1

1 I compiled the first account, Theophilus, of everything that Jesus both did and taught from when he began

2 up to the day when through holy spirit he instructed the apostles whom he had chosen, and was taken up,

3 the apostles to whom he also presented himself alive, after his suffering, with many sure signs, when he was seen by them for forty days, and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God.

4 And when he met up with them, he instructed them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the father's promise, “Which,” he said, “you have heard from me.

5 For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with holy spirit in not many days' time.”

6 So they met together and asked him, and said, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?”

7 But he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the father has placed under his own authority.

8 But you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria and as far as the extremity of the land.”

9 And when he had said these things, while they were looking on, he was taken up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

10 And while they were looking up intently towards heaven as he departed, it became apparent that two men in white clothing were standing next to them,

11 who for their part said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing gazing towards heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the way you saw him go into heaven.”

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, being a Sabbath's journey away.

13 And when they had gone in, they went up to the upper room where they were staying, the company being Peter and James and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the zealot, and Judas the son of James.

14 All these continued resolutely of one mind in prayer and supplication with the women including Mary the mother of Jesus with his brothers.

15 And in those days Peter stood up in the presence of the disciples and said (there was a crowd of about one hundred and twenty people in all),

16 “Men and brothers, it was necessary that this scripture should be fulfilled, which the holy spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David concerning Judas who was guide to those who arrested Jesus,

17 because he was counted among us and he received the office of this ministry.

18 This man then bought a parcel of land with unrighteous gain, and falling headlong burst open in the waist, and all his innards were poured out.

19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that that parcel of land was called in their own dialect ‘Aceldama’, which means ‘Grounds of Blood.’

20 For it stands written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his dwelling become desolate and let there be no inhabitant in it’ and, ‘May another person take his office.’

21 Therefore it is necessary that, from the men who have been with us all the time during which the Lord Jesus went about among us,

22 beginning with the baptism of John up to the day on which he was taken up from us, one of these should become a witness to his resurrection with us.”

23 And they put two forward: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

24 And they prayed and said, “Lord, you know the heart of everyone. Show plainly the one whom you have chosen of these two,

25 to take the office of this apostolic ministry from which Judas fell in transgression so that he went to his own place.”

26 And they gave them their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was reckoned along with the eleven apostles.

2

1 And as the day of Pentecost was coming to an end, they were all of one mind together.

2 And suddenly a noise from heaven came like a strong driving blast, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3 And parting tongues appeared to them, as if of fire, and one rested on each one of them.

4 And all were filled with holy spirit and began to speak in other tongues according to what the spirit gave them to utter.

5 And there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from all the nations under heaven.

6 And when this noise had passed, the crowd gathered and was confused, because each one heard them speaking in his own dialect.

7 And all were astonished and they marvelled, and said to each other, “Look at this – aren't all these Galileans who are speaking?

8 So how come each of us hears in our own dialect in which we were born?

9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those who inhabit Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around Cyrene, and Romans away from home, both Jews and proselytes,

11 Cretans and Arabs – we hear them speaking the magnificent things of God in our languages.”

12 And all were astonished and were at a loss, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

13 But others, jeering, said, “They are full of new wine.”

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them as follows, “Men, Jews and all dwellers of Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give ear to my words.

15 For these men are not drunk as you suppose, seeing it is the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken through the prophet Joel,

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days,’ says God, ‘that I will pour out some of my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your youths will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams,

18 and I will indeed pour out some of my spirit on my servants and on my maidservants in those days, and they will prophesy.

19 And I will show miracles in heaven above and signs on earth below: blood and fire and a smoky vapour.

20 The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon to blood before the great and illustrious day of the Lord comes.

21 And it will come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

22 You Israelite men, hear these words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man from God demonstrated to you by powers and miracles and signs which God performed through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know –

23 him, delivered up by the deliberate plan and foreknowledge of God, you took and through lawless hands crucified and killed,

24 whom God raised up, abolishing the pains of death, as it was not possible for him to be held by it.

25 For David speaks with reference to him, ‘I saw the Lord before me continually, that he was on my right hand side, so that I might not be shaken.

26 On account of this my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope.

27 For you will not leave my being in Hades, nor will you allow your holy one to see decay.

28 You have made the paths of life known to me; you will fill me with joy at your presence.’

29 Men and brothers, I may speak to you frankly about the patriarch David – indeed that he died and was buried and his tomb is among us to this day.

