1
In the first book, O aTheophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began bto do and teach, 2 until the day when che was taken up, after he dhad given commands ethrough the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 fHe presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 And while staying1 with them ghe ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for hJohn baptized with water, hbut you will be baptized iwith2 the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, jwill you at this time krestore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, l“It is not for you to know mtimes or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive npower owhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and pyou will be qmy witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and rSamaria, and sto the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, the was lifted up, and ua cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, vtwo wmen stood by them in xwhite robes, 11 and said, y“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, zwill acome in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
12 Then bthey returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to cthe upper room, where they were staying, dPeter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon ethe Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these fwith one accord gwere devoting themselves to prayer, together with hthe women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and ihis brothers.3
15 In those days Peter stood up among jthe brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, kthe Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, lwho became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For mhe was numbered among us and was allotted his share in nthis ministry.” 18 (Now this man oacquired a field with pthe reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong4 he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called qin their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,
r“‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’;
and
s“‘Let another take his office.’
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during tall the time that the Lord Jesus uwent in and out among us, 22 vbeginning from the baptism of John until the day when whe was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us xa witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called yBarsabbas, who was also called zJustus, and aMatthias. 24 And bthey prayed and said, “You, Lord, cwho know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in dthis ministry and eapostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
2
When fthe day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like ga mighty rushing wind, and hit filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues ias of fire appeared to them and rested1 on each one of them. 4 And they were all jfilled with the Holy Spirit and began kto speak in other tongues las the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And mat this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And nthey were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking oGalileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and pMedes and qElamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and rproselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And sall were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others tmocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, usince it is only the third hour of the day.2 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 v“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
wthat I will pour out my Spirit xon all flesh,
and your sons and yyour daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and zthey shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 athe sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before bthe day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that ceveryone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, da man attested to you by God ewith fmighty works and wonders and signs that gGod did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus,3 hdelivered up according to ithe definite plan and jforeknowledge of God, kyou crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 lGod raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because mit was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,
n“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell oin hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to pHades,
qor let your rHoly One ssee corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about tthe patriarch David uthat he both died and vwas buried, and whis tomb is with us to this day. 30 xBeing therefore a prophet, and knowing that yGod had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that zhe was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus aGod raised up, band of that we all are witnesses. 33 cBeing therefore dexalted at the right hand of God, and having received from ethe Father fthe promise of the Holy Spirit, ghe has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For hDavid did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
i“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that jGod has made him kboth Lord and Christ, this Jesus lwhom you crucified.”
37 Now when mthey heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, nwhat shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, o“Repent and pbe baptized every one of you qin the name of Jesus Christ rfor the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive sthe gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For tthe promise is for you and ufor your children and for all vwho are far off, everyone wwhom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, x“Save yourselves from this ycrooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and zthere were added that day about three thousand souls.
42 And athey devoted themselves to the apostles’ bteaching and the cfellowship, to dthe breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe4 came upon every soul, and emany wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and fhad all things in common. 45 And fthey were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, gattending the temple htogether and ibreaking bread in their homes, they received their food jwith glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and khaving favor with all the people. And the Lord ladded to their number mday by day those who nwere being saved.
3
Now Peter and John were ogoing up to the temple at pthe hour of prayer, qthe ninth hour.1 2 And a man rlame from birth was being carried, swhom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate tto ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, u“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. vIn the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And wleaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And xall the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 yWhile he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in zthe portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 aThe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, bthe God of our fathers, cglorified his servant2 Jesus, whom dyou delivered over and edenied in the presence of Pilate, fwhen he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied gthe Holy and hRighteous One, and iasked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed jthe Author of life, kwhom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And lhis name—by mfaith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is nthrough Jesus3 has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
17 “And now, brothers, I know that oyou acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God pforetold qby the mouth of all the prophets, that rhis Christ would ssuffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 tRepent therefore, and uturn back, that vyour sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ wappointed for you, Jesus, 21 xwhom heaven must receive until the time for yrestoring all the things about which zGod spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you aa prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen bto him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet cshall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And dall the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 eYou are the sons of the prophets and of fthe covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, g‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 hGod, ihaving raised up his servant, sent him to you first, jto bless you kby turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
5
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge vhe kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and wlaid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has xSatan filled your heart to lie yto the Holy Spirit and zto keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but ato God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he bfell down and breathed his last. And cgreat fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and dwrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you1 sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together eto test fthe Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And ggreat fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people hby the hands of the apostles. And they were all itogether in jSolomon’s Portico. 13 None of the rest dared join them, but kthe people held them in high esteem. 14 And lmore than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 mso that they even ncarried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by oat least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, pbringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of qthe Sadducees), and filled with rjealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and sput them in the public prison. 19 But during the night tan angel of the Lord uopened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all vthe words of wthis xLife.” 21 And when they heard this, ythey entered the temple zat daybreak and began to teach.
Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 24 Now when athe captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison bare standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 26 Then cthe captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for dthey were afraid of being stoned by the people.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, e“We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you fintend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, g“We must obey God rather than men. 30 hThe God of our fathers iraised Jesus, jwhom you killed by hanging him on ka tree. 31 God exalted lhim at his right hand as mLeader and nSavior, oto give prepentance to Israel and oforgiveness of sins. 32 And qwe are witnesses to these things, and rso is the Holy Spirit, swhom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, they twere enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named uGamaliel, va teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For wbefore these days Theudas rose up, xclaiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of ythe census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for zif this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but aif it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You bmight even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and cwhen they had called in the apostles, dthey beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, erejoicing that they were counted worthy fto suffer dishonor for gthe name. 42 And every day, hin the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and ipreaching jthat the Christ is Jesus.
6
Now in these days kwhen the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists1 arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in lthe daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 mTherefore, brothers,2 pick out from among you seven men nof good repute, ofull of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But pwe will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, qa man full of faith and rof the Holy Spirit, and sPhilip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, ta proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and uthey prayed and vlaid their hands on them.
7 And wthe word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests xbecame obedient to ythe faith.
8 And Stephen, full of grace and zpower, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But athey could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then bthey secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they cset up false dwitnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against ethis holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth fwill destroy this place and will gchange hthe customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face iwas like the face of an angel.
7
And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said:
j“Brothers and fathers, hear me. kThe God lof glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, mbefore he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, n‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 mThen he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And oafter his father died, pGod removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised qto give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, rthough he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that shis offspring would tbe sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them ufour hundred years. 7 ‘But vI will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out wand worship me in this place.’ 8 And xhe gave him the covenant of circumcision. And yso Abraham became the father of Isaac, and zcircumcised him on the eighth day, and aIsaac became the father of Jacob, and bJacob of the twelve patriarchs.
9 “And the patriarchs, cjealous of Joseph, dsold him into Egypt; but eGod was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and fgave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, gwho made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now hthere came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 iBut when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And jon the second visit kJoseph made himself known to his brothers, and lJoseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And mJoseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, nseventy-five persons in all. 15 And oJacob went down into Egypt, and phe died, he qand our fathers, 16 and rthey were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that sAbraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
17 “But tas the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, uthe people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king vwho did not know Joseph. 19 wHe dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, xso that they would not be kept alive. 20 yAt this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and zwhen he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses awas instructed in ball the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was cmighty in his words and deeds.
23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart dto visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 eAnd on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, f‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort gMoses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, hwhere he became the father of two sons.
30 “Now when forty years had passed, ian angel appeared to him jin the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 k‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, l‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 mI have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and nhave heard their groaning, and oI have come down to deliver them. pAnd now come, I will send you to Egypt.’
35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, qsaying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer rby the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 sThis man led them out, performing twonders and signs uin Egypt and vat the Red Sea and win the wilderness for xforty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you ya prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one zwho was in the congregation in the wilderness with athe angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. bHe received cliving doracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and ein their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, f‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And gthey made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and hwere rejoicing in ithe works of their hands. 42 But jGod turned away and kgave them over to worship lthe host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
m“‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
nduring the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 You took up the tent of oMoloch
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’
44 “Our fathers had pthe tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses qdirected him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn rbrought it in with Joshua when they sdispossessed the nations tthat God drove out before our fathers. So it was uuntil the days of David, 46 vwho found favor in the sight of God and wasked to find a dwelling place for xthe God of Jacob.1 47 But it was ySolomon who built a house for him. 48 zYet the Most High does not dwell ain houses made by hands, as the prophet says,
49 b“‘Heaven is my throne,
cand the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’
51 d“You stiff-necked people, euncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. fAs your fathers did, so do you. 52 gWhich of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of hthe Righteous One, iwhom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law jas delivered by angels and kdid not keep it.”
54 Now when they heard these things lthey were enraged, and they mground their teeth at him. 55 But he, nfull of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw othe glory of God, and Jesus standing pat the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see qthe heavens opened, and rthe Son of Man standing pat the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together2 at him. 58 Then sthey cast him out of the city and tstoned him. And uthe witnesses laid down their garments vat the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, whe called out, “Lord Jesus, xreceive my spirit.” 60 And yfalling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, z“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ahe fell asleep.
8
And bSaul capproved of his execution.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and dthey were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But eSaul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he fdragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
4 Now gthose who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 hPhilip went down to the city1 of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 iAnd the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him jand saw the signs that he did. 7 For kunclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So lthere was much joy in that city.
