Acts Chapter 1
The promise of the Holy Spirit
1 In my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach,
2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
4 On one occasion, while staying with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
5 For John baptized with water, but not many days from now you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Ascension
6 Then those who had gathered asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Election of Judas' successor
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about 120) and said:
16 Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.
17 He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.
18 With the wages he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field. There he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.
19 This became known to all the people of Jerusalem, so that in their language that field was called Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.
20 For it is written in the Book of Psalms: “May his dwelling place be deserted; let no one live in it,” and, “Let another take his office.”
21 Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day that he was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.
23 And they put forward two men: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And praying, they said, “You, Lord, know the hearts of all, show which of these two you have chosen
25 to take the part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside by transgression, to go where he belongs.”
26 Then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Acts Chapter 2
The coming of the Holy Spirit
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.
7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?
8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our own native language?”
9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,
10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, and visitors from Rome (both Jews and proselytes),
11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own languages!
12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Others mocked them, saying, “They are drunk on new wine.”
Peter's First Speech
14 Then Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!
16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.’
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders and signs, which God performed among you through him, as you yourselves know.
23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by crucifying him.
24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to hold him.
25 David says about him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’”
29 Brothers, I can tell you freely about the patriarch David, that he died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 But being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn to him with an oath that he would raise up the Christ from his descendants to sit on his throne,
31 seeing this beforehand, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and of that we are all witnesses.
33 Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you now see and hear.
34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’”
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.”
41 Those who received his word were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
The life of the first Christians
43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts Chapter 3
Healing a lame man
1 Now Peter and John were going up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple called Beautiful, to beg alms from those entering the temple.
3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms.
4 Peter, looking intently at him with John, said, “Look at us.”
5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
7 And taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened.
8 And leaping up, he stood and walked and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
10 And they recognized him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Peter's speech in Solomon's Portico
11 And as Peter and John, the lame man who had been healed, clung to him, all the people, astonished, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s.
12 When Peter saw this, he answered the people, “Fellow Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied before Pilate, even though he had decided to release him.
14 You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you,
15 You killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
16 By faith in his name, this man whom you see and know was made strong by his name. It is the faith that comes through him that has given him this complete healing, which you can all see.
17 Now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your rulers.
18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.
21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
22 For Moses said to the ancestors, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people. You must listen to everything he tells you.
23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.”
24 All the prophets from Samuel onward have foretold these days.
25 You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your ancestors when he said to Abraham, “Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.”
26 God, having raised up his Son, sent him first to you to bless you, so that each one of you might turn from his wickedness.
Acts Chapter 4
Peter and John before the council
1 While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees came upon them,
2 greatly distressed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 So they seized them and put them in jail until the next day, since it was already evening.
4 But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of men came to about five thousand.
5 The next day the rulers, the elders, and the scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
6 along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who belonged to the high priestly family.
7 And they brought them before the assembly and asked them, “By what power or in what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:
9 If we are being questioned today about a good deed done to a disabled man—how he was healed—
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands before you healed.
11 This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and recognized that these men had been with Jesus.
14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against it.
15 Then they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin, and they conferred among themselves,
16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For indeed, a manifest miracle has been performed by them, evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
17 But to keep this from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”
18 And they called them in and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered them, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God.
20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21They then threatened them and released them, finding no way to punish them because of the people; for everyone was glorifying God for what had been done,
22 since the man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was over forty years old.
Believers ask for trust and courage
23 Then they were released and went back to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God: “Sovereign Lord, you are the God who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.
25 You spoke through the mouth of your servant David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.’
27 Indeed, in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever your hand and plan had predestined to take place.”
29 And now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness,
30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God boldly.
All things in common
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and no one said that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
33 And with great power the apostles gave testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.
34 So there was no needy person among them; for all who owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold
35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each according to his need.
36 Now Joseph, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,
37 since he owned a field, sold it and brought the proceeds and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Acts Chapter 5
Ananias and Sapphira
1 Now a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of land.
2 He kept back part of the proceeds for himself, his wife being fully aware of it, and brought only a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds from the land?
4 While it remained unsold, wasn’t it yours? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? Why have you conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.
6 Then the young men rose, wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
7 About three hours later, Ananias’ wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, did you sell the land for so much?” And she said, “Yes, as long as that.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “Why have you agreed to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”
10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 Great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard these things.
Many signs and wonders
12 Many signs and wonders were performed among the people through the apostles. All the apostles were together in Solomon’s Portico.
13 No one else dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.
14 More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
15 So much so that people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
16 Crowds also came from the surrounding towns, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.
Peter and John are being persecuted
17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
19 During the night an angel of the Lord opened the jail doors and brought them out.
20 “Go,” he said, “and stand in the temple courts and tell the people all about this new life.”
21 Early the next morning they heard this and went into the temple courts and began to teach. Meanwhile, the high priest and his associates called a meeting of the Sanhedrin—all the elders of Israel—and sent for the apostles to be brought to the jail.
22 When the officers arrived, they did not find them in the jail. So they returned and reported,
23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing outside at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
24 When the high priest, the captain of the temple guard, and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed as to what this might lead to.
25 But someone came and told them, “Look, the men you put in prison are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.”
26 Then the captain of the temple guard went with the officers and brought them in without violence, because they were afraid the people would stone them.
27 When they had brought them in, they set them before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest questioned them,
28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? Yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to make us responsible for this man’s blood!”
29 Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.
30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—the very one you killed by hanging him on a tree.
31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior, that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When the apostles heard this, they were furious and wanted to kill them.
34 Then a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the apostles be put outside for a little while.
35 Then he said to them, “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.
36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his followers were scattered and came to nothing.
37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
38 “ And now I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone. If their plan or undertaking is of human origin, it will fail.
39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop it—you may even be found fighting against God!”
40 They agreed with him, and calling in the apostles, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.
41 They left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name.
42 Day after day, in the temple and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
Acts Chapter 6
Election of seven deacons
1 In those days, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We may turn this responsibility over to them,
4 but we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.
6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of the Lord continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem; also a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Arrest of Esteban
8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
9 Then some men from the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.
10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say that they had heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.
12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and rushing upon him, they seized him, and brought him to the council.