30 Now since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him by an oath that he would raise up the Christ from the fruit of his loins according to the flesh to sit on his throne,

31 foreseeing this, he spoke about the resurrection of Christ: that his being was not left in the Hades, nor did his flesh see decay.

32 God raised up this Jesus, of whom all of us are witnesses.

33 So being exalted at the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the holy spirit from the father, he poured out this which you now see and hear.

34 For David has not ascended into the heavens but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, «Sit on my right hand side

35 until I make your enemies your footstool.» ’

36 So let the whole house of Israel certainly know that God has made him both Lord and Christ – that is, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

37 And when they heard this, they were pierced in their hearts, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What shall we do, men and brothers?”

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit.

39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all those who are far away, whomever our Lord God calls to himself.”

40 And with very many other words he would testify solemnly and exhort them, saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation.”

41 So they gladly received his word and were baptized, and on that day about three thousand people were added to their number.

42 And they continued resolutely in the teaching of the apostles and in fellowship and in the breaking of the bread and in prayers.

43 And fear came upon every soul, and many miracles and signs were performed through the apostles.

44 And all the believers were in the same place and they had everything in common,

45 and they sold their possessions and belongings and distributed them to everyone according to whatever anyone needed.

46 And they resolutely continued daily in unanimity in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, partaking of food with gladness and plainness of heart,

47 praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord would add to the church those who became saved daily.

3

1 Now Peter and John were going up together to the temple at the hour of prayer – the ninth hour,

2 when a certain man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried, a man whom they would put at the door of the temple called “Beautiful” every day, for him to ask for alms from those going into the temple.

3 And when he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked for alms.

4 But Peter looked at him intently with John and said, “Look at us.”

5 So he heeded them, expecting to receive something from them.

6 But Peter said, “Silver and gold I don't have, but what I do have, I will give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk.”

7 And taking hold of him by his right hand, he lifted him up, and immediately his feet and his ankles were made firm.

8 And he leapt up, and stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking around and leaping and praising God.

9 And all the people saw him walking around and praising God,

10 and the recognized him – that this was the man who sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement at what had happened to him.

11 Then while the lame man who had been healed held onto Peter and John, all the people converged on them at what is called Solomon's Portico, greatly astonished.

12 And when Peter saw this, he answered the people, “You Israelite men, why are you astonished at this, or why do you look at us so intently as if it were by our own power or godliness that we made him walk?

13 The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob – the God of our fathers – glorified his servant Jesus whom you though delivered up and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had resolved to release him.

14 But you disowned the holy and righteous one and asked for a man who was a murderer to be granted release to you.

15 And you killed the originator of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.

16 And by faith in his name, his name has given strength to this man whom you see and know, and faith which is through him has given him this clean bill of health in the presence of you all.

17 And now, brothers, I know you acted in ignorance, as also your rulers did.

18 But God has in this way fulfilled the things which he declared beforehand through the mouth of all his prophets, namely that Christ should suffer.

19 Repent therefore, and return, in order that your sins may be wiped out, and that the times of relief may come from the Lord,

20 and that he may send you Christ Jesus who was taken in hand in advance for you,

21 whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all things of which God has spoken through the mouth of all his holy prophets of old time.

22 For Moses said to the fathers, ‘The Lord our God will raise up a prophet to you from your brothers like me. You will hear him in regard to whatever he says to you.

23 And it will come to pass that anyone who does not hear that prophet will be utterly eradicated from the people.’

24 Indeed all the prophets from Samuel and those who followed – all who have spoken – also announced these days.

25 You are the sons of the prophets and the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth will be blessed.’

26 God raised up his servant Jesus to you first, and sent him to bless you by turning each one away from your wicked ways.”

4

1 But while they were speaking to the people, the priests and the head guard of the temple and the Sadducees confronted them,

2 and were exasperated at them teaching the people, and proclaiming the resurrection of the dead in Jesus,

3 and they laid hands on them and had them put in custody until the following day, for it was already evening.

4 But many of those hearing the word believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

5 And it came to pass on the next day that their rulers and elders and scribes gathered in Jerusalem,

6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were of the high-priestly family,

7 and they placed them before them and enquired, “By what power or in what name did you do this?”

