,
looking earnestly at the council ,
said , "
Men and brethren ,
I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day ."
*
And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth .
*
Then Paul said to him , "
God will strike you ,
you whitewashed wall !
For you sit to judge me according to the law ,
and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law ?"
*
And those who stood by said , "
Do you revile God '
s high priest ?"
*
Then Paul said , "
I did not know ,
brethren ,
that he was the high priest ;
for it is written , "
You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people ."'
*
But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees ,
he cried out in the council , "
Men and brethren ,
I am a Pharisee ,
the son of a Pharisee ;
concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged !"
*
And when he had said this ,
a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees ;
and the assembly was divided .
*
For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection--and no angel or spirit ;
but the Pharisees confess both .
*
Then there arose a loud outcry .
And the scribes of the Pharisees '
party arose and protested ,
saying , "
We find no evil in this man ;
but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him ,
let us not fight against God ."
*
Now when there arose a great dissension ,
the commander ,
fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them ,
commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them ,
and bring him into the barracks .
*
But the following night the Lord stood by him and said , "
Be of good cheer ,
Paul ;
for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem ,
so you must also bear witness at Rome ."
*
And when it was day ,
some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath ,
saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul .
*
Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy .
*
They came to the chief priests and elders ,
and said , "
We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul .
*
Now you ,
therefore ,
together with the council ,
suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow ,
as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him ;
but we are ready to kill him before he comes near ."
*
So when Paul '
s sister '
s son heard of their ambush ,
he went and entered the barracks and told Paul .
*
Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said , "
Take this young man to the commander ,
for he has something to tell him ."
*
So he took him and brought him to the commander and said , "
Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you .
He has something to say to you ."
*
Then the commander took him by the hand ,
went aside ,
and asked privately , "
What is it that you have to tell me ?"
*
And he said , "
The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow ,
as though they were going to inquire more fully about him .
*
But do not yield to them ,
for more than forty of them lie in wait for him ,
men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him ;
and now they are ready ,
waiting for the promise from you ."
*
So the commander let the young man depart ,
and commanded him , "
Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me ."
*
And he called for two centurions ,
saying , "
Prepare two hundred soldiers ,
seventy horsemen ,
and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night ;
*
and provide mounts to set Paul on ,
and bring him safely to Felix the governor ."
*
He wrote a letter in the following manner :
*
Claudius Lysias ,
To the most excellent governor Felix :
Greetings .
*
This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them .
Coming with the troops I rescued him ,
having learned that he was a Roman .
*
And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him ,
I brought him before their council .
*
I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law ,
but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains .
*
And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man ,
I sent him immediately to you ,
and also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him .
Farewell .
*
Then the soldiers ,
as they were commanded ,
took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris .
*
The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him ,
and returned to the barracks .
*
When they came to Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor ,
they also presented Paul to him .
*
And when the governor had read it ,
he asked what province he was from .
And when he understood that he was from Cilicia ,
*
he said , "
I will hear you when your accusers also have come ."
And he commanded him to be kept in Herod '
s Praetorium .
*
Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus .
These gave evidence to the governor against Paul .
*
And when he was called upon ,
Tertullus began his accusation ,
saying : "
Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace ,
and prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight ,
*
we accept it always and in all places ,
most noble Felix ,
with all thankfulness .
*
Nevertheless ,
not to be tedious to you any further ,
I beg you to hear ,
by your courtesy ,
a few words from us .
*
For we have found this man a plague ,
a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world ,
and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes .
*
He even tried to profane the temple ,
and we seized him ,
and wanted to judge him according to our law .
*
But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands ,
*
commanding his accusers to come to you .
By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him ."
*
And the Jews also assented ,
maintaining that these things were so .
*
Then Paul ,
after the governor had nodded to him to speak ,
answered : "
Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation ,
I do the more cheerfully answer for myself ,
*
because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship .
*
And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd ,
either in the synagogues or in the city .
*
Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me .
*
But this I confess to you ,
that according to the Way which they call a sect ,
so I worship the God of my fathers ,
believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets .
*
I have hope in God ,
which they themselves also accept ,
that there will be a resurrection of the dead ,
both of the just and the unjust .
*
This being so ,
I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men .
* "
Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation ,
*
in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple ,
neither with a mob nor with tumult .
*
They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me .
*
Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council ,
*
unless it is for this one statement which I cried out ,
standing among them , "
Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day ."'
*
But when Felix heard these things ,
having more accurate knowledge of the Way ,
he adjourned the proceedings and said , "
When Lysias the commander comes down ,
I will make a decision on your case ."
*
So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty ,
and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him .
*
And after some days ,
when Felix came with his wife Drusilla ,
who was Jewish ,
he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ .
*
Now as he reasoned about righteousness ,
self-control ,
and the judgment to come ,
Felix was afraid and answered , "
Go away for now ;
when I have a convenient time I will call for you ."
*
Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul ,
that he might release him .
Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him .
*
But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix ;
and Felix ,
wanting to do the Jews a favor ,
left Paul bound .
*
Now when Festus had come to the province ,
after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem .
*
Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul ;
and they petitioned him ,
*
asking a favor against him ,
that he would summon him to Jerusalem--while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him .
*
But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea ,
and that he himself was going there shortly .
* "
Therefore ,"
he said , "
let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man ,
to see if there is any fault in him ."
*
And when he had remained among them more than ten days ,
he went down to Caesarea .
And the next day ,
sitting on the judgment seat ,
he commanded Paul to be brought .
*
When he had come ,
the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul ,
which they could not prove ,
*
while he answered for himself , "
Neither against the law of the Jews ,
nor against the temple ,
nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all ."
*
But Festus ,
wanting to do the Jews a favor ,
answered Paul and said , "
Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things ?"
*
So Paul said , "
I stand at Caesar '
s judgment seat ,
where I ought to be judged .
To the Jews I have done no wrong ,
as you very well know .
*
For if I am an offender ,
or have committed anything deserving of death ,
I do not object to dying ;
but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me ,
no one can deliver me to them .
I appeal to Caesar ."
*
Then Festus ,
when he had conferred with the council ,
answered , "
You have appealed to Caesar ?
To Caesar you shall go !"
*
And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus .
*
When they had been there many days ,
Festus laid Paul '
s case before the king ,
saying : "
There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix ,
*
about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me ,
when I was in Jerusalem ,
asking for a judgment against him .
*
To them I answered , "
It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face ,
and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him .'
*
Therefore when they had come together ,
without any delay ,
the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in .
*
When the accusers stood up ,
they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed ,
*
but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus ,
who had died ,
whom Paul affirmed to be alive .
*
And because I was uncertain of such questions ,
I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters .
*
But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus ,
I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar ."
*
Then Agrippa said to Festus , "
I also would like to hear the man myself ." "
Tomorrow ,"
he said , "
you shall hear him ."
*
So the next day ,
when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp ,
and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city ,
at Festus '
command Paul was brought in .
*
And Festus said : "
King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us ,
you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me ,
both at Jerusalem and here ,
crying out that he was not fit to live any longer .
*
But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death ,
and that he himself had appealed to Augustus ,
I decided to send him .
*
I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him .
Therefore I have brought him out before you ,
and especially before you ,
King Agrippa ,
so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write .
*
For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him ."
*
Then Agrippa said to Paul , "
You are permitted to speak for yourself ."
So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself :
* "
I think myself happy ,
King Agrippa ,
because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews ,
*
especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews .
Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently .
* "
My manner of life from my youth ,
which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem ,
all the Jews know .
*
They knew me from the first ,
if they were willing to testify ,
that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee .
*
And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers .
*
To this promise our twelve tribes ,
earnestly serving God night and day ,
hope to attain .
For this hope '
s sake ,
King Agrippa ,
I am accused by the Jews .
*
Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead ?
* "
Indeed ,
I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth .
*
This I also did in Jerusalem ,
and many of the saints I shut up in prison ,
having received authority from the chief priests ;
and when they were put to death ,
I cast my vote against them .
*
And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme ;
and being exceedingly enraged against them ,
I persecuted them even to foreign cities .