13 And they brought in false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and against the law.
14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
15 Then all who were sitting in the council, looking intently at him, saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Acts Chapter 7
Defense and death of Esteban
1 The high priest then said, “Is this so?”
2 And he said, “Brothers and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
3 and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you.’
4 So he left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. After his father died, God moved him from there to this land where you now live.
5 He gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on, but promised to give it to him and his descendants after him as a possession, even though he had no child.
6 God said to him, ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a land not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.’
7 But God said, ‘I will judge the nation they will serve,’ he said. And after this they will go out and serve me in this place.”
8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.
9 The patriarchs, moved by envy, sold Joseph into Egypt; but God was with him,
10 and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
11 Now there was a famine throughout all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction; and our fathers could find no food.
12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time.
13 And the second time, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Pharaoh was made aware of Joseph’s lineage.
14 Then Joseph sent and brought his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five persons in all.
15 So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he died, and so did our ancestors.
16 Their bodies were brought to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a price from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
17 As the time drew near to fulfill the promise God had made to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,
18 until another king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt.
19 This king dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors, forcing them to expose their infants to death so that they would not increase in number.
20 At that time Moses was born, and he pleased God. He was cared for in his father’s house for three months.
21But when he was exposed to death, Pharaoh’s daughter took him in and raised him as her own son.
22 Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23 When he was forty years old, it came to his heart to visit his brothers, the Israelites.
24 Seeing one of them being mistreated, he intervened and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian.
25 He thought his brothers would understand that God was going to deliver them through him, but they did not.
26 The next day he went to some of them who were quarreling and tried to reconcile them. “Men,” he said, “why are you mistreating one another?”
27 But the one who was mistreating his neighbor pushed him away and said, “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?
28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?”
29 When Moses heard this, he fled and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons.
30 After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.
31 Then Moses looked and was amazed at the sight. As he drew near to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him:
32 “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses trembled and did not dare to look.
33 Then the Lord said to him, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
34 I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their distress, and I have come down to deliver them. Now come, I am sending you to Egypt.”
35 This Moses, whom they had rejected, saying, “Who made you a ruler and a judge?” God sent him as both ruler and deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush.
36 He led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.
37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to him.”
38 This is the Moses who was with the congregation in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, and who received living oracles to give to us.
39 Our ancestors refused to listen to him but rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
40 They said to Aaron, “Make us gods who will go before us, for as for this Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
41 So they made a calf and sacrificed to it and rejoiced in what their hands had made.
42 Then God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “Did you offer me sacrifices and offerings these forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?”
43 Rather, you carried the tent of Molech, and the star of your god Rephan, the images you made to worship. So I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
44 Our ancestors had the tent of meeting in the wilderness, just as God had instructed Moses to make it according to the pattern he had seen.
45 Our ancestors received it and brought it with Joshua when they took possession of the land of the nations, whom God drove out before our ancestors, until the days of David.
46 David found favor in God’s sight and asked to provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.
47 But Solomon built him a house.
48 However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made by human hands, as the prophet says:
49 “Heaven is my throne, and 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 You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; just as your ancestors did.
52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become the betrayers and murderers—
53 you who received the law that was given through angels but did not obey it.
54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
56And he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 At this, they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, rushed at him.
58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. The witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 As they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60 Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Acts Chapter 8
Saul persecutes the church
1 And Saul approved of his execution. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
3 But Saul began to ravage the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
Preaching the gospel in Samaria
4 Those who had been scattered went everywhere preaching the gospel.
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.
6 The crowds with one accord paid attention to what was said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs he performed.
7 For unclean spirits, crying out with loud voices, came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
8 So there was great joy in that city.
9 Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly practiced magic in that city and amazed the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great.
10 All the people, from the least to the greatest, listened attentively to him, saying, “This man is the great power of God.”
11 And they listened to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.
12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized, he stayed with Philip and was amazed by the signs and great miracles that were being performed.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 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, “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!”
21 You have no part or share in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
22 Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to God that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.
24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.”
25 And they, having testified and spoken the word of God, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many Samaritan towns.
Philip and the Ethiopian
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)
27 So he got up and went. Now an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury, had come to Jerusalem to worship.
28 He was returning home, sitting in his chariot, and reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go over and join that chariot.”
30 So Philip ran up to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. “Do you understand what you are reading?” he asked.
31 “How can I,” the man replied, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The passage of Scripture he was reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”
35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”
37 Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
40 Philip, however, found himself at Azotus. And going about, he proclaimed the gospel in all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.
Acts Chapter 9
Conversion of Saul
1 Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3 As he journeyed, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.
4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
5 He said, “Who are you, Lord?” And the voice said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
6 Trembling and astonished, he said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men who were traveling with Saul stood there speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.
8 Then Saul got up from the ground, and when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.
9 For three days he was blind, and neither ate nor drank anything.
10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he replied.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying
12 and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem.
14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 So Ananias went and entered the house, and laying his hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,
19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul stayed for some days with the disciples in Damascus.
Saul preaches in Damascus
20 Immediately he began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues, saying that he was the Son of God.
21 All who heard him were amazed and asked, “Isn’t this the man who ravaged those who called on this name in Jerusalem? Hasn’t he come here to arrest them and take them to the chief priests?”
22 But Saul grew more and more powerful and confounded the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.
Saul escapes from the Jews
23 After many days, the Jews plotted to kill him;
24 but their plot became known to Saul. And they were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him.
25 Then the disciples took him by night and lowered him in a basket through the wall.
Saul in Jerusalem
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
27 Then Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road, and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
28 He was with them in Jerusalem, going in and out,
29 speaking boldly in the name of the Lord and arguing with the Hellenists, but they were trying to kill him.
30 When the brothers learned of this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 Then the churches throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and were strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, they grew in numbers.
Healing of Aeneas
32 Now it happened that Peter, visiting all, came also to the saints who lived in Lydda.
33 And he found there a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed.
34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose.
35 And all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
Dorcas is resurrected
36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, means Dorcas). She was always doing good and helping the poor.
37 About that time she became sick and died. After her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.
38 Lydda was near Joppa, so when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come to us without delay.”
39 So Peter went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room, where all the widows stood around him, weeping and showing him the tunics and other garments that Dorcas had made while she was with them.