8 Then Peter, filled with holy spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel,

9 if we today are being examined about the good work on a sick man, by what means he has been cured,

10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that it is in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God has raised from the dead – that it is by him – that this man stands here in your presence, healthy.

11 He is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the keystone.

12 And there is no salvation in any other, for neither is there any other name given among men by which we must be saved.”

13 And when they saw the confidence of Peter and John, and realized that they were unlettered and laymen, they were amazed, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

14 And since they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against it.

15 And they ordered them to go out of the Sanhedrin council and conferred with each other,

16 and said, “What shall we do to these men? For an evident sign has taken place through them, manifest to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it,

17 but in order that it does not spread any further throughout the people, we will threaten them strongly telling them not to speak any more in this name to any man.”

18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak out or teach in the name of Jesus at all.

19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in God's sight to hear you rather than God, you judge.

20 For we cannot refrain from speaking of what we have seen and heard.”

21 Then they threatened them some more and released them, not finding any way to have them punished, on account of the people, because everyone was glorifying God for what had happened.

22 For the man on whom this sign of healing had taken place was more than forty years old.

23 So having been released, they went to their own circle and reported everything that the senior priests and elders had said to them.

24 And when they heard it, they raised their voices to God in unanimity and said, “Master, you who are God who made heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,

25 you who said through the mouth of David your servant, ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples exercise themselves with vain concerns?

26 The kings of the earth take a stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Christ.’

27 For they have truly gathered against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed: both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

28 to do whatever your hand and your plan have pre-ordained to take place.

29 And as for the present situation, Lord, look at their threats and allow your servants to speak your word with all confidence,

30 by stretching out your hand for healing, and signs and miracles taking place through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31 And when they had implored him, the place where they were gathered shook, and all of them were filled with holy spirit and they spoke the word of God with confidence.

32 And the heart and soul of the multitude of the believers was one, and not a single one said any of their possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.

33 And the apostles gave a testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and they were all greatly esteemed.

34 For no-one among them was in need, for all who were the owners of land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the items sold,

35 and laid them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to whatever anyone needed.

36 And Joses who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles, which when translated is “Son of Consolation,” a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,

37 who owned land, sold it, and brought the proceeds and placed them at the apostles' feet.

5

1 But a certain man by the name of Ananias, with Sappheira his wife, sold some property,

2 and put some of the proceeds aside for himself, his wife also knowing about it, and brought a certain part and placed it at the feet of the apostles.

3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why did Satan fill your heart, so that you lied to the holy spirit, and you put some of the proceeds of the land aside?”

4 Something has definitely been kept back for yourself, hasn't it, and now that it has been sold, is it not under your control? How did you come up with this course of action in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.

5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and expired, and a great fear came on all those who heard these things.

6 Then the young men stood up and wrapped him in a shroud and carried him out and buried him.

7 And it came to pass that after an interval of about three hours, that his wife came in, not knowing what had taken place.

8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me did you sell the land for this price?” And she said, “Yes, for this price.”

9 Then Peter said to her, “How come you agreed to put the spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will also carry you out.”

10 And immediately she fell at his feet and expired. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and carried her out and buried her with her husband.

11 And great fear came upon the whole church and on all those who heard these things.

12 And many signs and miracles were taking place among the people by the apostles, and all were of one mind in Solomon's Portico.

13 But of the rest, no-one dared to join them, but the people spoke highly of them,

14 but all the more believers were being added to the Lord – crowds of both men and women –

15 and as a result they brought out the sick onto the various streets and put them on beds and stretchers, in order that when Peter came, even just his shadow might be cast on one of them.

16 And the population of the cities round about also flocked to Jerusalem carrying the ill and those troubled by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

17 Then the high priest and all those with him rose up – this being the sect of the Sadducees – and they were full of envy,

18 and they laid their hands on the apostles and had them put in the state prison.

19 But the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison in the night, and led them out, and said,

20 “Go and stand up in the temple and speak all these words of life to the people.”

21 When they had heard this they went at about dawn into the temple and gave teaching. Now when the high priest arrived, and those with him, they convened the Sanhedrin council, and the whole council of elders of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison for them to be brought.

22 But when the attendants arrived, they did not find them in the prison, and they returned and reported back,

23 and said, “We found the prison closed under all security, and the guards standing in front of the doors, but when we opened them, we found no-one inside.”

24 And when the priest and the head guard of the temple and the senior priests heard these words, they were at a loss concerning them as to what this might turn into.

