The
Acts of the Apostles (Part 1)
¹I made my previous account, O Theophilus, about all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, ²up until the day he was taken up, after he had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen; ³to whom also he showed himself to be alive, following his suffering, by many convincing proofs (being seen by them over a period of forty days) and telling them things about the kingdom of God.
⁴And convening them around himself, he ordered them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard about from me.
⁵For John baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.”
⁶When therefore they were gathered together, they queried him, saying, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
⁷And he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times and the seasons, which the Father has placed within his own authority; ⁸but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth.” ⁹And after he had said these things, he was lifted up away while they were watching. And a cloud removed him from their view. ¹⁰And as he was going, they were concentrating intently into the sky, and behold! Two men dressed in white clothing had been standing beside them.
¹¹And they said: “Men of Galilee, why are you standing looking into the sky? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same manner in which you saw him go into heaven.”
¹²At that time they went back into Jerusalem, from the hill called the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s walk away. ¹³And when they got back inside the city, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Halphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴These all with one mind were devoting themselves persistently to prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers.
¹⁵And during those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, (altogether the company of persons was about 120). He said, ¹⁶“Brethren, it was necessary for that scripture to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus, ¹⁷because he was numbered among us and obtained one share of this ministry.” ¹⁸(This man therefore had bought himself a field out of the payment from unrighteousness, and after falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹And it became known to everyone living in Jerusalem, so that the field is called in their language, “Hakeldama.” This means “Field of Blood.”) ²⁰“For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘Let his settlement be desolate, and be in it no inhabitant,’ and, ‘Let his position be taken by someone else.’ ²¹So then, it must be out of the men who have been with us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²beginning from the baptism of John all the way until the day he was taken up from us; one of those who were witnesses of his resurrection with us.”
²³And they nominated two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus; and Matthias.
²⁴And getting down in prayer, they said, “You, Lord, are knower of all hearts. Reveal which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵to receive this place of ministry and apostleship, from which Judas turned aside to go to his own proper place.”
²⁶And they cast lots over them, and the lot fell to Matthias. And he was added in with the eleven apostles.
¹And when it was time for the Day of Pentecost, they were all together in one place, ²and suddenly there came the sound of words from heaven as if being carried by a swirling wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³And there appeared to them tongues of flame, dividing apart, just as if a fire, and it came to rest on each one of them, ⁴and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
⁵Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem who were devout men from all the nations under heaven. ⁶And as the sound of this was produced, a crowd gathered on, and they were captivated, because each one was hearing them speaking in their own particular language. ⁷And they were astonished, and marveling, saying, “Behold, these people who are speaking, are they not all Galileans? ⁸So how are we each hearing them in our own particular language in which we were born? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia; Jews also from Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia; ¹⁰both Phrygia and Pamphylia; Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; and Romans who are visiting, ¹¹both Jews and proselytes; Cretans and Arabs; we hear them telling the mighty deeds of God in our own languages!” ¹²And they were all stunned and struggling. Some were saying to each other, “What does this mean?”
¹³But others were saying with scorn, “They are full of new wine.”
¹⁴But Peter stood forward, along with the Eleven, and he lifted up his voice, and spoke out boldly to them: “Men of Judea, and all you living in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and take heed to my words. ¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you are thinking, since it is the third hour of the day. ¹⁶But rather this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
¹⁷ ‘And it will be, in the last days,’ God says,
‘I will pour out of my spirit onto all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
and your young will see visions,
and your older will dream dreams;
¹⁸and onto both my male servants and my female servants
will I pour out from my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
¹⁹And I will provide wonders in the heaven above,
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and atmosphere of smoke;
²⁰the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood
before that great and terrible Day of the Lord is come.
²¹And it will be, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
²²”Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man commended to you from God by powerful deeds and wonders and signs, which God performed through him in your midst, as you yourselves know, ²³this man, who was handed over according to the established plan and foreknowledge of God, you lifted up, to be nailed by the hand of Torah-less men, ²⁴him God has raised again, breaking the bonds of death, since it was never possible for him to be held by it.
²⁵For David says regarding him,
‘I have foreseen the Lord going before me through it all.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
²⁶For this reason my heart was cheered,
and my tongue did rejoice,
and my flesh also now will dwell in hope,
²⁷because you will not abandon my soul in Hades,
nor will you assign your holy one to see decay.
²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life.
You will fill me with joy with your company.’
²⁹Brothers, I venture to say with certainty to you about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb remains among us to this day. ³⁰But because of being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn to him with an oath that fruit of his loins would sit on his throne, ³¹it was in reference to the resurrection of the Messiah he spoke, with foresight, that He was not abandoned in Hades, nor did His flesh see decay. ³²This man Jesus, God raised to life, to which we all are witnesses. ³³Having been exalted then to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you are seeing and hearing. ³⁴For David did not ascend to heaven, yet he says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, ³⁵until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ ³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know for a certainty, that the one whom you crucified, God has made that same Jesus both Lord and Messiah.”
³⁷And when they heard this, they were shocked. And they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
³⁸And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And you will receive for yourselves the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is to you, and to your children, and also to everyone far off, however many the Lord our God will call.”
⁴⁰With many other words also, he was solemnly testifying to them, saying, “You must be saved from this perverse generation.” ⁴¹The ones therefore who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand souls were added during that day.
⁴²And they were devoting themselves continually to the teaching of the apostles, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers. ⁴³And fear came into every soul, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. ⁴⁴And all the believers were together, and possessing everything in common. ⁴⁵And they were selling their property and possessions, and distributing the proceeds to everyone, according to whomever had the need. ⁴⁶And every day they were as one mind, devoting themselves constantly in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, sharing food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷praising God, and having favor in the eyes of all the people. And the Lord was adding to the assembly daily, those who were being saved.
¹Now Peter and John went up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer, ²and a man lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they would place daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so he could ask for charity from those going into the temple; ³who when he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked to receive charity. ⁴And Peter, after studying him together with John, said, “Look at us.”