40 After Peter had put them all out, he knelt down and prayed. Then he turned toward the dead woman and said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.
41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.
42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
43 And it happened that he stayed many days in Joppa at the house of a certain Simon, a tanner.
Acts Chapter 10
Peter and Cornelius
1 Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Regiment.
2 He was a devout man who feared God, as did all his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed to God regularly.
3 About three in the afternoon, he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming to him and saying, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God.
5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back Simon, who is also called Peter.
6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.”
7 After the angel who spoke with Cornelius had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from his staff.
8 After explaining everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 The next day, as they were traveling and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray, about noon.
10 He became very hungry and wanted something to eat. While the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance
11 and saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds.
13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord,” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and then the sheet was taken back up to heaven.
17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius arrived at the gate, inquiring for Simon’s house.
18 They called out, asking if Simon, also called Peter, was staying there.
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Three men are looking for you.
20 Get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
21 So Peter went down to the men sent by Cornelius and said, “I am the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”
22They said, “Cornelius the centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear what you have to say.”
23 So he invited them in and lodged them. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
24 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 fell down at his feet in worship.
26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am only a man.”
27 While talking with him, he went inside and found a large crowd gathered there.
28 And he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
29 So when I was summoned, I came without objection. I ask, then, why did you send for me?”
30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this hour I was fasting, and at three in the afternoon, while I was praying in my house, a man in dazzling clothes stood before me
31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms have been remembered before God.
32 Send therefore to Joppa and call for Simon, who is called Peter. He is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea. When he arrives, he will speak to you.’
33 So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come.” Now we are all here in the presence of God to hear everything God has commanded you.
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
36 God sent the message to the people of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37 You know what has been proclaimed throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached:
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,
40 but on the third day God raised him from the dead and caused him to be seen.”
41 Not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses God had chosen beforehand, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the message.
45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
47Then Peter answered, “Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, since they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
48 And he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay with them for a few days.
Acts Chapter 11
Peter's report to the church in Jerusalem
1 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
2 When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers began to argue with him.
3 “Why did you go to the house of uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
4 Peter began to explain to them in detail what had happened.
5 “ I was in Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision—something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me.
6 Looking intently at it, I saw four-footed animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.
7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.
’ 8 “Surely not, Lord!” I replied. “Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.”
9 Then the voice answered me a second time from heaven, “What God has cleansed, do not call common.”
10 This happened three times, and then everything was taken back up to heaven.
11 Immediately three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where I was staying.
12 The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the house of a man.
13 He told us how he had seen an angel in his house, who stood and said to him, “Send men to Joppa and bring back Simon, who is called Peter.
14 He will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.”
15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them also, just as on us at the beginning.
16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
17 If then God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to the Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life!”
The church in Antioch
19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.
20 But there were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene among them, who, when they came to Antioch, also spoke to the Greeks, proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
22 News of these things reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
23 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and exhorted them all to remain true to the Lord with all their heart.
24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a great number of people were added to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.
26 For a whole year they met with the church there and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
27 In those days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and foretold through the Spirit that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. This happened during the reign of Claudius.
29 So the disciples, each according to their ability, decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters living in Judea.
30 They did this, sending their message to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Acts Chapter 12
James, dead; Peter, imprisoned
1 About that time King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.
2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
3 When he saw that this pleased the Jewish leaders, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
4 After arresting Peter, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
Pedro is freed from prison
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was asleep that very night between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance to the prison.
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the prison. He touched Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
8 The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and sandals.” And he did so. Then the angel said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
9 So Peter went out and followed him, but he did not realize that what the angel was doing was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.
10 After passing the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate leading into the city, which opened for them by itself. They went through it and walked down one street, and immediately the angel left him.
11 Then Peter, coming to his senses, said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping for.”
12 After he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
13 When Peter knocked at the outer gate, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it .
14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she didn’t open the door, but ran back inside and announced that Peter was standing at the door.
15 “You’re out of your mind,” they said. But she kept insisting that it was true. Then they said, “It must be his angel.”
16 But Peter kept knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
Death of Herod
17 But he motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and told them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. Then he said, “Tell James and the brothers about this.” And he left and went to another place.
18 At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.
19 After Herod had searched for him and could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
20 Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, but they came to him with one accord. They had bribed Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, and asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food.
21 On an appointed day Herod, dressed in royal robes, sat on his throne and made a public address to them.
22 The people shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!”
23 Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word of the Lord continued to increase and spread.
25 Barnabas and Saul, having completed their mission, returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
Acts Chapter 13
Barnabas and Saul begin their first missionary journey
1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
The apostles preach in Cyprus
4 So, being sent out by 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 in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.
6 After traveling through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain magician, a false prophet, a Jew named Bar-Jesus,
7 who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him
10 and said, “You son of the devil, full of all deceit and all wickedness, enemy of all righteousness! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?”
11 Now therefore, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind, and will not see the sun for a time. Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed, marveling at the teaching of the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch
13 After sailing from Paphos, Paul and his companions arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem.
14 From Perga they went to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down.
15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.”
16 Paul stood up, motioned with his hand for silence, and said, “Fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen!
17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their time as foreigners in Egypt. With an outstretched arm he brought them out of the land of Egypt,
18 and for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.
19 After destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their territory as an inheritance.
20 For about 450 years, he gave them judges until the prophet Samuel.
21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for 40 years.
22 After removing him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified, saying, “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will.”
23 From this man’s descendants, according to the promise, God raised up Jesus as Savior to Israel.
24 Before his coming, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25 But as John was finishing his course, he said, “Who do you think I am? I am not he. But behold, one is coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.
26 Brothers, children of the lineage of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you has been sent the message of this salvation.”
27 For the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their rulers, not knowing Jesus, nor the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them in condemning him.
28 And though they found no grounds for a death sentence against him, they asked Pilate that he be put to death.
29 When they had done everything that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.
30 But God raised him from the dead.
31 For many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people.
32 And we bring you the good news of the promise made to our ancestors,
33 which God has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus from the dead. As it is written in the second Psalm: “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”
34 Regarding the fact that he raised him from the dead, never to return to decay, God spoke of it in this way: “I will give you the sure and faithful love promised to David.”