25 Then someone arrived and reported back to them as follows, “We have seen how the men whom you had put in prison are standing in the temple teaching the people.”

26 Then the head guard went away with the attendants and brought them, not with force, for they feared the people, so as not to be stoned.

27 When they had brought them, they set them in front of the Sanhedrin council. And the high priest questioned them,

28 and said, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And you have gone and filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you are determined to bring the blood of this man on us.”

29 Then Peter and the apostles answered and said, “It is necessary to obey God rather than men.

30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you laid hands on and hung on wood.

31 God has exalted this man as a ruler and saviour at his right hand so as to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

32 And we are his witnesses of these words, as is the holy spirit which God has given to those who obey him.”

33 Then those who heard it were cut to the quick and resolved to destroy them.

34 But a certain person in the Sanhedrin council, a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, gave orders to put the apostles outside for a little while.

35 And he said to them, “Men and Israelites, watch out with these men as to what you are going to do.

36 For before these times Theudas stood up, saying he was someone, to whom a number of men were called – about four hundred – and he was killed, and all who trusted in him were disbanded and came to nothing.

37 After this man, Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census and he caused a considerable number of people to revolt, rallying behind him, yet that man perished, and all those who trusted him were scattered.

38 And as for the present matters, I say to you: do not get involved with these men, and leave them alone, for if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be dissolved,

39 but if it is of God, you cannot dissolve it, otherwise you for your part might be found to be opposing God.”

40 Then they were persuaded by him, and they called the apostles and flogged them and commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.

41 So they went away from the encounter with the Sanhedrin council rejoicing because they had been deemed worthy to suffer ignominy for the sake of the name of Jesus.

42 And they did not cease teaching and preaching the gospel of Jesus the Christ in the temple and from house to house every day.

6

1 And in those days as the disciples increased in number, a complaint came from the Greek speakers against the Hebrew speakers, that their widows had been overlooked in the daily ministering to their needs.

2 And when the twelve had called the company of disciples, they said, “It is not appropriate that we should abandon the word of God and serve at tables.

3 So, brothers, select seven well-attested men from your company, full of holy spirit and wisdom, for us to appoint in this matter.

4 But we will continue resolutely in prayer and the ministry of the word.”

5 And the proposition found favour in the sight of the whole company, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and holy spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

6 And they set them before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 And the word of God grew and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and a large contingent of the priests were obedient to the faith.

8 Now Stephen, being full of faith and power, performed great miracles and signs among the people.

9 But some of those of the synagogue of the so-called Libertines rose up, as did the Cyrenians and Alexandrians and those from Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen.

10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and spirit by which he was speaking.

11 Then they incited some men who said, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

12 And together they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they accosted him and seized him and led him to the Sanhedrin council.

13 And they set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop speaking blasphemous words against the holy place and the law.

14 For we have heard him saying, ‘This Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.’ ”

15 And all those sitting in the Sanhedrin council looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

7

1 Then the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

2 At this he said, “Men, brothers, and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran.

3 And he said to him, ‘Go out of your country and away from your wider family and come to the land which I will show you.’

4 Then he went out of the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran, and after his father had died, he moved him from there to this country in which you now live.

5 And he did not give him an inheritance in it, not even a footstep, but he promised to give it him as a possession, and to his seed after him, while he still had no child.

6 And God spoke as follows, that his seed would be foreigners in another country, and they would enslave them and treat them badly for four hundred years.

7 ‘And the nation which they will serve I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out and serve me in this place.’

8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac begot and did likewise with Jacob, and Jacob begot and did likewise with the twelve patriarchs.

9 Now the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt, but God was with him,

10 and delivered him from all his tribulations, and gave him grace and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he appointed him governor over Egypt and all his household.

11 Then a famine came over the whole land of Egypt and Canaan, and great tribulation, and our fathers did not find food.

12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers out the first time.

13 And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's race became apparent to Pharaoh.

14 Then Joseph sent them off, calling for his father Jacob and all his kin – seventy-five people.

15 And Jacob went down to Egypt, and he himself died, as did our fathers.

16 And they were transferred to Shechem, and were put in the tomb which Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem.

17 And as the time of the promise which God had sworn to Abraham drew near, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

18 until another king arose, who had not known Joseph.

19 This man, contriving to outwit our race, treated our fathers badly by having their babies put out in the open so that they would not survive.