⁵So he was holding his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
⁶And Peter said, “Silver and gold, I have none. But what I do have, this I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” ⁷And he gripped him by the right hand and lifted him. And his feet and ankles were instantly strengthened, ⁸and springing up, he stood, and started walking around. And he went into the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹And all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰and they recognized him, that this was the man usually sitting at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to ask for charity, and they were filled with amazement and wonder over what had happened to him. ¹¹And as he was holding on to Peter and John, all the people ran together toward them in admiration, at the gate called Solomon’s Gate.
¹²But when Peter saw this, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why are you marveling over this, and why are you looking upon us as if our own power or godliness caused him to walk again? ¹³The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over to and disowned before the face of Pilate. He had made the judgement to release him, ¹⁴but you rejected the holy and righteous one, and asked that a murderer be released on pardon to you, ¹⁵and you killed the architect of life, whom God has raised from the dead, to which we all are witnesses. ¹⁶And it is on the basis of faith in his name, Jesus’ name, that this man whom you see and know has been made firm, and this faith, which is through that Jesus, has given this man complete healing in front of you all. ¹⁷So now, brothers, I realize it was because you were unaware, that you acted so, and likewise your leaders. ¹⁸But in this way were fulfilled the things God had foretold through the mouths of all the prophets: that his Anointed had to suffer. ¹⁹Repent therefore, and turn yourselves around, so that your sins be wiped away, ²⁰so that times of refreshing may come from having access to the Lord, and he send the pre-appointed Messiah to you, Jesus, ²¹whom heaven must take in until the time of the restoration of all things, about which God has spoken through the mouths of his holy prophets since long ago.
²²For indeed Moses said to our fathers, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren. To him you must take heed, in accordance with everything he says to you, ²³and it will be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly cut off from among the people.' ²⁴And indeed all the prophets from Samuel and those in succession, as many as have spoken, have also predicted these days. ²⁵You are the heirs of the prophets, and of the covenant which God set in place with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And through your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.' ²⁶God, having now raised up his servant, has sent him to you, blessing you first, in order to turn each of you from your wicked ways.”
¹And as they were talking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees pressed upon them, ²all worked up because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead, ³and they put their hands on them and placed them under guard until morning (for by then it was evening). ⁴But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5,000.
⁵And the next morning an assembly of the leaders and elders and Torah scholars was convened in Jerusalem, ⁶including Hananiah the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and all the ones who were relatives of the high priest, ⁷and after they had stood them in their midst, they were inquiring, “By what power or what name did you do this?”
⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Leaders of the people, and elders of Israel, ⁹If we are on trial for a good deed done to a lame man, as to by what means he was healed, ¹⁰be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in this name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God has raised from the dead, in that name this man is presented before you healthy. ¹¹This Jesus is ‘the stone that you builders rejected; he has become the cornerstone.’ ¹²And salvation is not in anyone else, for there is not even another name under heaven given among man by which we must be saved.”
¹³Now when they observed the confident speech of Peter and John, and considered the fact they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed. And they recognized them, that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴And as they saw that the man who was with them was standing, the one who had been healed, they had nothing to say in rebuttal. ¹⁵And after ordering them to go out of the Sanhedrin, they were conferring with one another, ¹⁶saying, “What shall we do with these men? For to be sure, a notable sign has happened through them, well known to everyone living in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷But, so it does not spread to the people any further, let us threaten them to speak no longer in this name to anyone.” ¹⁸And after summoning them, they gave them orders not to utter at all nor to teach in the name of Jesus.
¹⁹But in response Peter and John said to them, “Whether it is right in God’s eyes to obey you rather than obey God, you decide. ²⁰Because for us, it impossible to not tell the things we have seen and heard.”
²¹But they threatened them further, and then released them, having found no way to punish them, because of the people. For they were all praising God over what had happened. ²²For the man on whom this sign of healing had happened was over forty years old. ²³So being released they went to their own people and reported what things the chief priests and elders had said to them.
²⁴And who when they heard, they with one mind lifted their voice to God, and said, "Master, you who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them, ²⁵who said by the mouth of our father David your servant, through the Holy Spirit, 'Why have the nations raged, and the peoples devised vain things? ²⁶The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers assemble together against the Lord and against his Anointed.' ²⁷For in fact they have assembled in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the nations and the assemblies of Israel, ²⁸to do those things which your hand and your design have fore-ordained to happen. ²⁹And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and give to all your servants the ability to speak your word with boldness, ³⁰by stretching forth your hand so that curing and signs and wonders will happen through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
³¹And as they were making this request, the place in which they were assembled was shaken, and they all were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. ³²Now the hearts and souls of the multitude of those who had believed were one, and not one person said any of the possessions belonging to him were his own, but instead were held in common for every one of them. ³³And with great power the apostles gave the testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. ³⁴For not even one among them was needy. Because whoever of them were owners of lands or houses, they were selling, and they would bring the proceeds of the things that were sold, ³⁵and donate it at the feet of the apostles. Then it was distributed to each person, according as anyone had the need.
³⁶Thus it was that Joseph, who was nicknamed Barnabas by the apostles (which when translated is Son of Encouragement), a Levite, Cypriot by birth, ³⁷who was the owner of a field, he sold it and brought the proceeds and donated it at the feet of the apostles.
¹Then a man named Hananiah, together with his wife Saphira, sold some property, ²and part of the proceeds he secretly set aside for himself (his wife also aware) and part he brought to the feet of the apostles and donated.
³And Peter said, “Hananiah, why has Satan emboldened your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly set aside for yourself part of the proceeds from the field? ⁴Was not the field yours, and after it was sold, the proceeds still within your rights to keep? What happened, that put this issue in your heart? It was not to people that you lied, but to God.”