35 For in another psalm he says, “You will not let your Holy One see decay.”
36 For David, after he had served his own generation according to the will of God, fell asleep and was laid with his ancestors; he saw decay.
37 But he whom God raised up did not see corruption.
38 Therefore, brothers, be sure of this: Through him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,
39 and through him everyone who believes is set free from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
40 Take heed to it that what is spoken in the prophets does not come upon you:
41 “ Look, you scoffers, and be amazed and perish; for I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe, even if someone told you.”
42 As they were leaving the Jewish synagogue, the Gentiles asked them to speak about these things on the next Sabbath.
43 After the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of God.
45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict and blaspheme what Paul was saying.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
48When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed to eternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord spread throughout the whole region.
50 But the Jews stirred up devout and prominent women and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region.
51 So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts Chapter 14
Paul and Barnabas in Iconium
1 At Iconium, they went together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke so effectively that a large number of Jews and Greeks believed.
2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
3 So they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, and others with the apostles.
5 When the Jews and the Gentiles, together with their rulers, made a charge against them and began to stone them,
6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region,
7 where they continued to preach the gospel.
Paul is stoned in Lystra
8 Now a certain man of Lystra was sitting there, lame from birth, who had never walked.
9 He heard Paul speaking, and Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed,
10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And he leaped up and walked.
11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
12 They called Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was across the street from the city, brought bulls and garlands to the gates, and he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices.
14 When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting
15 “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.
16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way.
17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness against them. He did good by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he satisfied you with food and filled your hearts with joy.”
18 Even after they said this, they could hardly stop the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and persuaded the crowd, and having stoned Paul, they dragged him out of the city, thinking that he was dead.
20 But the disciples gathered around him, and he got up and went into the city; and the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
21 After preaching the gospel in that city and making many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
23 Then they appointed elders in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
The return to Antioch from Syria
24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.
25 After preaching the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
26 From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
Acts Chapter 15
The council in Jerusalem
1 Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
2 After Paul and Barnabas had no small discussion and debate with them, it was decided that Paul and Barnabas, along with some others of the group, should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question.
3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers.
4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.
5 But some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 So the apostles and elders met together to consider this matter.
7 After much discussion, Peter stood up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God chose me to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, so that they might believe.
8 God, who knows the heart, testified to this by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?
11 On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul recounting the great signs and wonders God had performed among the Gentiles through them.
13 When they had finished speaking, James answered, “Brothers, listen to me.”
14 Simon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for his name.
15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written:
16 “ After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent; I will rebuild its ruins and restore it,
17 so that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
” 18 says the Lord, who makes these things known from ancient times.
19 Therefore, I judge that we should not trouble those Gentiles who turn to God,
20 but write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood.
21 For Moses has had in every city those who preach him from ancient times, and he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.
22 Then the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, decided to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers.
23 With them they wrote: “The apostles and elders, brothers, to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
24 For we have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your minds. They told you to be circumcised and to keep the law,
25 We have decided, having reached a consensus, to choose some men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 men who risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 So we are sending Judas and Silas, who will also confirm these things by word of mouth.
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements:
29 that you abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these things, you will do well. Farewell.
30 So those who were sent went down to Antioch, and when they had gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.
31 When they had read it, they rejoiced because of the encouragement it provided.
32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.
33 After spending some time there, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to return to those who had sent them.
34 But Silas decided to remain there.
35 So Paul and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching the word of the Lord and proclaiming the gospel, along with many others.
Paul separates from Barnabas and begins his second missionary journey
36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are.”
37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them.
38 But Paul did not think it wise to take him who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.
39 So there was a sharp disagreement between them, and they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus,
40 while Paul chose Silas and departed, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
41 He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Acts Chapter 16
Timothy accompanies Paul and Silas
1 Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. There, a disciple named Timothy was living there. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek.
2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
3 Paul wanted Timothy to go with him, so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in those places, for they all knew that Timothy’s father was a Greek.
4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered to the people the decrees that had been decided upon by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for them to obey.
5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
The Macedonian man's vision
6 They traveled through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
7 When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them.
8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.
9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
10 After Paul had seen the vision, we made preparations to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Imprisoned in Philippi
11 So we sailed from Troas and went straight to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis.
12 From there we went to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of Macedonia, where we stayed for several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” At that very moment the spirit left her.
19 But when their owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.
20 When they brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men, being Jews, are disturbing our city,
21 and are teaching customs that are not lawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the magistrates tore off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them securely.
24 Having received this order, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.
27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and trembling with fear, fell down before Paul and Silas.
30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
33 The same hour of the night Paul took them and washed their wounds. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
34 Then he brought them into his house and set a meal before them; and he rejoiced with all his household that he had believed in God.
35 When it was day, the magistrates sent officers to say, “Release those men.”
36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, “The magistrates have sent word to release you; so now come out and go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to them, “They flogged us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison, and now they want to release us secretly? No, indeed! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The officers reported these words to the magistrates, who were alarmed when they heard that Paul was a Roman citizen.
39 So they came and pleaded with them, and after bringing them out, asked them to leave the city.
40 Then, leaving the prison, they entered Lydia’s house, and when they had seen the brothers, they comforted them, and left.
Acts Chapter 17
The commotion in Thessaloniki
1 Passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
2 Paul, as was his custom, went to them, and for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them,
3 explaining and proving from the Scriptures that the Christ must suffer and rise from the dead, and that Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you, is the Christ.
4 Some of them believed and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of devout Greeks and not a few prominent women.
5 The unbelieving Jews, becoming jealous, took some worthless men and formed a mob, started a riot in the city, and attacked Jason’s house, intending to bring them out to the people.
6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,
7 and Jason has welcomed them. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were in an uproar.
9But after Jason and the others had posted bail, they released them.
Paul and Silas in Berea
10 Immediately the brothers sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.
11 Now the Berea synagogue was more noble than the Thessalonians, for they received the word with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
12 As a result, many of them believed, as well as prominent Greek women and a number of men.
13 When the Jews in Thessalonica heard that Paul was proclaiming the word of God in Berea also, they went there and stirred up the crowds.
14 But the brothers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained there.
15 Those who had escorted Paul brought him to Athens, and Silas and Timothy were instructed to join him as soon as possible, so they left.