20 Now in this period Moses was born, and he was extremely handsome, and he was brought up for three months in his father's house.

21 But when he had been put out in the open, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

22 And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was capable in words and deeds.

23 But when he was coming up to forty years old, the thought occurred to him to attend to his brothers, the sons of Israel.

24 And when he saw someone being unjustly treated, he defended and avenged the man who was being harshly dealt with by striking the Egyptian,

25 for he thought that his brothers would understand that God, through his action, was giving them deliverance, but they did not understand.

26 And on the next day, he appeared to them while they were fighting, and he urged them to make peace together, and said, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’

27 But the one who was doing wrong to his neighbour pushed him away from himself and said, ‘Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us?

28 You don't want to kill me in the way you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’

29 But at these words Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he begot two sons.

30 And when forty years had passed, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of the bush on fire.

31 And Moses saw it and wondered at the vision. And as he approached to investigate, the voice of the Lord came to him and said,

32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ But Moses was trembling and did not dare investigate further.

33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Unfasten the sandals on your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.

34 I have clearly seen the ill-treatment of my people in Egypt and I have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. So come on now, I am going to send you to Egypt.’

35 This Moses, whom they repudiated, saying, ‘Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?’ is whom God sent as a ruler and deliverer by the agency of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

36 It is he who led them out, having performed miracles and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the desert for forty years.

37 This is Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord our God will raise up a prophet to you from among your brothers like me.’

38 This is he who was in the assembly in the desert with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and was with our fathers, and he received a living word to give to us,

39 but our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but pushed him aside, and their affections were turned back to Egypt,

40 as they said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods which will go before us. For as for this Moses – who led us out of Egypt – we do not know what has become of him.’

41 And they made a calf in those days and offered a sacrifice to the idol, and they rejoiced in the works of their hands.

42 And God turned away and gave them up to do service to the array of the sky, as it stands written in the book of the prophets, ‘Did you really offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?’

43 And you took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Remphan – images which you made in order to worship them – so I will remove you to beyond Babylon.

44 Our fathers had the tent of the testimony in the desert, as he who spoke to Moses commanded, to make it according to the blueprint which he had seen.

45 And our fathers with Joshua also received it in turn, and brought it in, when they took possession of the country of the nations which God drove out at the advance of our fathers, up to the days of David,

46 who found grace in God's sight and he asked if he could find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

47 But Solomon built him a house.

48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in man-made shrines, as the prophet says,

49 ‘Heaven is my throne, but the earth is a footstool for my feet. What kind of a house will you build for me?’ says the Lord, ‘or what is my resting place?

50 Did not my hand make all these things?’

51 You stiff-necked and uncircumcised of heart and ears, you always resist the holy spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced the coming of the righteous one beforehand, of whom you have now become the betrayers and murderers –

53 you who received the law through injunctions of angels, and did not keep it.”

54 But as they heard these things, they were cut to the quick in their hearts and gnashed their teeth against him.

55 But he was full of holy spirit, and looking intently towards heaven, he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

56 and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the son of man standing at the right hand of God.”

57 Then shouting with a loud voice, they held their ears tight and rushed with one mind against him,

58 and they threw him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid the clothes down at the feet of a young man called Saul.

59 So they stoned Stephen, as he made an appeal and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

60 And he kneeled, and shouted out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge.” And having said this, he fell asleep.

8

1 And Saul was consentient to his execution. And it came to pass on that day that there was a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered among the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

2 Then devout men carried Stephen away to burial and made much lamentation over him.

3 But Saul ravaged the church, going into one house after another, and dragging men and women out he delivered them into prison.

4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

5 And Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed Christ to them.

6 And the crowds paid unanimous attention to the words spoken by Philip when they heard them and saw the signs which he performed.

7 For the unclean spirits of many who were possessed by them came out, shouting with a loud voice, and many who were paralysed or lame were healed.

8 And there was great joy in that city.

9 But a certain man by the name of Simon was long established in the city using magic arts, and astounding the people of Samaria, while saying that he was someone great,

10 and they gave heed to him, from small to great, saying, “This man is the great power of God.”

11 So they gave heed to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorceries.

12 But when they had believed Philip, who was preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

13 And Simon himself also believed, and was baptized, and continued resolutely with Philip, and when he saw deeds of power and signs take place, he was astounded.