9 But there was a man named Simon, mwho had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, nsaying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, o“This man is the power of God that is called pGreat.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had qamazed them with his magic. 12 But when rthey believed Philip as he preached good news sabout the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, rthey were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And tseeing signs and ugreat miracles2 performed, vhe was amazed.
14 Now when wthe apostles at Jerusalem heard that xSamaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them ythat they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for zhe had not yet afallen on any of them, but bthey had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then cthey laid their hands on them and dthey received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, e“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God fwith money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for gyour heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, hif possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in ithe gall3 of bitterness and in jthe bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, k“Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, lpreaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
26 Now man angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south4 to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an nEthiopian, a oeunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, pwho was in charge of all her treasure. qHe had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, r“How can I, unless someone sguides me?” And the invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
u“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his vhumiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and wbeginning with this Scripture xhe told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! yWhat prevents me from being baptized?”5 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, zthe Spirit of the Lord acarried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
9
But Saul, bstill cbreathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to dthe high priest 2 and asked him for letters eto the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to fthe Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 gNow as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting hme?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, hwhom you are persecuting. 6 But irise and enter the city, and you will be told jwhat you are to do.” 7 kThe men who were traveling with him stood speechless, lhearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, mhe saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named nAnanias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, o“Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man pof Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and qlay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, rhow much evil he has done to syour tsaints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from uthe chief priests to bind all who vcall on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for whe is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name xbefore the Gentiles and ykings and the children of Israel. 16 For zI will show him how much ahe must suffer bfor the sake of my name.” 17 So cAnanias departed and entered the house. And dlaying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and ebe filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and fhe regained his sight. Then ghe rose and was baptized; 19 and htaking food, he was strengthened.
For isome days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, j“He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who kmade havoc lin Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul mincreased all the more in strength, and nconfounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving othat Jesus was the Christ.
23 pWhen many days had passed, the Jews1 plotted to kill him, 24 but their qplot became known to Saul. rThey were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and slet him down through an opening in the wall,2 lowering him in a basket.
26 And twhen he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But uBarnabas took him and vbrought him to the apostles and declared to them whow on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and xhow at Damascus he had ypreached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went zin and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against athe Hellenists.3 But bthey were seeking to kill him. 30 And when cthe brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off dto Tarsus.
31 So ethe church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And fwalking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, git multiplied.
32 Now has Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, iJesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 jAnd all the residents of Lydda and kSharon saw him, and lthey turned to the Lord.
36 Now there was in mJoppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas.4 She was full of ngood works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in oan upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, p“Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to qthe upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics5 and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter rput them all outside, and sknelt down and prayed; and turning to the body the said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and umany believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days vwith one Simon, a tanner.
10
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of wwhat was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man xwho feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 yAbout the ninth hour of the day1 zhe saw clearly in a vision aan angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms bhave ascended cas a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging dwith one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, 8 and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, ePeter went up fon the housetop about gthe sixth hour2 to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into ha trance 11 and saw ithe heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; jfor I have never eaten anything that is kcommon or lunclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, m“What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what nthe vision that he had seen might mean, behold, othe men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering nthe vision, pthe Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and qaccompany them without hesitation,3 for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and rGod-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by sa holy angel to send for you to come to his house and tto hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in to be his guests.
The next day he rose and went away with them, and usome of vthe brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and wfell down at his feet and xworshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, y“Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew zto associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but aGod has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”
30 And Cornelius said, b“Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at cthe ninth hour,4 and behold, da man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, eyour prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that fGod gshows no partiality, 35 but fin every nation anyone who fears him and hdoes what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for ithe word that he sent to Israel, jpreaching good news of kpeace through Jesus Christ (lhe is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, mbeginning nfrom Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how oGod anointed Jesus of Nazareth pwith the Holy Spirit and with qpower. He went about doing good and healing all rwho were oppressed by the devil, sfor God was with him. 39 And twe are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. uThey put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but vGod raised him on wthe third day and made him to xappear, 41 ynot to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as zwitnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And ahe commanded us to preach to the people and to testify bthat he is the one appointed by God to be judge cof the living and the dead. 43 dTo him eall the prophets bear witness that feveryone who believes in him receives gforgiveness of sins hthrough his name.”
44 While Peter was still saying these things, ithe Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among jthe circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because kthe gift of the Holy Spirit lwas poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them mspeaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 n“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit ojust as we have?” 48 And he pcommanded them qto be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
11
Now the apostles and rthe brothers1 who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, sthe circumcision party2 criticized him, saying, 3 t“You went to uncircumcised men and uate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 v“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, wmaking no distinction. xThese six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 yhe will declare to you a message by which zyou will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 As I began to speak, athe Holy Spirit fell on them bjust as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, c‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then dGod gave ethe same gift to them as he gave to us fwhen we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, gwho was I hthat I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they iglorified God, saying, j“Then to the Gentiles also God has kgranted lrepentance that leads to life.”