Paul in Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Christians, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
18 Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also engaged him in debate. Some asked, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
19 They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, asking, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?”
20 You are bringing some strange things to our ears. We want to know what you mean by this.
21 (For all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time in nothing else but telling or hearing something new.)
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and 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: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the one whom you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
25 And he is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
28 For in him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘We are indeed his offspring.’
29 Since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone—an image shaped by human design and skill.
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
32 But when they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
33 At that, Paul left the group.
34 Some of the people became believers and joined him. Among them were Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others.
Acts Chapter 18
Paul in Corinth
1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to them,
3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.
4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
6 But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
7 Leaving there, he went to the house of a man named Justus, a worshipper of God, which was next door to the synagogue.
8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
9 Then the Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Do not be afraid, but keep on speaking and do not be silent.
10 For I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.”
11 So he stayed there a year and six months, teaching them the word of God.
12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal,
13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.”
14 As Paul began to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a serious matter, or a grave crime, Jews, I would have reason to bear with you according to the law.
15 But if it concerns words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; because I do not want to be a judge of these things.
16 And he drove them from the judgment seat.
17 Then all the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the synagogue leader, and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio paid no attention to it.
18 After staying there many days, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his head shaved at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.
19 When he arrived at Ephesus, he left them there. He went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
20 They urged him to stay with them longer, but he refused.
21Instead, he took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming festival in Jerusalem; but I will return to you again, God willing.” Then he sailed from Ephesus.
Paul returns to Antioch and begins his third missionary journey
22 Having arrived in Caesarea, he went up to greet the church, and then went down to Antioch.
23 After spending some time there, he left and traveled systematically through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Apollos preaches in Ephesus
24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the Scriptures.
25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught diligently the things concerning the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.
26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
27 When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed,
28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Acts Chapter 19
Paul in Ephesus
1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples
2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 So he asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied.
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
7 There were about twelve men in all.
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading about the kingdom of God.
9 But some of them were hardened and did not believe, even publicly denouncing the Way. So Paul withdrew from them and took the disciples aside, reasoning daily in the school of a man named Tyrannus.
10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord Jesus.
11 God was performing extraordinary miracles through Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
13 Some itinerant Jewish exorcists attempted to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”
14 Now there were seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva who were doing this.
15 But the evil spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?”
16 Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 This became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear was poured out on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 Many of those who had believed came, confessing and disclosing their deeds.
19 A number of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them publicly. When the value of the books was calculated, it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail powerfully.
21After these things, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”
22 So he sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, to Macedonia, and remained in Asia for some time.
The uproar in Ephesus
23 About that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the Way.
24 For a silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little profit to the craftsmen;
25 Gathering them together with the tradesmen, he said, “Men, you know that we get our livelihood from this trade.
26 Yet you see and hear that this Paul, not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia, has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.
27 Not only is there danger that our trade may fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be considered nothing, and that the majesty of her, whom all Asia and the whole world worship, may begin to be destroyed.”
28 When they heard this, they were filled with wrath and cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
29 The city was in an uproar, and some rushed into the theater and seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions.
30 When Paul wanted to go out to the people, the disciples would not allow him.
31 Some of the authorities of Asia, who were his friends, also sent him a message, urging him not to appear in the theater.
32 So some were shouting one thing and some another, for the crowd was in confusion, and most did not know why they had come together.
33 And the Jews pushed Alexander through the crowd. Then Alexander, motioning with his hand for silence, wanted to make his defense before the people.
34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted with one voice for almost two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 Then the scribe, when he had quieted the crowd, said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great goddess Artemis and of the image that fell from Zeus?”
36 Since this cannot be contradicted, you must calm down and do nothing rashly.
37 For you have brought these men here, and they are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemous toward your goddess.
38 If Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a case against anyone, hearings are held, and there are proconsuls; let them accuse one another.
39 And if you demand anything else, it can be decided in a lawful assembly.
40 For there is danger that we may be accused of sedition because of this today, since there is no cause to which we can give an account of this gathering.
41 Having said this, he dismissed the assembly.
Acts Chapter 20
Paul's journey to Macedonia and Greece
1 After the uproar had subsided, Paul called the disciples together, and after encouraging them and embracing them, he said goodbye and left for Macedonia.
2 After traveling through those regions and encouraging them with many words, he arrived in Greece.
3 After he had been there three months, and when the Jews plotted against him to sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.
4 Those who accompanied him as far as Asia were Sopater of Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and from Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
5 These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.
6 After the days of Unleavened Bread, we sailed from Philippi and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
Pablo's farewell trip to Troas
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul preached to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
8 Now there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together.
9 A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, fell into a deep sleep as Paul spoke at length. Overcome by sleep, he fell from the third story and was taken up dead.
10 Paul went down and threw himself upon him, and embracing him, said, “Do not be alarmed, for he is alive.”
11 After he had gone upstairs and broken bread and eaten, he talked at length until daybreak, and then he left.
12 And they brought the young man back alive and were greatly comforted.
Journey from Troas to Miletus
13 We went ahead and sailed to Assos to pick up Paul there, as he had decided, since he wanted to go overland.
14 When he joined us at Assos, we took him aboard and sailed to Mitylene.
15 Sailing from there, the next day we arrived off Chios, and the following day we put in at Samos. After stopping at Trogyllum, the next day we arrived at Miletus.
16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so as not to spend time in Asia, for he was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
Paul's farewell speech in Miletus
17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.
18 When they came to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time, from the first day I came into Asia,
19 serving the Lord with all humility and with many tears and trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews;
20 And how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house,
21 testifying to Jews and to Gentiles about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, bound in the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there;
23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.
24 But I consider my life of no value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom of God will see my face again.
26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all,
27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
29 For I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Even from your own number men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
31 Therefore be on your guard, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish each one with tears.
32 And now, brothers and sisters, I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
34 But you yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.
35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the needy, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
36 When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
37 Then they all wept bitterly and embraced Paul, kissing him,
38 grieving greatly because of what he had said, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.
Acts Chapter 21
Paul's journey to Jerusalem
1 After leaving them, we set sail and went straight to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
2 Finding a ship bound for Phoenicia, we boarded it and set sail.
3 When we sighted Cyprus, we left it to our left and sailed to Syria, landing at Tyre, because the ship was to unload there.