⁵And
after Hananaiah heard these words, he fell down dead. And great fear gripped all those who were
listening. ⁶And the young men got
up, and when they had wrapped him, they carried him out and buried him. ⁷And there was an interval of about
three hours, and then his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸And Peter responded to her, “Tell me, was this how much you sold
the land for?”
And she said, “Yes, this much.”
⁹And
Peter said to her, “What happened, that you two
were united to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who buried your
husband are at the door. They will also
carry you out.” ¹⁰And she immediately
dropped near his feet and died. And when
the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out, and
buried her next to her husband. ¹¹And
great fear came over the whole assembly, and over all those who heard these
things. ¹²And through the hands of the
apostles many signs and wonders were happening among the people, and they were regularly
at the Portico of Solomon with one accord. ¹³But
none of the rest dared to be seen with them. (Though the people thought
highly of them.)
¹⁴Even so, more believers were added to the Lord,
multitudes of both men and women; ¹⁵with the result that they also
brought out their sick into the streets and placed them on pallets and mats, in
case if Peter came by even his shadow might pass over one of them. ¹⁶And the multitude from the cities surrounding
Jerusalem also collected there, carrying the sick and those being tormented by unclean
spirits, who were healed, all of them.
¹⁷But the high priest rose up, and all those with him, which
was the sect of the Sadducees. They were
filled with jealousy, ¹⁸and they put their hands on the apostles and placed
them in custody publicly. ¹⁹But during the night an angel of the
Lord opened the doors of the prison, and led them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go,
stand in the temple, and speak to the people all the words of this life.”
²¹They
took heed, and at about dawn they went into the temple, and were teaching. And when the high priest and those with him had
opened for business, they called together the Sanhedrin and all the senate of
the sons of Israel, and sent men to
the jail to have them brought. ²²But when the attendants got there, they found
they were not in the prison, and went back and reported, ²³saying, “We found the jail locked up securely
and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened it, we found no one inside.”
²⁴And
as the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words,
they were completely at a loss as to what might become of it all. ²⁵Then
someone came and reported to them, “Behold, the men you had put in prison are
standing in the temple, and teaching the people.” ²⁶At
that time the captain went out, along with the attendants, and brought them,
not with force, because they were afraid of the people, not wanting to be
stoned.
²⁷And
they brought them and stood them in the Sanhedrin. And the high priest interrogated them, ²⁸saying, “We very strictly charged you
not to teach in this name, and behold you have filled Jerusalem with your
teaching. And you intend to bring on us this
man’s blood.”
²⁹And
in answer Peter and the apostles said, “We ought to obey God rather than
people. ³⁰The God of our fathers
raised up Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him to a tree. ³¹This man God has exalted to his right hand
as a Ruler and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of
sins. ³²And we are witnesses of these matters, as is
also the Holy Spirit, which God gave to those who obey him.”
³³And those hearing this were enraged, and began planning to
kill him. ³⁴But a certain man in
the council stood up, a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel, a teacher of the law respected
by all the people. And he ordered that the
men be put outside for a little while. ³⁵And
he said to them, “Men, Israelites, take heed to yourselves over these men, what
you intend to do. ³⁶For prior to
these days, Theudas had risen up, declaring himself to be someone, to whom a
number of men attached themselves, about four hundred. He was killed, and all who obeyed him were dispersed
and came to nothing. ³⁷After
that, during the days of the registration, Judas the Galilean rose up and drew
away people after him. That man also
perished, and all who obeyed him were scattered. ³⁸And the ones now, I am telling you, stand
back from these men, and leave them alone.
Because if this argument is of man, or this effort, it
will come to an end. ³⁹On the other hand, if it is of God, you
will not be able to stop them. And no
good you are found being opponents of God.”
With that they obeyed him.
⁴⁰And they called for the apostles, and beat them, and
ordered them not to speak on the name of Jesus, and released them. ⁴¹They as a result were proceeding from
the presence of the Sanhedrin rejoicing that they were considered worthy to be
despised for the sake of that name. ⁴²And every
day, in the temple, and from house to house, they never ceased teaching and
preaching the Messiah Jesus.
¹Now during those days, with the number of disciples having multiplied greatly, there arose some grumbling from the Greek speakers toward the Hebrew speakers, that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. ²Then the Twelve called the multitude of the disciples to them, and said, “It is not fitting that we abandon the word of God to wait on tables. ³So, brothers, search out seven men of you who are witnessed to be full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this office; ⁴whereas we will be devoted to prayer and service of the word.”
⁵And this word was pleasing before all the multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte from Antioch. ⁶Whom they set before the apostles. And they prayed and laid their hands on them.
⁷And the word of God grew, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly. A large crowd of the priests also was coming to obey the faith. ⁸And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great signs and wonders among the people.
⁹But some men stood up, debating with Stephen, men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, ¹⁰and they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking. ¹¹Then they secretly instigated some men to say, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous things against Moses and against God.” ¹²And that stirred up the people, and the elders, and the Torah scholars. And having stood ready nearby, they seized him and took him to the Sanhedrin. ¹³They also had arranged false witnesses, who were now saying, “This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law. ¹⁴For we have heard him saying that this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” ¹⁵And everyone sitting in the Sanhedrin who watched him saw his face was like the face of an angel.
¹But the high priest said, “Are these things true?”
²And he said, “Brothers and fathers, listen: The glorious God appeared to our father Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, ³and He said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and go to whatever country I will show you.’
⁴At that time he left Chaldea, and lived in Haran. And then, after his father died, God removed him to this country in which you now live. ⁵Yet he did not give him tenure in this country, not even a foothold, yet promised to give it for a possession to his seed after him, this while he had no child. ⁶But God spoke this: ‘Your seed will be aliens in the country of others, who will enslave them and treat them badly for 400 years. ⁷And whatever nation enslaves them, I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after those things they will come out, and will worship me in this place.’