19 mNow those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists3 also, npreaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And othe hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed pturned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw qthe grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord rwith steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, sfull of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people twere added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to uTarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called vChristians.
27 Now in these days wprophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named xAgabus stood up and foretold yby the Spirit that there would be a great zfamine over all the world (this took place in the days of aClaudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, bto send relief to cthe brothers4 living in Judea. 30 dAnd they did so, sending it to ethe elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
12
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed fJames the brother of John gwith the sword, 3 and when he saw hthat it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during ithe days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him jin prison, delivering him over to four ksquads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest lprayer for him was made to God by the church.
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, mbound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, nan angel of the Lord ostood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. pHe struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And qthe chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and rput on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but sthought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. tIt opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter ucame to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that vthe Lord has sent his angel and wrescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of xJohn whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and ywere praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, za servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, ain her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is bhis angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But cmotioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to dJames and to ethe brothers.”1 Then he departed and went to another place.
18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and fordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.
20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and ghaving persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain,2 they asked for peace, because htheir country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately ian angel of the Lord struck him down, because jhe did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
24 But kthe word of God increased and multiplied.
25 lAnd Barnabas and Saul returned from3 Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them mJohn, whose other name was Mark.
13
Now there were in the church at Antioch nprophets and nteachers, oBarnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,1 Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of pHerod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, qthe Holy Spirit said, r“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul sfor the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and tpraying they laid their hands on them and usent them off.
4 So, being sent out vby the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God win the synagogues of the Jews. And they had xJohn to yassist them. 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain zmagician, aa Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with bthe proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the zmagician (for that is the meaning of his name) copposed them, seeking to turn dthe proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, efilled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You fson of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and gvillainy, will you not stop hmaking crooked ithe straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, jthe hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking kpeople to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at lthe teaching of the Lord.
13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And mJohn left them and returned nto Jerusalem, 14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And oon the Sabbath day pthey went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After qthe reading from rthe Law and the Prophets, sthe rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any tword of encouragement for the people, say it.” 16 So Paul stood up, and umotioning with his hand said:
“Men of Israel and vyou who fear God, listen. 17 wThe God of this people Israel xchose our fathers and ymade the people great zduring their stay in the land of Egypt, and awith uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 And for about bforty years che put up with2 them in the wilderness. 19 And dafter destroying eseven nations in the land of Canaan, fhe gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. And after that ghe gave them judges until hSamuel the prophet. 21 Then ithey asked for a king, and God gave them Saul jthe son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And kwhen he had removed him, lhe raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, m‘I have found in David the son of Jesse na man after my heart, owho will do all my will.’ 23 pOf this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel qa Savior, Jesus, ras he promised. 24 Before his coming, sJohn had proclaimed ta baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, uhe said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’
26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you vwho fear God, to us has been sent wthe message of xthis salvation. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because ythey did not recognize him nor understand zthe utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, afulfilled them by condemning him. 28 And bthough they found in him no guilt worthy of death, cthey asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 And when dthey had carried out all that was written of him, ethey took him down from fthe tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But gGod raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days hhe appeared to those iwho had come up with him jfrom Galilee to Jerusalem, kwho are now lhis witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news mthat what God promised to the fathers, 33 nthis he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,
o“‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you.’
34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, pqno more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
“‘I will give you rthe holy and sure blessings of David.’
35 Therefore he says also in another psalm,
s“‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’
36 For David, after he had tserved the purpose of God in his own generation, ufell asleep and vwas laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but he whom wGod raised up did not see corruption. 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, xthat through this man yforgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him zeveryone who believes is freed3 from everything afrom which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. 40 Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:
41 b“‘Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”
42 As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. 43 And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and cdevout dconverts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them eto continue in fthe grace of God.
44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 gBut hwhen the Jews4 saw the crowds, they were filled with ijealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, jreviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God kbe spoken first to you. lSince you thrust it aside and judge yourselves munworthy of eternal life, behold, we nare turning to the Gentiles. 47 oFor so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
p“‘I have made you qa light for the Gentiles,
that you may rbring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and sglorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 tBut the Jews incited the devout uwomen of high standing and the leading men of the city, vstirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and wdrove them out of their district. 51 But they xshook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled ywith joy and zwith the Holy Spirit.