4 Having found the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.
5 When those days were over, we left, accompanied by all their wives and children, until we were outside the city; and kneeling on the beach, we prayed.
6 And embracing one another, we got back into the ship, and they returned to their homes.
7 We completed our voyage, leaving Tyre and landing at Ptolemais; and after greeting the brothers, we stayed with them for a day.
8 The next day Paul and those of us who were with him left and went to Caesarea. We entered the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven, and stayed with him.
9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
10 After we had stayed there some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
11 When he came to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.
13 But Paul replied, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14 And when we could not persuade him, we gave up, saying, “The Lord’s will be done.”
15 After those days, having made preparations, we went up to Jerusalem.
16 Some of the disciples also came with us from Caesarea, bringing with them a man named Mnason, from Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.
Paul's arrest in the temple
17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us with joy.
18 The next day Paul went with us to James, and all the elders were present.
19 After greeting them, he related one by one the things God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20 When they heard this, they glorified God and said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.
21 They have been informed about you, that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs.
22 What then? The crowd will certainly gather, because they will hear that you have come.
23 Therefore, do what we tell you: We have four men who are under a vow.”
24 Take them with you, purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so they can shave their heads. Then everyone will know that there is nothing to what they have been told about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.
25 As for the Gentiles who have believed, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.
26 So Paul took the men with him, and the next day, after purifying himself along with them, he went into the temple to announce the completion of the days of their purification, at which time the offering for each of them was to be presented.
27 But when the seven days were almost over, some Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and arrested him.
28 shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. Besides all this, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”
29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
30 So the whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and immediately shut the doors.
31 While they were trying to kill him, the commander of the cohort was told that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.
32 He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran to them. When they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33 Then the commander came up, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done.
34 But some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another. Since he could not understand anything for certain because of the uproar, he ordered him to be taken into the barracks.
35 When he arrived at the steps, the soldiers carried him because of the violence of the crowd,
36 for the mob of the people followed, shouting, “Away with him!”
Pablo's defense before the people
37 As they were bringing Paul 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 that Egyptian who stirred up a rebellion some time ago and led four thousand assassins into the wilderness?”
39 Then Paul said, “I am indeed a Jew, from Tarsus, a citizen of no insignificant city in Cilicia. But please let me speak to the people.”
40 And when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke in the Hebrew language, saying:
Acts Chapter 22
1 Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.
2 When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they became even more silent.
3 He said to them, “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, as all of you are today.
4 I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and delivering up to prison both men and women,
5 as the high priest and all the elders can testify. From them I also received letters for the brothers, and I went to Damascus to bring as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
Paul recounts his conversion
6 As I was traveling, I approached Damascus, about noon, and suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
8 I answered, “Who are you, Lord?” He said to me, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.”
9 Those who were with me saw the light and were amazed, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
10 I said, “What shall I do, Lord?” The Lord said to me, “Get up and go to Damascus, and there you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.”
11 Since I could not see because of the brightness of the light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and went to Damascus.
12 Then a man named Ananias, a devout observer of the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there,
13 came to me. Standing beside me, he said, “Brother Saul, receive your sight!” At that very moment I received my sight and saw him.
14 He said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.
15 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard.
16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”
Paul is sent to the Gentiles
17 And it happened that when I returned to Jerusalem, while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance.
18 And I saw him saying to me, “Hurry and leave Jerusalem quickly, for they will not accept your testimony about me.”
19 I said, “Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and flogged those who believed in you.
20 And when the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I myself stood by and approved of his death, and guarded the clothes of those who were killing him.”
21 But he said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”
Paul in the hands of the tribune
22 They listened to him until this point; then they raised their voices and said, “Away with this man, for he is not fit to live!”
23 As they shouted and threw off their clothes and threw dust into the air,
24 the tribune ordered that he be taken into the barracks and that he be examined by flogging, to find out why they were crying out against him in this way.
25 But when they had bound him with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen who has not been convicted of a crime?”
26 When the centurion heard this, he went and told the tribune, “What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen!”
27 The tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” He said, “Yes.”
28 The tribune answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” Then Paul said, “But I was born a Roman citizen.”
29 So those who were going to torture him withdrew from him; and even the tribune, when he learned that he was a Roman citizen, was afraid because he had bound him.
Paul before the council
30 The next day, wanting to know for certain the reason for which the Jews accused him, he released him from the chains, and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to come, and bringing Paul out, he presented him before them.
Acts Chapter 23
1 Then Paul, looking intently at the Sanhedrin, said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience to this day.”
2 Then Ananias the high priest ordered those standing near him to strike Paul on the mouth.
3 Paul replied, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you break the law and order me to be struck?”
4 Those standing by said, “Do you insult God’s high priest?”
5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
6 When Paul realized that some of them were Sadducees and others Pharisees, he called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”
7 When he said this, a division arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees affirm these things.
9 And there was a great uproar; and the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and argued, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man. If a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not oppose God!”
10 And when the division became great, the tribune, fearing that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them and bring him into the barracks.
11 The following night the Lord appeared to him and said, “Take courage, Paul, for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
Plot against Pablo
12 When day came, some of the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.
13 There were more than forty of them who had made this conspiracy.
14 They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with an oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.
15 Now therefore, you and the Sanhedrin should request the tribune to bring him before you tomorrow, as though you want to investigate something more certain about him. And we will be ready to kill him before he arrives.”
16 But the son of Paul’s sister, hearing of the plot, went and entered the barracks and told Paul.
17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has some information to give him.”
18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.”
19 The tribune took him by the hand and, withdrawing privately, asked him, “What is it you have to tell me?”
20 He said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you tomorrow to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin, as though they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him.
21 But do not believe them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for your promise.”
22 Then the tribune dismissed the young man, instructing him not to tell anyone that he had brought this matter before him.
Pablo is sent to Felix, the governor
23 Then he called two centurions and ordered them to prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen by the third hour of the night to go to Caesarea;
24 and to prepare mounts on which to place Paul and bring him safely to Felix the governor.
25 And he wrote a letter in these terms:
26 Claudius Lysias to the most excellent Governor Felix: Greetings.
27 This man, who had been seized by the Jews and whom they were going to kill, I rescued by going with the troops, when I learned that he was a Roman citizen.