14 And when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,

15 who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive holy spirit,

16 for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of Christ Jesus.

17 Then they laid their hands on them, and they received holy spirit.

18 But when Simon observed that the holy spirit was given by the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,

19 and said, “Give me this authority too, so that whoever I lay my hands on should receive holy spirit.”

20 But Peter said to him, “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money.

21 You have no part or inheritance in this matter, for your heart is not upright before God.

22 So repent from this wickedness of yours, and entreat God and see whether then the scheming of your heart will be forgiven you.

23 For I see that you are in bitter gall and bondage to unrighteousness.”

24 Then Simon answered and said, “You entreat the Lord for me that nothing of what you have said should come upon me.”

25 So then, after they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem and preached the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

26 And the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip and said, “Arise and go southwards on the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. It is desolate.”

27 So he arose and went. And he came across an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, an official of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, and he was in charge of all her treasure and had come to worship at Jerusalem.

28 And he was returning, sitting on his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.

29 And the spirit said to Philip, “Go and associate yourself with that chariot.”

30 And Philip ran up to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you actually know what you are reading?”

31 And he said, “Well how can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up in and sit with him.

32 Now the passage of scripture which he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb dumb before its shearer, so he did not open his mouth.

33 While he was in his lowly state, his justice was denied him. But who can describe his generation? For his life is taken from the earth.”

34 Then the eunuch answered and said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about? About himself, or about someone else?”

35 Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this scripture, he preached Jesus to him.

36 And as they went along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there's some water. What is preventing me from being baptized?”

37

38 And he ordered the chariot to stop, and they both went down to the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

39 And when they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord took hold of Philip, and the eunuch didn't see him any more, but he went his way rejoicing.

40 And Philip was found at Azotus, and as he passed through, he preached the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.

9

1 But Saul was still breathing threats and murder towards the Lord's disciples, and he went to the high priest,

2 and asked him for letters to take to Damascus, addressed to the synagogues, authorizing that if he should find anyone of “the way”, both men and women, he should bring them bound to Jerusalem.

3 And as he went, it came to pass that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly light flashed around him from heaven.

4 And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

6 But get up and go to the city, and go to the city and you will be told what you must do.”

7 But the men who were travelling with him stood dumbfounded, hearing the voice, but not seeing anyone.

8 Then Saul arose from the ground and although his eyes were opened, he saw no-one, and they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.

9 And for three days he was without sight, and did not eat or drink.

10 Now there was a certain disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” and he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

11 And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the lane called ‘Straight’ and seek in Judas's house Saul by name, a Tarsan, for look, he is praying.

12 And he has seen in a vision a man by the name of Ananias coming to him and putting his hand on him, so that he may recover his sight.”

13 And Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard about this man from many people, how many bad things he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.

14 And here he has authority from the senior priests to bind all those who call on your name.”

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name in the presence of the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.

16 For I will show him what he must undergo for my name's sake.”

17 So Ananias departed and went into the house and put his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord has sent me – who appeared to you on the road by which you came – so that you may recover your sight and be filled with holy spirit.”

18 And straightaway it was as if scales fell from his eyes, and he recovered his sight and he rose up and was baptized,

19 and he took food and gained strength. And Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for several days.

20 And immediately he preached Christ in the synagogues, preaching that this was the son of God.

21 And all of those hearing it were amazed, and said, “Is this not the man who devastated those who call on this name in Jerusalem, and who has come here for the very purpose of bringing them bound to the senior priests?”

22 But Saul was strengthened further and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus, demonstrating that this was the Christ.

23 But when a fair number of days had passed, the Jews plotted together to eliminate him.

24 But their plot became known to Saul. Meanwhile they were guarding the gates closely, by both day and night, so as to eliminate him.

25 So the disciples took him by night and let him down, lowering him over the wall in a basket.

26 Then when Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join up with the disciples, but they all feared him, not believing that he was a disciple.

27 But Barnabas took hold of him and led him to the apostles, and he explained to them how on the road he had seen the Lord and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken freely in the name of Jesus.

28 And he went with them into Jerusalem, speaking freely in the name of the Lord Jesus,

29 and he spoke and debated with the Greek speakers, but they set about eliminating him.

30 The brothers realized this and brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

31 So the churches throughout the whole of Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, and were built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and were filled with the comforting of the holy spirit.

32 And it came to pass that Peter, in the course of his travels all around, also went down to the saints who lived at Lydda.