14
Now at Iconium athey entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 bBut the cunbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against dthe brothers.1 3 So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for ethe Lord, who bore witness to fthe word of his grace, ggranting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city hwere divided; isome sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, jto mistreat them and kto stone them, 6 they learned of it and lfled to mLystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.
8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was ncrippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and oseeing that he had faith to be made well,2 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he psprang up and began walking. 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, q“The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 Barnabas they called rZeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of rZeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and swanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ttore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 “Men, uwhy are you doing these things? We also are men, vof like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that wyou should turn from these xvain things to ya living God, zwho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he aallowed all the nations bto walk in their own ways. 17 Yet che did not leave himself without witness, for he ddid good by egiving you rains from heaven and ffruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with gfood and hgladness.” 18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.
19 iBut Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, jthey stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had kmade many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 lstrengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them mto continue in nthe faith, and saying that othrough many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had pappointed qelders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting rthey committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, swhere they had been tcommended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, uthey declared all that God had done with them, and vhow he had wopened xa door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they remained no little time with the disciples.
15
yBut some men came down from Judea and were teaching zthe brothers, “Unless you are acircumcised baccording to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and cdebate with them, Paul and Barnabas and dsome of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to ethe apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, fbeing sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, gdescribing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and hbrought great joy to all ithe brothers.1 4 jWhen they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and kthe apostles and the elders, and gthey declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to lthe party of the Pharisees rose up and said, m“It is necessary nto circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 oThe kapostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much pdebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, qthat by my mouth the Gentiles should hear rthe word of sthe gospel and believe. 8 And God, twho knows the heart, ubore witness to them, vby giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and whe made no distinction between us and them, xhaving cleansed their hearts yby faith. 10 Now, therefore, why zare you putting God to the test aby placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples bthat neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we cbelieve that we will be dsaved through ethe grace of the Lord Jesus, wjust as they will.”
12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul fas they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, gJames replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 hSimeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ia people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 j“‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
17 that the remnant2 of mankind kmay seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles lwho are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things 18 mknown from of old.’
19 Therefore nmy judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who oturn to God, 20 but should write to them pto abstain from qthe things polluted by idols, and from rsexual immorality, and from swhat has been strangled, and from sblood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, tfor he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
22 Then it seemed good to uthe apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called vBarsabbas, and wSilas, leading men among xthe brothers, 23 with the following letter: x“The brothers, both uthe apostles and the elders, to the brothers3 who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, ygreetings. 24 Since we have heard that zsome persons have gone out from us and atroubled you4 with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come bto one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our cbeloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 dmen who have erisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent fJudas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good gto the Holy Spirit and hto us ito lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 jthat you abstain from kwhat has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves lprophets, encouraged and mstrengthened nthe brothers with many words. 33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off oin peace by nthe brothers to those who had sent them.5 35 But pPaul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit nthe brothers qin every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them rJohn called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one swho had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose ta sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. uBarnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, vhaving been commended by wthe brothers to xthe grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, ystrengthening the churches.
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Paul1 came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named zTimothy, athe son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by bthe brothers2 at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he ctook him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance dthe decisions ethat had been reached by fthe apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 gSo the churches were strengthened in hthe faith, and they increased in numbers idaily.
6 And jthey went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but kthe Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down lto Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul3 had seen the vision, immediately mwe sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
11 So, setting sail from Troas, we nmade a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to oPhilippi, which is a leading city of the4 district of Macedonia and pa Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And qon the Sabbath day we went outside the gate rto the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we ssat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, twho was a worshiper of God. The Lord uopened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, vand her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she wprevailed upon us.
16 As we were going to xthe place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had ya spirit of zdivination and abrought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, bcrying out, “These men are cservants of dthe Most High God, who proclaim to you ethe way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, f“I command you gin the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And hit came out that very hour.
19 But iwhen her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and jdragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They kadvocate customs that are not lawful for us las Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders mto beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner nprison and fastened their feet in othe stocks.