28 And wanting to know the reason why they accused him, I brought him before their council;
29 and I found that they accused him on points of their law, but that he had no crime deserving of death or imprisonment.
30 But when I was informed of a plot by the Jews against this man, I immediately sent him to you, also instructing his accusers to present their case against him in your presence. Farewell.
31 So the soldiers took Paul as they were instructed and brought him by night to Antipatris.
32 The next day, leaving the horsemen with him, they returned to the barracks.
33 When they arrived in Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.
34 The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. When he learned that he was from Cilicia,
35 he said to him, “I will hear your case when your accusers arrive.” And he ordered that he be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.
Acts Chapter 24
Pablo's defense against Felix
1 Five days later, the high priest Ananias came down with some of the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus, and they appeared before the governor to face Paul.
2 When Paul was summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, “Because of you we enjoy great peace, and many things are well governed among the people by your prudence,
3 most excellent Felix, we receive you at all times and in every place with all gratitude.
4 But so as not to weary you further, I beg you to hear us briefly, according to your fairness.
5 For we have found this man to be a pest, a stirrer of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
6 He also tried to desecrate the temple; and when we arrested him, we intended to try him according to our law.
7 But the tribune Lysias intervened and with great force took him from our hands,
8 ordering his accusers to come to you.” You yourself, then, when you judge him, will be able to ascertain all these things of which we accuse him.
9 The Jews also confirmed this, saying that all these things were so.
10 When the governor had signaled to Paul to speak, he answered, “Since I know that for many years you have been a judge of this nation, I will gladly make my defense.
11 As you can verify, it has not been more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
12 And they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or anywhere in the city.
13 Nor can they prove to you the things of which they are now accusing me.
14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of my fathers, believing everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets,
15 having a hope in God, which they themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”
16 For this reason I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
17 After some years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings.
18 While I was doing this, some Jews from Asia found me in the temple purifying myself, not with a crowd or causing a disturbance.
19 They ought to appear before you and accuse me, if they have anything against me.
20 Or let these same people say if they found any wrongdoing in me when I stood before the council,
21 Unless, standing among them, I cry out in a loud voice, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am on trial before you today.’
22 When Felix heard this, being well informed about the Way, he adjourned their conversation, saying, ‘When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will look into your case.’
23 He ordered the centurion to keep Paul in custody, but to allow him some freedom and not to prevent any of his men from ministering to him or coming to him.
24 Some days later, Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he summoned Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Jesus Christ.
25 But as Paul reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was alarmed and said, ‘Go away for now; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.’
26 He was hoping that Paul would give him money to release him; Therefore he often summoned him and spoke with him.
27 But after two years Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and Felix, wanting to gain favor with the Jews, left Paul in prison.
Acts Chapter 25
Paul appeals to Caesar
1 When Festus arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem three days later.
2 The chief priests and the leading men of the Jews gathered before him against Paul and begged him,
3 asking as a favor against him that he might send him to Jerusalem; for they were plotting to kill him on the way.
4 But Festus answered that Paul was being kept in Caesarea, and that he himself would soon depart for there.
5 “Let those of you who can,” he said, “come down with me, and if there is any crime in this man, accuse him.”
6 After staying with them no more than eight or ten days, he came to Caesarea and on the next day sat on the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought in.
7 When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove.
8 Paul made his defense, saying, “I have done nothing wrong, neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar.”
9 But Festus, wanting to curry favor with the Jews, answered Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me concerning these matters?”
10 Paul replied, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.
11 For if I have done anything wrong or anything deserving of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is nothing to these accusations against me, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.”
12 After consulting with the council, Festus answered, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go.”
Paul before Agrippa and Berenice
13 After some days, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.
14 Since they had been there for several days, Festus explained Paul’s case to the king, saying, “A man has been left in prison by Felix.
15 When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought this man to me and asked that he be condemned.
16 I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand anyone over to be put to death before the accused has had a chance to answer the charges against him.
17 So when they had come here together, I did not delay. The next day, sitting on the judgment seat, I ordered the man to be brought in.”
18 And when the accusers were present, they brought no charge of the kind I had suspected,
19 but they had certain questions against him concerning their religion, and concerning a certain Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul claimed was alive.
20 I, being uncertain about this matter, asked him if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there concerning these things.
21 But since Paul appealed to be kept in custody until I could send him to Caesar, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I could send him to Caesar.
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I myself would like to hear the man.” And he said to him, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”
23 The next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience hall with the tribunes and leading men of the city. At Festus’s command, Paul was brought in.
24 Then Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all you men who are here with us, look, this is the man about whom the whole Jewish community has petitioned me in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he should not live any longer.
25 But since I found that he has done nothing deserving of death, and since he himself has appealed to Augustus, I have decided to send him to him.”
26 Since I have nothing certain to write to my master, I have brought him before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after examining him, I may have something to write.
27 For it seems unreasonable to send a prisoner and not report the charges against him.
Acts Chapter 26
Paul's defense before Agrippa
1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Paul then stretched out his hand and began his defense:
2 “ I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, to be able to defend myself before you today against all the accusations of the Jews.
3 Especially since you are familiar with all the customs and controversies among the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.”
Paul's previous life
4 My life, therefore, from my youth, how I spent from the beginning among my own people in Jerusalem, is known to all the Jews;
5 they also know that from the beginning, if they are willing to testify, I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion.
6 And now, because of the hope of the promise that God made to our fathers,
7 the promise of which our twelve tribes are waiting to see fulfilled, as they continually serve God day and night. It is for this hope, O King Agrippa, that I am accused by the Jews.
8 What! Is it considered incredible among you that God raises the dead?
Paul the persecutor
9 I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposition to the name of Jesus of Nazareth,
10 which I also did in Jerusalem. I imprisoned many of the saints on the authority of the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
11 Often I had them punished in every synagogue and tried to force them to blaspheme. In my fury against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Paul recounts his conversion
12 While I was engaged in this, I was going to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests.
13 About noon, O king, as I was traveling along the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who were with me.
14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Hebrew, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
15 “Who are you, Lord?” I asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” the Lord replied.