⁸And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and thus Abraham begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. ⁹And the patriarchs, out of envy, sold Joseph off to Egypt. Yet God was with him. ¹⁰And He rescued him from all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the eyes of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt, and over his entire household.
¹¹But a famine came over all of Egypt and Canaan, and great suffering, and our fathers were not finding food. ¹²So when Jacob heard there was bread in Egypt, he sent our fathers out the first time. ¹³And during the second time, Joseph allowed himself to be recognized by his brothers, and his race became evident to Pharaoh.
¹⁴So Joseph sent word inviting his father to come, Jacob and the whole clan, 75 souls in all, ¹⁵and Jacob went down to Egypt. And he and our fathers died, ¹⁶and were transferred to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had bought with a payment in silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
¹⁷Now just as the time was drawing near for the promise which God had declared to Abraham, the people grew in strength and were multiplied in Egypt, ¹⁸until such time another king arose who did not know Joseph. ¹⁹This man dealt shrewdly with our race. He mistreated our fathers, causing their newborn babies to be thrown out, so they would not survive.
²⁰At which time Moses was born, and he was very good looking. For three months he was nurtured in the house of his father. ²¹Then when he was put out, the daughter of Pharaoh took him as a son for herself. ²²And Moses was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and his deeds.
²³But when he reached 40 years old, it came upon his heart to go check on his brothers the sons of Israel. ²⁴And when he saw one being injured he defended him, and he got vengeance for the one getting the worse, by striking the Egyptian. ²⁵Now he thought his brothers would understand that God would give salvation to them through his hand. But they did not understand. ²⁶And on the following day he appeared to some of them, who were fighting, and he attempted to reconcile them in peace saying, “Men, you are brothers. Why are you injuring each other?”
²⁷But the one injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, “Who appointed you ruler and judge over us? ²⁸Do you intend to kill me the same way you killed that Egyptian yesterday?”
²⁹And with this said, Moses fled. And he became an alien camping out in Midian, where he begat two sons. ³⁰And when he was forty years old, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush.
³¹And Moses saw it and marvelled at the vision. As he approached it therefore to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord: ³² ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ But Moses started to tremble and dared not to look.
³³And the Lord said to him, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet; because the place on which you are standing is holy ground. ³⁴I have looked, I have seen the ill treatment of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their groans, and I have come down to rescue them. And now, you come; I will send you to Egypt.’
³⁵This Moses, the one they had denied saying, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge;’ this man God sent as ruler and redeemer by means of the angel appearing to him in the bush. ³⁶This man led them forth, performing wonders and signs, in Egypt and in the Red Sea, and in the desert for forty years. ³⁷This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up a prophet for you like me out of your brothers.’ ³⁸This is the one who was present in the congregation in the desert, who was with the angel speaking to him in Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers. He who received living oracles to give to us. ³⁹To whom our fathers refused to be obedient, but pushed him away, and turned their hearts toward Egypt, ⁴⁰saying to Aaron, ‘Make gods for us that will go before us. Because this Moses who led us out of Egypt, we do not know what happened to him.’ ⁴¹And they molded a calf in those days, and led a sacrifice up to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
⁴²And God turned away, and gave them up to worship the heavenly bodies, just as it is written in the scroll of the prophets: ‘Have you presented Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices for forty years in the desert, O house of Israel? ⁴³Yet you carried around the booth of Moloch, and the star of your god Saturn. The images which you made, you worshiped them. I therefore will deport you beyond Babylon.’ ⁴⁴The tent of testimony was there for our fathers in the desert, just as the one speaking had directed Moses to make it according to the model which he had seen. ⁴⁵Which then our fathers had passed on to them, and they with Joshua, took it into the land possessed by the nations whom God drove away from the face of our fathers until the days of David. ⁴⁶Who found favor before God and asked to find a tent for the God of Jacob.
⁴⁷But Solomon built a house for him. ⁴⁸But the Most High does not dwell in hand-made things. As the prophet says, ⁴⁹’Heaven is my throne, and Earth is my foot-stool. What kind of house will you build for me?’ says the Lord, ‘or what place for my rest? ⁵Has not my hand created all these things?’
⁵¹O you stiff-necked people, and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. Just as your fathers were, so are you. ⁵²Which of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted? And they killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you now are become the betrayers and murderers. ⁵³Who have received the law by the direction of angels, and not kept it.”
⁵⁴Now those hearing these things had been seething inside, and were grinding their teeth at him. ⁵⁵But he, being filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed intently into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶And he said, “Look! I can see heaven open, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
⁵⁷But they howled loudly while plugging their ears, and with one accord charged upon him, ⁵⁸and when they had cast him outside the city, they proceeded to stone him. And the witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹And as they stoned Stephen, he was calling out, and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰Then he dropped to his knees, and he cried out with a loud voice: “Lord, do not hold these sins against them.” And after he said these things, he died.
¹And Saul was in agreement with his killing. Then there occurred at that time a great persecution against the congregation at Jerusalem, and they all became scattered over the territories of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. ²But some devout men recovered the body of Stephen, and made a great lamentation over him.
³Meanwhile Saul was ravaging the church, entering house to house, dragging off both men and women and handing them over to prison. ⁴But those who were scattered consequently passed through preaching the word. ⁵Thus Philip, having gone down to a city of Samaria, preached Christ to those people.
⁶And those crowds, when they heard, and saw the signs he was performing, with one mind took heed to the things that were spoken by Philip. ⁷For many had unclean spirits, which came out with loud shrieks, and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸And so there was great joy in that city.
⁹Now there was a man in that city named Simon who had been practicing sorcery and astonishing the nation of Samaria, declaring himself to be someone great. ¹⁰To whom all would pay attention, from the small to the great, saying, “This is what you call the great power of God.” ¹¹And they were paying attention to him because it was for quite a while he had been astonishing them with his sorceries. ¹²But when they believed what Philip had preached about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were getting baptized, both men and women. ¹³And Simon himself also believed, and after he was baptized, he was staying close to Philip, and when he saw the great signs and miracles that were happening, he was astonished.