25 pAbout midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly qthere was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately rall the doors were opened, and severyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and twas about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer5 called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he ufell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, vwhat must I do to be wsaved?” 31 And they said, x“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you yand your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them zthe same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he awas baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he brejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, cuncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and cthey were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and dasked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited eLydia. And when they had seen fthe brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
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Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to gThessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, has was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them ifrom the Scriptures, 3 jexplaining and proving that it was necessary for kthe Christ to suffer and lto rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And msome of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did na great many of the devout oGreeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 pBut the Jews1 qwere jealous, and taking rsome wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, sthey dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against tthe decrees of Caesar, saying that there is uanother king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
10 vThe brothers2 immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they wwent into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, xexamining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 yMany of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek zwomen of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, aagitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers bimmediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and cTimothy remained there. 15 dThose who conducted Paul brought him as far as eAthens, and after receiving a command ffor Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was gprovoked within him as he saw that the city was hfull of idols. 17 So ihe reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, j“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because khe was preaching lJesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to mthe Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this nnew teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some ostrange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: p‘To the unknown god.’ pWhat therefore you worship qas unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 rThe God who made the world and everything in it, being sLord of heaven and earth, tdoes not live in temples made by man,3 25 nor is he served by human hands, uas though he needed anything, since he himself vgives to all mankind wlife and breath and everything. 26 And xhe made from one man every nation of mankind to live yon all the face of the earth, zhaving determined allotted periods and athe boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 bthat they should seek God, cand perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. dYet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
e“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;4
as even some of fyour own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’5
29 gBeing then God’s offspring, hwe ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 iThe times of ignorance jGod overlooked, but know he lcommands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed ma day on which nhe will judge the world oin righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and pof this he has given assurance to all qby raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of rthe resurrection of the dead, ssome mocked. But others said, t“We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius uthe Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
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After this Paul1 left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named vAquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife vPriscilla, because wClaudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and xbecause he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And yhe reasoned in the synagogue yevery Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.
5 zWhen Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul awas occupied with the word, btestifying to the Jews that the Christ was cJesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, dhe shook out his garments and said to them, e“Your blood be on your own heads! fI am innocent. gFrom now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius hJustus, ia worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 jCrispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together kwith his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul lone night in ma vision, n“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 nfor I am with you, and ono one will attack you to harm you, for pI have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
12 But when Gallio was qproconsul of Achaia, rthe Jews2 made a united attack on Paul and sbrought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to tthe law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious ucrime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But vsince it is a matter of questions about words and names and wyour own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.
18 After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of xthe brothers3 and set sail for Syria, and with him yPriscilla and Aquila. At zCenchreae ahe had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. 19 And they came to bEphesus, and he left them there, but che himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. 21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you dif God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.
22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he ewent up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there, he departed and fwent from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, gstrengthening all the disciples.
24 Now a Jew named hApollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, icompetent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in jthe way of the Lord. And kbeing fervent in spirit,4 he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only lthe baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when mPriscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him nthe way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wished to cross to oAchaia, pthe brothers encouraged him and qwrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, rhe greatly helped those who through grace had believed, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures sthat the Christ was Jesus.
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And it happened that while tApollos was at Corinth, Paul passed uthrough the inland1 country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, v“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, wwe have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, x“Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into yJohn’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, y“John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people zto believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, athey were baptized in2 the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And bwhen Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and cthey began speaking in tongues and dprophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
8 And ehe entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them fabout the kingdom of God. 9 gBut when some became stubborn and hcontinued in unbelief, speaking evil of ithe Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.3 10 This continued for jtwo years, so that kall the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
11 And lGod was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 lso that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and mthe evil spirits came out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish nexorcists oundertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, p“I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, q“Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all4 of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and rthe name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, sconfessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord tcontinued to increase and prevail mightily.
21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit uto pass through vMacedonia and Achaia and wgo to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, xI must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of yhis helpers, zTimothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia afor a while.
23 About that time bthere arose no little disturbance concerning cthe Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, dbrought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 dThese he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, esaying that fgods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the ggreat goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, g“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and hAristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s icompanions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs,5 who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 jNow some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, kmotioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, l“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from mthe sky?6 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought nthese men here who are neither osacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are pproconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further,7 it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
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After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and qdeparted for Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3 There he spent three months, and when ra plot was made against him by the Jews1 as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, sAristarchus and Secundus; and sGaius of Derbe, and tTimothy; and the Asians, uTychicus and vTrophimus. 5 These went on ahead and were waiting for wus at xTroas, 6 but we sailed away from Philippi after ythe days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
7 zOn the first day of the week, when we were gathered together ato break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in bthe upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he cfell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and dbent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, e“Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and fhad broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.
13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and2 the day after that we went to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening gto be at Jerusalem, if possible, hon the day of Pentecost.