16 “Now get up and stand on your feet.” For this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you as a minister and a witness of the things you have seen and of those in which I will appear to you,
17 delivering you from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you,
18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
Paul obeys the vision
19 Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
20 But I declared first to those in Damascus, then to Jerusalem and throughout all the land of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of repentance.
21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
22 But having obtained help from God, I stand firm to this day, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
23 that the Christ would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and that he would proclaim light to his people and to the Gentiles.
Paul urges Agrippa to believe
24 As Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you mad!”
25 But Paul replied, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking words of truth and reason.
26 The king knows all this, and I speak boldly to him. I am convinced that none of it is unknown to him, for this was not done in a corner.
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
29 Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains!”
30 When he had said this, the king, the governor, Bernice, and those who were sitting with them stood up.
31 And when they had withdrawn privately, they talked among themselves, saying, “This man has done nothing deserving of death or imprisonment.”
32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free, if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Acts Chapter 27
Paul is sent to Rome
1 When it was decided that we should sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan Cohort.
2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium bound for the ports of Asia and set sail, with Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, on board.
3 The next day we arrived at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly, allowing him to go to his friends there to be cared for by them.
4 From there we put to sail and sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us.
5 After crossing the sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra, a city in Lycia.
6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and put us on board.
7 After sailing slowly for many days, and with difficulty reaching Cnidus because the wind was against us, we sailed under the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.
8 After sailing along the coast with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
9 After a long time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because the fast was over, Paul warned them,
10 saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”
11 But the centurion gave more credence to the pilot and the captain of the ship than to what Paul said.
12 Since the harbor was unsuitable for wintering, the majority decided to put out to sea from there also, in the hope that they could reach Phoenix, a port of Crete facing northeast and southeast, and winter there.
The storm at sea
13 A gentle breeze from the south was blowing, and they thought they had obtained what they desired. So they weighed anchor and sailed along the coast of Crete.
14 But not long after, a violent wind called the Northeaster (Euroclydon) struck the ship.
15 The ship was driven off course, and since we could not head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.
16 After running under the lee of a small island called Clauda, we were able with difficulty to retrieve the lifeboat.
17 Once aboard, they used ropes to secure the ship to the girth. Fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sails and drifted on.
18 But being battered by a furious storm, the next day they began to lighten the ship,
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 we were being battered by a severe storm, we had already given up all hope of being saved.
21 Then Paul, after they had gone a long time without food, stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete to suffer this damage and loss.
22 But now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
23 For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me
24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar, and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’
25 Therefore, men, take courage, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
26 However, we must run aground on some island.”
27 On the fourteenth night, as they were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, at midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land;
28 They took soundings and found the water was twenty fathoms deep. Going on a little farther, they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms deep.
29 Fearing they would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.
30 The sailors tried to escape from the ship. They launched the lifeboat into the sea, pretending they were dropping anchor from the bow.
31 But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
32 So the soldiers cut the ropes of the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33 When day was beginning, Paul urged them all to eat something, saying, “This is the fourteenth day that you have been watching and fasting, having eaten nothing.
34 I urge you, therefore, to take some food, for this is your life, for not a hair of your head will perish.”
35 And when he had said this, he took the bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all, and breaking it, he began to eat.
36 Then they all, now of renewed spirits, also ate.
37 And there were in all the persons on the ship two hundred and seventy-six.
38 And when they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.
The shipwreck
39 When day broke, they could not recognize land, but they saw a bay with a beach, where they decided to beach the ship if they could.
40 So they cut off the anchors and left them in the sea, and let out the ropes from the rudder. They hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach.
41 But striking a place where the water met, the ship ran aground. The bow stuck fast and remained stationary, but the stern was being battered by the waves.
42 The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners so that none of them would escape by swimming.
43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, stopped them. He ordered those who could swim to jump over first and come ashore,
44 and the rest to come ashore, some on planks and some clinging to parts of the ship. And so it happened that all of them were saved when they came ashore.
Acts Chapter 28
Paul on the island of Malta
1 Once we were safely ashore, we learned that the island was called Malta.
2 The islanders showed us great kindness; they built a fire and welcomed us all because of the rain and the cold.
3 Paul gathered some dry branches and threw them on the fire, and a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.
4 When the islanders saw the viper hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must be a murderer, for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
5 But he shook the viper off into the fire and was not harmed.
6 They had been expecting him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing that nothing bad happened to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
7 Nearby were properties belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us graciously for three days.
8 Now it happened that Publius’ father was lying in bed sick with fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after praying, he laid his hands on him and healed him.
9 After this, the others on the island who were sick also came and were healed.
10 They honored us with many gifts, and when we sailed, they supplied us with what we needed.
Paul arrives in Rome
11 After three months, we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered on the island, its figurehead being Castor and Pollux.
12 We landed at Syracuse and stayed there three days.
13 From there, sailing along the coast, we arrived at Rhegium. The next day, with a south wind, we reached Puteoli,
14 where we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to stay with them for seven days. Then we went to Rome.
15 When the brothers heard about us, they came out to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.
16 When we arrived in Rome, the centurion handed the prisoners over to the military prefect, but Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him.
Pablo predica en Roma
17Aconteció que tres días después, Pablo convocó a los principales de los judíos, a los cuales, luego que estuvieron reunidos, les dijo: Yo, varones hermanos, no habiendo hecho nada contra el pueblo, ni contra las costumbres de nuestros padres, he sido entregado preso desde Jerusalén en manos de los romanos;
18los cuales, habiéndome examinado, me querían soltar, por no haber en mí ninguna causa de muerte.
19 But when the Jews opposed me, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not because I had any charge to bring against my nation.
20 For this reason I have called you to see you and talk with you, because it is for the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.
21 Then they said to him, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, nor has any of the brothers come and reported or spoken anything bad about you.
22 But we would like to hear what you think, for we know that this sect is spoken against everywhere.”
23 So they set a day for him, and many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and testified about the kingdom of God from morning until evening, persuading them about Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others did not believe.
25 And when they did not agree among themselves, as they were leaving, Paul said to them, “The Holy Spirit spoke well through the prophet Isaiah to our fathers, saying,
26 ‘ Go to this people and say to them: “You will be ever hearing but never understanding, and ever seeing but never perceiving.
27 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”’
28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
29 After he had said this, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.
30 For two whole years Paul stayed in his own rented house and received all who came to him,
31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.