¹⁴And when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had welcomed the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, ¹⁵who went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶For He had not yet fallen on even one of them. They were baptized ones, but baptized only in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then at that time, they laid their hands on them, and they did receive the Holy Spirit.
¹⁸Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given by the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, “Give me this authority also, so that whoever I lay my hands on receives the Holy Spirit.”
²⁰But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you presumed to buy the gift of God with money! ²¹There is no part or place for you in this thing, because your heart is not pure before God. ²²Repent therefore of this evil of yours, and ask of the Lord if the intent of your heart will be forgiven. ²³For I see you being with bitter poison and the bondage of unrighteousness.”
²⁴And in response Simon said, “Pray to the Lord on my behalf so that nothing you said will befall me.”
²⁵When therefore they had given solemn testimony, they also returned to Jerusalem speaking the word of the Lord, evangelizing even more Samaritan villages.
²⁶Then an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying: “Get you up, and go down southward on the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is desert.)
²⁷And he got up and went, and behold, an Ethiopian man, who was an official eunuch of the Kandake ―the queen of the Ethiopians― in charge of all her finance. He had come to worship at Jerusalem. ²⁸And he was going back home, and was sitting on his chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.
²⁹And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and meet this chariot.”
³⁰So Philip ran up to him. And he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said to him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
³¹And he said, “How would I truly be able to, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip up, to sit with him.
³²And the passage of scripture he was reading was,
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
³³In his meekness his right was taken away.
Who will describe his generation?
For his life is being removed from the earth.”
³⁴So in response the eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you please, about whom is the prophet saying this? About himself? Or about someone else?”
³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with that very scripture, he told him all the good news about Jesus. ³⁶And as they were proceeding along the road, they came upon some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, water. Is there anything forbidding me to be baptized?”
³⁸And he ordered the chariot to stop, and the two went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and Philip baptized him. ³⁹And when they had come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip up, and the eunuch saw him no more. He sure was rejoicing as he went on his way.
⁴⁰Then Philip was found in Azotus, and he preached the gospel to all the towns as he passed through, until he arrived at Caesarea.
¹Now Saul was still breathing threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord. And he approached the high priest, ²and obtained letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, to the effect that anyone he found belonging to The Way, both men and women, he could bind them and bring them to Jerusalem. ³When therefore he was on his way, it came about, that as he was getting close to Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven shone all around him, ⁴and he fell to the ground. He heard a voice. It was saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
⁵And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”
And He said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
⁶Then, trembling and awe-struck, he said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”
And the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and it will be told you what you are to do.”
⁷Now the men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but not seeing anyone. ⁸Then Saul got up off the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So leading him by the hand, they took him into Damascus. ⁹And he went three days without seeing, and neither ate nor drank.
¹⁰Now there was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Hananiah, and the Lord spoke to him in a dream, “Hananiah.”
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
¹¹And the Lord said to him, “Get up, go to the street called Straight Street, and inquire in the house of Judas for a man named Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying, ¹²and in a vision he has seen a man named Hananiah come in and lay hands on him so that he would see again.”
¹³But Hananiah answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, what bad things he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; ¹⁴and he has authority here from the high priest to bind all those who are called by your name.”
¹⁵And the Lord said to him, “Go. For this man is to me a choice vessel to bear my name before the Gentiles, and even before kings, and before the sons of Israel as well. ¹⁶Indeed I will show him what things he himself is destined to suffer for the sake of my name.”
¹⁷So Hananiah went, and came into the house. And he placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord has sent me—Jesus, who appeared to you in the road on which you came—so that you may see again, and so you may be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
¹⁸And immediately there fell off of him something like scales from his eyes, and he saw again, and he rose up and was baptized. ¹⁹And after receiving food, he gained strength. And he was with the disciples in Damascus a few days, ²⁰and then immediately began preaching Jesus in the synagogues, saying “This is the Son of God.”
²¹And those hearing were amazed, and saying, “Is this not the man who ravaged those in Jerusalem connected to this name? Was this not also the reason he had come here, to take them chained up before the high priests?”
²²And Saul was getting stronger and stronger, and confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus, proving that this man was the Messiah. ²³And after many days of this had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him. ²⁴But their plan was made known to Saul. Now they were also keeping close watch on the gates, both by day and by night, so as to kill him. ²⁵So the disciples took him away at night by way of the wall instead. They lowered him down in a basket.
²⁶And when he arrived in Jerusalem, he kept trying to join with the disciples, and everyone was afraid of him, not believing he was a disciple. ²⁷But Barnabas came beside him, and led him to the apostles, and recounted to them how the Lord had appeared to Saul on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how in Damascus Saul had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.
²⁸So he was with them at Jerusalem going in and out, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord, ²⁹both speaking to and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews. They however were taking steps to kill him. ³⁰And when the brethren found out, they took him to Caesarea, and assigned him out to Tarsus.
³¹Then the church throughout all of Judea, Galilee and Samaria had peace, and it was strengthened. And proceeding in the fear of the Lord and the assurance of the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers.
³²Now it came about that as Peter was going through all those areas, he went to be with the saints that were living in Lydda. ³³And he found there a man by the name of Aeneas, who was paralyzed, lying in bed for eight years. ³⁴And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ is healing you. Get up and make your bed.” And he got up immediately. ³⁵And everyone living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
³⁶And in Joppa there was a disciple by the name of Tabitha, which when translated means Dorkas. This woman was wholly occupied with the good works and charitable giving that she was doing. ³⁷And it came about that during those days she became ill, and died. And after they washed her, they placed her in the upper room. ³⁸And since Lydda was close to Joppa, and the disciples heard that Peter was in that town, they sent two men to him, begging him, “Please come to our town without delay.”