17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called ithe elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them:
j“You yourselves know khow I lived among you the whole time jfrom the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 lserving the Lord mwith all humility and with ntears and with trials that happened to me through othe plots of the Jews; 20 how I pdid not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and qteaching you in public and from house to house, 21 rtestifying both to Jews and to Greeks of srepentance toward God and of tfaith in our Lord Jesus Christ.3 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained uby4 the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that vthe Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that wimprisonment and xafflictions await me. 24 But yI do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only zI may finish my course and athe ministry bthat I received from the Lord Jesus, cto testify to dthe gospel of ethe grace of God. 25 And now, behold, fI know that none of you among whom I have gone about gproclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore hI testify to you this day that iI am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for jI did not shrink from declaring to you kthe whole counsel of God. 28 lPay careful attention to yourselves and to all mthe flock, in which nthe Holy Spirit has made you ooverseers, pto care for qthe church of God,5 which he robtained swith his own blood.6 29 I rknow that after my departure tfierce wolves will come in among you, unot sparing the flock; 30 and vfrom among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore wbe alert, remembering that xfor three years I did not cease night or day yto admonish every one zwith tears. 32 And now aI commend you to God and to bthe word of his grace, which is able to cbuild you up and to give you dthe inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 eI coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 fYou yourselves know that gthese hands ministered to my necessities and hto those who were with me. 35 In all things iI have shown you that jby working hard in this way we must khelp the weak and lremember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed mto give than to receive.’”
36 And when he had said these things, nhe knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And othere was much weeping on the part of all; pthey embraced Paul and pkissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of qthe word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And rthey accompanied him to the ship.
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And when swe had parted from them and set sail, we tcame by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.1 2 And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 3 When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. 4 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And uthrough the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, vaccompanied us until we were outside the city. And wkneeling down on the beach, we prayed 6 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted xthe brothers2 and stayed with them for one day. 8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of yPhilip zthe evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters, awho prophesied. 10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named bAgabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he ctook Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, d“Thus says the Holy Spirit, e‘This is how the Jews3 at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and fdeliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, we and the people there gurged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, g“What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For hI am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem ifor the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, jwe ceased and said, k“Let the will of the Lord be done.”
15 After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.
17 When we had come to Jerusalem, lthe brothers received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to mJames, and all nthe elders were present. 19 After greeting them, ohe related one by one pthe things that God had done among the Gentiles through his qministry. 20 And when they heard it, they rglorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all szealous for the law, 21 and they have been told about you that you teach all tthe Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, utelling them vnot to circumcise their children or wwalk according to xour customs. 22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men ywho are under a vow; 24 take these men and zpurify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, yso that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. 25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, awe have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,4 and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day zhe purified himself along with them and bwent into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and cthe offering presented for each one of them.
27 When cthe seven days were almost completed, dthe Jews from Asia, eseeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who fis teaching everyone everywhere against the people and gthe law and gthis place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and hhas defiled gthis holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen iTrophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and jdragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 jAnd as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of kthe cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 lHe at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him mto be bound nwith two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. 34 oSome in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into pthe barracks. 35 And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mob of the people followed, crying out, q“Away with him!”
37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not rthe Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out sinto the wilderness?” 39 Paul replied, t“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, umotioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in vthe Hebrew language,5 saying:
22
w“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in xthe Hebrew language,1 they became even more quiet. And he said:
3 y“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated zat the feet of aGamaliel2 baccording to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, cbeing zealous for God das all of you are this day. 4 eI persecuted fthis Way gto the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as hthe high priest and ithe whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to jthe brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 k“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am lJesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 mNow those who were with me saw the light but did not understand3 the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, n‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
12 “And oone Ananias, a devout man paccording to the law, qwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 rcame to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And sat that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, t‘The God of our fathers uappointed you to know his will, vto see wthe Righteous One and xto hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for yyou will be a witness for him to everyone of what zyou have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? aRise and be baptized and bwash away your sins, ccalling on his name.’
17 d“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ewas praying in the temple, I fell into fa trance 18 and saw him saying to me, g‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another hI imprisoned and ibeat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen jyour witness was being shed, kI myself was standing by and lapproving and kwatching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you mfar away to the Gentiles.’”
22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, n“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For ohe should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into pthe barracks, saying that he should be qexamined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips,4 Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog ra man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about sto examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also twas afraid, ufor he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that vhe had bound him.
30 But on the next day, wdesiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.
23
And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, xI have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest yAnanias commanded those who stood by him zto strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you awhitewashed bwall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ccontrary to the law you corder me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile dGod’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, e“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, f‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were gSadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, hI am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is iwith respect to the jhope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees ksay that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of lthe scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, m“We find nothing wrong in this man. What nif a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into othe barracks.
11 pThe following night qthe Lord stood by him and said, r“Take courage, for sas you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ttestify also in Rome.”
12 When it was day, uthe Jews made a plot and vbound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered wthe barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul xthe prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, y“The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who zhave bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”
23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night.1 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to aFelix bthe governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect:
26 “Claudius Lysias, to chis Excellency the governor Felix, dgreetings. 27 eThis man was seized by the Jews and fwas about to be killed by them fwhen I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, ghaving learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And hdesiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused iabout questions of their law, but jcharged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 kAnd when it was disclosed to me lthat there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, mordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”
31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to nthe barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what oprovince he was from. And when he learned pthat he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing qwhen your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s rpraetorium.