33 And he found there a certain man by the name of Aeneas, who had lain on a bed for eight years, who was paralysed.

34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed for yourself.” And immediately he got up.

35 And all those living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

36 Now there was a certain disciple in Joppa by the name of Tabitha, which when translated is “Dorkas”. She was full of good works and alms which she gave.

37 And it came to pass in those days that she fell ill and died. Then they washed her and put her in an upper room.

38 With Lydda being near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was in that place, they sent word to him, pleading with him not to hesitate in coming across to them.

39 So Peter got up and went with them, and when he arrived, all the widows led him up to the upper room, and stood by him weeping and showing him all the tunics and clothes which Dorkas used to make when she with them.

40 Then Peter sent them all out and knelt and prayed, and turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes and saw Peter and sat up.

41 And giving her his hand, he stood her up, and called the saints and the widows, and presented her alive.

42 And it became known throughout the whole of Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

43 And it came to pass that he stayed many days in Joppa with a certain Simon, a tanner.

10

1 Now there was a certain man in Caesarea by the name of Cornelius, a centurion from the so-called Italian cohort,

2 who was devout and god-fearing, along with all his household, who gave many alms to the people, and was continually beseeching God.

3 He saw clearly in a vision, at about the ninth hour of the day, the angel of God who came to him, and said to him, “Cornelius.”

4 And he looked at him intently and became fearful and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have gone up as a memorial in the presence of God.

5 And now, send men to Joppa and send for Simon, who is surnamed Peter.

6 He is lodging with a certain Simon, a tanner, who has a house by the sea.”

7 And when the angel who was speaking to Cornelius had departed, he called two of his household slaves and a devout soldier from among those who continued resolutely with him,

8 and explained everything to them, and sent them to Joppa.

9 Then on the next day those men made their way and as they approached the city, Peter went up onto the roof to pray, at about the sixth hour.

10 And he became very hungry, and wanted a taste of food. And as they made their preparations a trance came over him.

11 And he saw heaven opened, and a certain object descending on him, like a large sheet, tied at the four corners and being lowered down to the earth,

12 in which were all the quadrupeds of the earth and wild animals and reptiles and birds of the sky.

13 And a voice came to him and said, “Arise, Peter, slaughter and eat.”

14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything profane or unclean.”

15 And the voice came to him again, a second time, and said, “Don't you call profane what God has declared clean.”

16 And this happened three times, and then the object was taken up into heaven again.

17 Now while Peter was at a loss in himself as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, along came the men who had been sent from Cornelius and had asked for Simon's house, and they stood at the gateway,

18 and called and were enquiring whether Simon surnamed Peter was lodging there.

19 And while Peter was reflecting on the vision, the spirit said to him, “Look, some men are looking for you.

20 But get up and go down and go with them, not doubting in any way, because I have sent them.”

21 So Peter went down to the men and said, “Look, I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason you are here?”

22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and god-fearing man, respected by the whole nation of the Jews, was oracularly instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and for him to hear words from you.”

23 So he invited them inside and put them up. Then on the next day Peter went out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him.

24 Then on the next day they went to Caesarea. And Cornelius was expecting them and had called his relatives and close friends together.

25 But when it came to Peter going in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him.

26 But Peter made him get up, saying, “Get up. I myself am also a man.”

27 Then he talked with him, and went in, and found many gathered together.

28 And he said to them, “You understand that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with or approach someone of a different race. But God has shown me not to say that any man is common or unclean.

29 That is why I came without arguing against it when I was sent for. So I enquire now for what reason you have sent for me.”

30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour I was praying in my house, and behold, a man stood opposite me in shining clothing,

31 and he said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered in the presence of God.

32 So send men to Joppa and call for Simon who is surnamed Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea, and when he has arrived, he will speak with you.’

33 So I immediately sent men to you, and you have done well in coming. So now all of us are present in God's sight to hear all the things that have been commanded you by God.”

34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said, “In truth I understand that God is not one who shows partiality,

35 but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.

36 You know the word which he sent to the sons of Israel, as he preached peace through Jesus Christ – he is Lord of all –

37 you know the course of events which took place throughout all Judaea, beginning with Galilee after the baptism which John preached

38 – Jesus from Nazareth – how God anointed him with holy spirit and power, who went about doing good works and healing all those who were being overpowered by the devil, because God was with him.