* "
While thus occupied ,
as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests ,
*
at midday ,
O king ,
along the road I saw a light from heaven ,
brighter than the sun ,
shining around me and those who journeyed with me .
*
And when we all had fallen to the ground ,
I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language , "
Saul ,
Saul ,
why are you persecuting Me ?
It is hard for you to kick against the goads .'
*
So I said , "
Who are You ,
Lord ?'
And He said , "
I am Jesus ,
whom you are persecuting .
*
But rise and stand on your feet ;
for I have appeared to you for this purpose ,
to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you .
*
I will deliver you from the Jewish people ,
as well as from the Gentiles ,
to whom I now send you ,
*
to open their eyes ,
in order to turn them from darkness to light ,
and from the power of Satan to God ,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me .'
* "
Therefore ,
King Agrippa ,
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision ,
*
but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem ,
and throughout all the region of Judea ,
and then to the Gentiles ,
that they should repent ,
turn to God ,
and do works befitting repentance .
*
For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me .
*
Therefore ,
having obtained help from God ,
to this day I stand ,
witnessing both to small and great ,
saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come --
*
that the Christ would suffer ,
that He would be the first to rise from the dead ,
and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles ."
*
Now as he thus made his defense ,
Festus said with a loud voice , "
Paul ,
you are beside yourself !
Much learning is driving you mad !"
*
But he said , "
I am not mad ,
most noble Festus ,
but speak the words of truth and reason .
*
For the king ,
before whom I also speak freely ,
knows these things ;
for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention ,
since this thing was not done in a corner .
*
King Agrippa ,
do you believe the prophets ?
I know that you do believe ."
*
Then Agrippa said to Paul , "
You almost persuade me to become a Christian ."
*
And Paul said , "
I would to God that not only you ,
but also all who hear me today ,
might become both almost and altogether such as I am ,
except for these chains ."
*
When he had said these things ,
the king stood up ,
as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them ;
*
and when they had gone aside ,
they talked among themselves ,
saying , "
This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains ."
*
Then Agrippa said to Festus , "
This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar ."
*
And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy ,
they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius ,
a centurion of the Augustan Regiment .
*
So ,
entering a ship of Adramyttium ,
we put to sea ,
meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia .
Aristarchus ,
a Macedonian of Thessalonica ,
was with us .
*
And the next day we landed at Sidon .
And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care .
*
When we had put to sea from there ,
we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus ,
because the winds were contrary .
*
And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia ,
we came to Myra ,
a city of Lycia .
*
There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy ,
and he put us on board .
*
When we had sailed slowly many days ,
and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus ,
the wind not permitting us to proceed ,
we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone .
*
Passing it with difficulty ,
we came to a place called Fair Havens ,
near the city of Lasea .
*
Now when much time had been spent ,
and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over ,
Paul advised them ,
*
saying , "
Men ,
I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss ,
not only of the cargo and ship ,
but also our lives ."
*
Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul .
*
And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in ,
the majority advised to set sail from there also ,
if by any means they could reach Phoenix ,
a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest ,
and winter there .
*
When the south wind blew softly ,
supposing that they had obtained their desire ,
putting out to sea ,
they sailed close by Crete .
*
But not long after ,
a tempestuous head wind arose ,
called Euroclydon .
*
So when the ship was caught ,
and could not head into the wind ,
we let her drive .
*
And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda ,
we secured the skiff with difficulty .
*
When they had taken it on board ,
they used cables to undergird the ship ;
and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands ,
they struck sail and so were driven .
*
And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed ,
the next day they lightened the ship .
*
On the third day we threw the ship '
s tackle overboard with our own hands .
*
Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days ,
and no small tempest beat on us ,
all hope that we would be saved was finally given up .
*
But after long abstinence from food ,
then Paul stood in the midst of them and said , "
Men ,
you should have listened to me ,
and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss .
*
And now I urge you to take heart ,
for there will be no loss of life among you ,
but only of the ship .
*
For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve ,
*
saying , "
Do not be afraid ,
Paul ;
you must be brought before Caesar ;
and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you .'
*
Therefore take heart ,
men ,
for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me .