25
Now three days after Festus had arrived in ithe province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews jlaid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, 3 asking as a favor against Paul1 that he summon him to Jerusalem—because kthey were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”
6 After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on lthe tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him mthat they could not prove. 8 Paul argued in his defense, “Neither nagainst othe law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor pagainst Caesar have I committed any offense.” 9 But Festus, qwishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s rtribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. 11 If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. sI appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”
13 Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. 14 And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, t“There is a man left prisoner by Felix, 15 and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case uagainst him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 vI answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone wbefore the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. 17 xSo when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on ythe tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. 18 When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. 19 Rather they zhad certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about aa certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20 Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I basked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. 21 But cwhen Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of dthe emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” 22 Then eAgrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”
23 So on the next day fAgrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom gthe whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, hshouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that ihe had done nothing deserving death. And jas he himself appealed to kthe emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”
26
So lAgrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:
2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today magainst all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are familiar with all the ncustoms and ocontroversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 p“My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among qmy own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that raccording to the strictest sparty of our treligion I have lived as ua Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in vthe promise made by God to our fathers, 7 wto which xour twelve tribes hope to yattain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope zI am accused by Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thought aincredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
9 b“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of cJesus of Nazareth. 10 dAnd I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority efrom the chief priests, but fwhen they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And gI punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them hblaspheme, and iin raging fury against them I jpersecuted them even to foreign cities.
12 “In this connection kI journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me lin the Hebrew language,1 ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and mstand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, nto appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 odelivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—pto whom I qam sending you 18 rto open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from sthe power of Satan to God, that they may receive tforgiveness of sins and ua place among those who are sanctified vby faith in me.’
19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to wthe heavenly vision, 20 but declared first xto those in Damascus, ythen in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also zto the Gentiles, that they should arepent and bturn to God, performing deeds cin keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reason dthe Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 eTo this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so fI stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what gthe prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 hthat the Christ imust suffer and that, jby being the first kto rise from the dead, lhe would proclaim mlight both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
24 And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, nyou are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” 25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, omost excellent Festus, but I am speaking ptrue and qrational words. 26 For rthe king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be sa Christian?”2 29 And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day tmight become such as I am—except for uthese chains.”
30 Then the king rose, and vthe governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. 31 And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, w“This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, x“This man could have been set yfree if he had not appealed zto Caesar.”
27
And when it was decided athat bwe should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cCohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by dAristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And eJulius ftreated Paul kindly and ggave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found ha ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even ithe Fast1 was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with jinjury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to kthe pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, lstruck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda,2 we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would mrun aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear,3 and thus they were driven along. 18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day nto jettison the cargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, oyou should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this oinjury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to ptake heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night qthere rstood before me san angel of the God tto whom I belong and uwhom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; vyou must stand before Caesar. And behold, wGod has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But xwe must yrun aground on some island.”
27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.4 A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.5 29 And fearing that we might zrun on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered athe ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go.
33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,6 for bnot a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and cgiving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all dwere encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 2767 epersons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, fthrowing out the wheat into the sea.
39 Now when it was day, gthey did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. 41 But striking a reef,8 hthey ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 iThe soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, jwishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that kall were brought safely to land.
28
After we were brought safely through, lwe then learned that mthe island was called Malta. 2 nThe native people1 showed us unusual okindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. 3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. 4 When pthe native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, q“No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, rJustice2 has not allowed him to live.” 5 He, however, sshook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, tthey changed their minds and usaid that he was a god.
7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and vprayed, and wputting his hands on him, healed him. 9 And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10 They also honored us greatly,3 and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.
11 After three months we set sail in xa ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods4 as a figurehead. 12 Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found ybrothers5 and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 And ythe brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, zPaul thanked God and took courage. 16 And when we came into Rome, aPaul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.
17 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, bthough I had done nothing against our people or cthe customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 When they had examined me, they dwished to set me at liberty, ebecause there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19 But because the Jews objected, I was compelled fto appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against gmy nation. 20 For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is hbecause of ithe hope of Israel that I am wearing jthis kchain.” 21 And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of lthe brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. 22 But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this msect we know that everywhere nit is spoken against.”
23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening ohe expounded to them, testifying to pthe kingdom of God and qtrying to convince them about Jesus rboth from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 And ssome were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: t“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
26 u“‘Go to this people, and say,
v“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
27 wFor this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and xturn, and I would heal them.’
28 Therefore let it be known to you that ythis zsalvation of God ahas been sent to the Gentiles; bthey will listen.”6
30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense,7 and cwelcomed all who came to him, 31 dproclaiming ethe kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ fwith all boldness and gwithout hindrance.