³⁹So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him up into the upper room. And all the widows came forward, weeping, showing him the coats and garments that Dorkas had made when she was with them. ⁴⁰But Peter put everyone outside, and he got down on his knees, and prayed. Then he turned toward the body, and said, “Tabitha, get up.” And she opened her eyes. And when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹And lending her a hand, he lifted her up, and called the saints and widows, and presented her to them alive. ⁴²And this became known throughout all of Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. ⁴³And it came about that Peter stayed on for a considerable number of days in Joppa, with a tanner, Simon.
¹Now a man in Caesarea by the name of Cornelius, the centurion of the cohort called The Italian Cohort, ²a devout and God-fearing man along with his whole household, who was doing many charitable deeds for the Jewish people, and praying to God continually, ³saw distinctly at about the ninth hour of the day in a vision, that an angel of God had come in to him, and who said to him, “Cornelius.”
⁴And Cornelius looked upon him, and became very afraid, and said, “What is it, Lord?”
And he said to him, “Your prayers and your deeds of charity have gone up as a memorial before God. ⁵And now, send men to Joppa, and invite a Simon to come to you who is nicknamed Peter. ⁶This man is staying as a guest with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
⁷So when the angel speaking to him had left, he called two of his house servants from among those who attended him, and a devout soldier, ⁸and after recounting it to each one of them, he sent them to Joppa.
⁹The next day, as those men were walking the road and getting close to the city, Peter went up onto the roof to pray, around the sixth hour. ¹⁰Then he became very hungry, and wanted to eat. And while they were preparing it, a trance came over him, ¹¹and he sees heaven being opened, and then a container coming down, something like a giant bedsheet tied at the four corners, being lowered to the earth. ¹²In it were all the four-footed animals, and all the things that creep on the ground, and all the birds of the sky.
¹³And there came a voice to him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
¹⁴But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord. Because never have I ever eaten anything common or unclean.”
¹⁵And the voice spoke again to him a second time: “What God has made clean you must not call unclean.”
¹⁶And this happened three times; then the container was immediately taken up into heaven. ¹⁷Then, as Peter was puzzling inside himself as to what might be the meaning of the vision he had seen, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius had ascertained the house of Simon and stood at the gate. ¹⁸And they called out, asking if Simon who was nicknamed Peter was staying as a guest there. ¹⁹And as Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. ²⁰Get up instead, and go downstairs, and leave with them, not questioning anything, since I have sent them.”
²¹So Peter went down and said to the men, “Here I am, the one you are looking for. What is the reason you are here?”
²²And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a righteous man and fearing God, and vouched for by the whole Jewish nation, he has been directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.”
²³He invited them inside therefore as his guests. And the next day he rose up and left with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴And the following day he came into Caesarea. And since Cornelius was expecting him, he had called together his relatives and his close friends. ²⁵And it came about that as Peter was entering, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet and worshipped him.
²⁶But Peter lifted him up saying, “Stand up. I myself am also a human being.”
²⁷And as he was talking with him he went inside, and finds many people gathered. ²⁸And he said to them, “You know full well how it is unlawful for a Jewish man to join with or visit someone of another race. Yet God has shown me to call no human being common or unclean. ²⁹This then is the reason I came without objection to the summons. I ask therefore, what is the reason you have summoned me?”
³⁰And Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was in my house praying, at the ninth hour, and behold, a man in radiant clothing stood before me. ³¹And he said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been answered, and your deeds of charity have gone up as a memorial before God. ³²Send therefore to Joppa and call for Simon who is knicknamed Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ ³³Right away then I sent men to you, and you on your part did well getting here. Now therefore, we all are present before God, to hear all the things told to you by the Lord.”
³⁴Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, “I truly understand now, that God is not a discriminator of faces, ³⁵but that a person of any nation who fears him and works at righteousness is acceptable to Him. ³⁶This is the word which He sent to the sons of Israel, that announces peace through Jesus Christ: This man is the Lord of everyone.
³⁷You know the thing that happened throughout the whole land of the Jews, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, ³⁸the man from Nazareth, Jesus, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and power, who traveled around doing good and healing all those oppressed by the Devil, because God was with him. ³⁹And we are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and Jerusalem; whom then they killed by hanging him to a tree. ⁴⁰This man God raised up on the third day, and granted him to be visible; ⁴¹not to all the people but to witnesses chosen beforehand by God; to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²And he commanded us to preach to the people and to solemnly testify that this man is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³All the prophets testify: that all who believe on him are to receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon everyone who was listening to the word. ⁴⁵And those believers who were of the Circumcision, who had come with Peter, were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon Gentiles also. ⁴⁶For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and glorifying God. Then Peter responded: ⁴⁷”Can anyone forbid water baptism to these people, who received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” ⁴⁸And so he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for several days.
¹Now those apostles and brothers who were living throughout Judea, they heard that Gentiles had also received the word of God. ²And when Peter went up to Jerusalem, they began to argue against him, those who were of the Circumcision.
³They were saying, “You have gone indoors with uncircumcised men, and you ate with them!”
⁴So Peter began explaining to them step by step, saying, ⁵”I was in the city of Joppa, praying, and in a trance, I saw a vision: a container, something like a giant bedsheet, being let down out of heaven by its four corners, and it came close to me. ⁶When I looked inside, I recognized and saw the four-footed animals of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeeping things, and the birds of the sky. ⁷And then I heard a voice saying, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
⁸But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord. Because never has anything common or unclean ever gone into my mouth.’
⁹The voice came back a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean you must not call unclean.’
¹⁰And this happened three times, then it was all pulled back into heaven. ¹¹And behold, right then three men stood at the house in which I was staying, sent from Caesarea to me. ¹²And the Spirit said to me, ‘Go with them, not questioning anything. And these six brothers went with me also, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³Then he related to us how he saw an angel who had stood in his house and had said, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon who is knick-named Peter, ¹⁴who will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’ ¹⁵And so, as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶Then I remembered the statement of the Lord. As he said, ‘John baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷If therefore God has given them the same gift as to us when we also believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to have been able to hold back God?”