*
However ,
we must run aground on a certain island ."
*
Now when the fourteenth night had come ,
as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea ,
about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land .
*
And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms ;
and when they had gone a little farther ,
they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms .
*
Then ,
fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks ,
they dropped four anchors from the stern ,
and prayed for day to come .
*
And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship ,
when they had let down the skiff into the sea ,
under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow ,
*
Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers , "
Unless these men stay in the ship ,
you cannot be saved ."
*
Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off .
*
And as day was about to dawn ,
Paul implored them all to take food ,
saying , "
Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food ,
and eaten nothing .
*
Therefore I urge you to take nourishment ,
for this is for your survival ,
since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you ."
*
And when he had said these things ,
he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all ;
and when he had broken it he began to eat .
*
Then they were all encouraged ,
and also took food themselves .
*
And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship .
*
So when they had eaten enough ,
they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea .
*
When it was day ,
they did not recognize the land ;
but they observed a bay with a beach ,
onto which they planned to run the ship if possible .
*
And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea ,
meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes ;
and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore .
*
But striking a place where two seas met ,
they ran the ship aground ;
and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable ,
but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves .
*
And the soldiers '
plan was to kill the prisoners ,
lest any of them should swim away and escape .
*
But the centurion ,
wanting to save Paul ,
kept them from their purpose ,
and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land ,
*
and the rest ,
some on boards and some on parts of the ship .
And so it was that they all escaped safely to land .
*
Now when they had escaped ,
they then found out that the island was called Malta .
*
And the natives showed us unusual kindness ;
for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome ,
because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold .
*
But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire ,
a viper came out because of the heat ,
and fastened on his hand .
*
So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand ,
they said to one another , "
No doubt this man is a murderer ,
whom ,
though he has escaped the sea ,
yet justice does not allow to live ."
*
But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm .
*
However ,
they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead .
But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him ,
they changed their minds and said that he was a god .
*
In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island ,
whose name was Publius ,
who received us and entertained us courteously for three days .
*
And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery .
Paul went in to him and prayed ,
and he laid his hands on him and healed him .
*
So when this was done ,
the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed .
*
They also honored us in many ways ;
and when we departed ,
they provided such things as were necessary .
*
After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers ,
which had wintered at the island .
*
And landing at Syracuse ,
we stayed three days .
*
From there we circled round and reached Rhegium .
And after one day the south wind blew ;
and the next day we came to Puteoli ,
*
where we found brethren ,
and were invited to stay with them seven days .
And so we went toward Rome .
*
And from there ,
when the brethren heard about us ,
they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns .
When Paul saw them ,
he thanked God and took courage .
*
Now when we came to Rome ,
the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard ;
but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him .
*
And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together .
So when they had come together ,
he said to them : "
Men and brethren ,
though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers ,
yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans ,
*
who ,
when they had examined me ,
wanted to let me go ,
because there was no cause for putting me to death .
*
But when the Jews spoke against it ,
I was compelled to appeal to Caesar ,
not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation .
*
For this reason therefore I have called for you ,
to see you and speak with you ,
because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain ."
*
Then they said to him , "
We neither received letters from Judea concerning you ,
nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you .
*
But we desire to hear from you what you think ;
for concerning this sect ,
we know that it is spoken against everywhere ."
*
So when they had appointed him a day ,
many came to him at his lodging ,
to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God ,
persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets ,
from morning till evening .
*
And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken ,
and some disbelieved .
*
So when they did not agree among themselves ,
they departed after Paul had said one word : "
The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers ,
*
saying , "
Go to this people and say : "
Hearing you will hear ,
and shall not understand ;
And seeing you will see ,
and not perceive ;
*
For the hearts of this people have grown dull .
Their ears are hard of hearing ,
And their eyes they have closed ,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears ,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn ,
So that I should heal them ."'
* "
Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles ,
and they will hear it !"
*
And when he had said these words ,
the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves .
*
Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house ,
and received all who came to him ,
*
preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence ,
no one forbidding him .
![[pBiblx2]](/img/pbiblx2_logo3.png){kind=logo}