¹⁸And after they heard these things they calmed down, and they glorified God, saying, “So, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance unto life.”
¹⁹Those then who had been scattered as a result of the persecution in connection to Stephen, they had gone as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, generally speaking the word to no one except Jews only. ²⁰But there were a few of them, Cypriot and Cyrenian men, who had gone into Antioch speaking to Greeks as well, preaching the good news about the Lord Jesus. ²¹And the hand of the Lord was with them, and the number of those who believed and turned to the Lord was large.
²²And the report about them was heard as far as the ears of the congregation that was in Jerusalem, and they assigned Barnabas out to Antioch. ²³Who, when he arrived and saw the blessedness that is from God, was glad, and exhorted them all to continue in the Lord with determination in their hearts. ²⁴For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord. ²⁵Then he went away to Tarsus, to look for Saul, ²⁶and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. And so it came about that, for a whole year they joined forces to work with that congregation, and to teach a considerable throng of people. It was also in Antioch the disicples were first called “Christians.”
²⁷And during those same days some prophets came down to Antioch from Jerusalem. ²⁸And one of them by the name of Agabus indicated through the Spirit that a great famine was going to take place over the whole inhabited earth. Which did take place during the reign of Claudius Caesar. ²⁹Then the disciples determined, according to the extent each of them was prospering, to send money in support to the brethren living in Judea. ³⁰And this they did, sending it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
¹Now around that time, King Herod arrested some from the church, and mistreated them. ²And James the brother of John he put to death by the sword. ³And when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews, he went on to hunt down Peter also (and it was during the days of Unleavened Bread), ⁴whom he then arrested and put in prison, delivering him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each, intending after Passover to bring him out before the people.
⁵While Peter was being kept in prison, prayer was earnestly being made by the church on his behalf to God. ⁶And when Herod was just about to bring him up, that very night before, Peter was sleeping chained between two soldiers by two chains, with guards also in front of the door watching the prison. ⁷And behold, an angel of the Lord stood over, and light shone in the room. And he tapped on the side of Peter’s body and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
⁸Then the angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And Peter did so. And the angel says to him, “Throw your cloak on and follow me.”
⁹And Peter was following him outside, not knowing, that what was happening through the angel was real. He thought he was seing a dream. ¹⁰So after passing by the first guards, then the second, they were at the iron gate that leads to the city. Which opened for them by itself. And they got outside, and when they had gone one block, the angel pulled away from him.
¹¹And Peter came to himself, and said, “Now I truly know, that the Lord has sent out his angel, and plucked me out of Herod’s hand and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” ¹²And once he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of the John whose other name was Mark, which was where a lot of those convened and praying were. ¹³And he knocked on the door of the courtyard, and a maidservant by the name of Rhoda came out to answer, ¹⁴and when she recognized Peter’s voice, from her joy she did not open the gate but ran inside and reported Peter to be standing at the gate.
¹⁵And they said to her, “You’re crazy.” But she kept insisting it was true. So then they were saying, “It’s his angel.”
¹⁶But Peter kept knocking. And when they opened the gate they saw him, and were astounded. ¹⁷And he waved his hand downward for silence, and recounted to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. Then he said, “Report these things to James and the brothers.” And he left and went to another location.
¹⁸Now when morning came, there was no small anxiety among the soldiers as to what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹And Herod conducted a search for him, and when he did not find him he interrogated the guards, then ordered them off to be executed, and went down to Caesarea, spending some time away from Judea.
²⁰Now Herod had become angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they made a joint appearance before him, and after they had first won Blastus over to their cause, the man in charge of the king’s bedroom, they sued for peace. This was because their region was dependent upon the food crops from the royal farms. ²¹And on the day appointed, Herod dressed in the royal robes and sat at the tribunal, and delivered a speech before them. ²²And the crowd began raising a cheer: “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” ²³But an angel of the Lord struck him on the spot, because he did not give the glory to God. And he was eaten by worms, and died.
²⁴Now the word of God was spreading, and winning over more and more people. ²⁵And Barnabas and Saul returned, having fulfilled their mission at Jerusalem, and they brought with them John whose other name was Mark.
¹Now among that congregation in Antioch there were prophets and teachers: both Barnabas and Simeon― the one called black Simeon; and also Lucius the Cyrenian; Manaen the foster brother of Herod the Tetrarch; and Saul. ²And while they were devoting themselves to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Now set apart Barnabas and Saul to me, for the work to which I have called them.”
³Then, after fasting and praying and laying their hands on them, they sent them off. ⁴Those two therefore, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus, ⁵and once they were in Salamis, were proclaiming the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. Now they also had John along as an assistant.
⁶And when they had traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, they encountered a man who was a magician and Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus. This latter was an intelligent man, and he summoned Barnabas and Saul, desiring to hear the word of God. ⁸But Elymas the magician (for that is how his name is translated) kept working against them, always trying to steer the proconsul away from the faith.
⁹Then Saul, the one also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze straight at him, ¹⁰and said, “O you, full of all spincraft and every kind of fraud, you son of the devil, you opponent of all that is righteous, are you never going to stop distorting the right ways of the Lord? ¹¹And now behold, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a time."
And immediately there fell upon him a mist, and darkness, and he was going around looking for a guiding hand. ¹²At that time the proconsul believed, when he saw what had happened, completely amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
¹³Then, setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga of Pamphylia; except for John, who parted from them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴And they passed on through from Perga and arrived in Antioch of Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Men, brothers, if there is among you any word of exhortation to the people, you may speak."
¹⁶So Paul stood up, and waving his hand downward for silence, he said, Men, Israelites, and those who fear God, please listen. ¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and he exalted the people during their sojourning in Egypt, and with a mighty arm led them out of it, ¹⁸and, for about forty years time he bore them in the desert, ¹⁹then after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land out to them as an inheritance, ²⁰all this over a period of about 450 years. And after those things, he gave them the judges, until Samuel the prophet.
²¹And from then on they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish for 40 years, a man of the tribe of Benjamin. ²²And after removing him, he raised up David for them as king, about whom he also testified and said, 'I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will perform all my wishes.' ²³From the seed of that man, according to the promise, God brought to Israel a savior, Jesus, ²⁴with John having announced ahead of His appearance a baptism of repentance to all the people Israel.
²⁵And as John was completing his run, he was saying, 'What are you surmising me to be? I am not the one. But behold, there is coming after me someone whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.'
²⁶Men and brothers, sons of the race of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the message of this salvation has been assigned over to us, ²⁷since those living in Jerusalem and their rulers, being ignorant of this and of the voices of the prophets which are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him. ²⁸And even though they found no case for the death penalty, they asked Pilate to execute Him. ²⁹And when they had fulfilled all those things written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.
³⁰But God raised him up from the dead. ³¹Over a period of many days he appeared to those who had come up to Jersualem with him from Galilee, those who are now witnesses of him to the people. ³²And we are announcing to you this good news: that the promise made to the fathers, ³³God has fulfilled that promise to us their children by raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm about him: 'You are my son. Today I have begotten you.'
³⁴And that he raised him from the dead, to revert no more to decay, this is spoken: 'I will grant to you the sure blessings of David.'
³⁵Pertaining to which also it says in another place, 'You will grant that your blessed one not see decay.'
³⁶Now certainly: David fell asleep, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, and he was laid to rest with his fathers and he saw decay. ³⁷But the one whom God has raised, he did not see decay. ³⁸Be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being announced to you, ³⁹and of everything from which it was not possible to be justified through the Law of Moses, he who believes is being justified.
⁴⁰Take heed therefore, that this spoken in the prophets may not apply:
⁴¹'Watch, O scornful ones, and marvel, and perish.
Because I am accomplishing a feat in your days,
a feat which you would not believe
if someone were explaining it to you.' "
⁴²And when they went outside, they were being invited to the next Sabbath, to speak these same words to them. ⁴³Then after the synagogue meeting had broken up many of the Jews and devout proselytes accompanied Paul and Barnabas, who, as they continued to speak to them, were prevailing upon them to continue with this grace of God. ⁴⁴Consequently on the following Sabbath, almost the entire city gathered to hear the word about the Lord.
⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they were rebutting the arguments of Paul by denigrating him. ⁴⁶So Paul and Barnabas bluntly said, "It was mandatory that the word of God be spoken to you first. But since you are pushing it away and convicting yourselves not worthy of eternal life, behold: we turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷For the Lord has commanded us this: 'I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, salvation reaching the farthest part of the earth.'" ⁴⁸And the Gentiles listening were cheering, and praising the message about the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
⁴⁹So the message about the Lord was being carried throughout that whole region. ⁵⁰But the Jews stirred up the influential of the pious proselyte women along with the chief men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas. And they expelled them out of their borders. ⁵¹So they, after shaking the dust off their feet against them, were on their way to Iconium, ⁵²while the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
¹And the same thing happened in Iconium. They went into the synagogue of the Jews and spoke in this same manner, with the result that a large number of both Jews and Greeks believed. ²As for those who did not believe, the Jews stirred up and embittered the souls of the Gentiles against the brothers.
³They then stayed though quite a while, speaking boldly on the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to happen through their hands. ⁴But the multitude of the city became divided, and some were with the Jews and some were with the apostles. ⁵And when a campaign arose on the part of both the Gentiles and Jews with their leaders to assault and stone them, ⁶they heard about it, and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding country, ⁷and started evangelizing there.
⁸And a man was sitting in Lystra who was disabled in his feet, lame from his mother's womb, who never at any time had walked. ⁹He was listening to the preaching of Paul, who studied him, and knew that he had the faith to be healed. ¹⁰He said in a loud voice, "Stand up straight, on your feet!" And he jumped up, and was walking.
¹¹And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices in Lycaonian, saying, "The gods have come down to us, made like humans." ¹²And they were calling Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes, since Hermes was the ruler of speech. ¹³And the priest of Zeus, who dwelt before the the city, brought bulls and garlands to the gates, intending to join with the crowds to offer sacrifice.
¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they ripped their clothing and rushed in among the crowd, crying out ¹⁵and saying, "Men, why are you doing this? We also are humans with the same frailties as you, preaching that you should turn from these worthless things to the God that is alive, the one who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and everything that is in them; ¹⁶who in the ages gone by has allowed all nations to go in their own paths; ¹⁷though he did not leave himself without evidence, acting good toward you, providing rain from the heaven and seasons bearing fruit, satisfying your hearts with food and good cheer."
¹⁸And saying these things just barely dissuaded the crowds from sacrificing to them. ¹⁹But some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and after winning over the crowds and stoning Paul, they dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.
²⁰But the disciples circled around him, and carried him into the city. And the following day, he left for Derbe with Barnabas. ²¹And after evangelizing that city and making many disciples, they reversed their tracks through Lystra and through Iconium and through Antioch, ²²confirming the hearts of the disciples, exhorting them to persevere in the faith, seeing as how we must go through much tribulation into the kingdom of God. ²³And after appointing elders for them in each congregation, and praying for them with fasting, they handed them over to the Lord in whom they had placed their trust.
²⁴And when they had passed all the way through Pisidia they came into Pamphylia, ²⁵and after speaking the word in Perga they went down to Attalia, ²⁶and from there set sail for Antioch, for that is where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had completed. ²⁷So they presented themselves. When they had brought the congregation together, they were reporting what things God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸And it was no small amount of time they were spending with those disciples.
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