39 And we are witnesses of everything he did in the Jews' country area and in Jerusalem, whom they also killed by hanging him on wood.

40 Him God raised on the third day, and appointed him to become manifest,

41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, to us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one who has been designated by God as judge of the living and the dead.

43 All the prophets testify to 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 of those who heard the word.

45 And those believers of the circumcision who had come with Peter were amazed that the gift of the holy spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles.

46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and magnifying God. Then Peter answered,

47 “Surely no-one can refuse water, so preventing these people from being baptized – those who have received the holy spirit, as we for our part have.”

48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.

11

1 And the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

2 And when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision took issue with him,

3 saying, “You have gone to men who are uncircumcised and eaten with them.”

4 But Peter explained things to them from the beginning, in order, and said,

5 “I was in the city of Joppa, praying. And in a trance I saw a vision, a certain object descending, like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me,

6 and I looked at it intently and took careful note and saw the quadrupeds of the earth and wild animals and reptiles and birds of the sky.

7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Arise, Peter, slaughter and eat.’

8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord. For nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

9 Then the voice answered me a second time from heaven: ‘Don't you call profane what God has declared clean.’

10 And this happened three times, and then it was all drawn up again into heaven.

11 Then straightaway it so happened that three men came to the house in which I was, having been sent from Caesarea to me.

12 And the spirit told me to go with them, not doubting in any way. So these six brothers also went along with me, and we went into the man's house,

13 and he related to us how he had seen the angel in his house, who stood and said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa and send for Simon who is surnamed Peter,

14 who will speak words to you by which you and all your house will be saved.’

15 And as I was beginning to speak, the holy spirit fell on them, as it had also done on us in the beginning.

16 And I remembered the word of the Lord when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with holy spirit.’

17 So if God has given them the same gift as to us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, then who was I that I could hinder God?”

18 And when they had heard these things, they quietened down and they glorified God, saying, “Has God then also given the Gentiles repentance leading to life?”

19 Now then, those who were scattered by the tribulation which took place over Stephen went across to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, not speaking the word to anyone except Jews only.

20 But there were some of them, Cypriot and Cyrenian men, who went to Antioch and spoke to the Greek speakers, preaching the Lord Jesus.

21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

22 And the report concerning them was heard in the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to go across as far as Antioch,

23 who when he arrived and saw the grace of God, rejoiced, and encouraged them all in their heart's resolve to remain attached to the Lord,

24 for he was a good man, and full of holy spirit and faith, and a considerable company was added to the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas went out to Tarsus to seek out Saul,

26 and he found him and brought him to Antioch. And it came to pass that they assembled together with the church for a whole year and taught a considerable company, and that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

27 And in those days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

28 And one of them by the name of Agabus arose and indicated through the spirit that there was about to be a great famine over all the world, which indeed came to pass in the time of Claudius Caesar.

29 Then according to how any of the disciples prospered, each of them assigned money to send for relief to those brothers living in Judaea,

30 which they did, sending it to the elders through the agency of Barnabas and Saul.

12

1 At about that time Herod the king set about harming certain members of the church,

2 and he killed James the brother of John by the sword.

3 And seeing that this was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too. Now these were the days of the unleavened bread,

4 and having seized him he put him in prison and handed him over to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, wishing to lead him up to the people after the Passover.

5 So Peter was being guarded in the prison. Meanwhile there was intense prayer taking place by the church to God for him.

6 Then when Herod was about to bring him forward, on that night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound by two chains, while guards were guarding the prison in front of the door.

7 And behold, the angel of the Lord came up to him and a light shone in the cell. He prodded Peter's side and made him get up, saying, “Arise quickly.” And his chains fell off from his hands.

8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”

9 And he went out and followed him, but he was not aware that what was taking place through the angel was real, but he thought he was seeing a vision.

10 They passed through the first guard-post and the second one and came to the iron gate which led to the city, which opened automatically to them. And they went out and went on down one street, then straightaway the angel departed from him.

11 And Peter, having come to himself, said, “Now I truly know the Lord sent his angel and set me free from Herod's grip and all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

12 And realizing this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John who is surnamed Mark, where there was a considerable number of people gathered and praying.

13 And when Peter had knocked on the door of the gate, a girl by the name of Rhoda came to answer it.

14 And recognizing Peter's voice, she did not open the gate for joy, but ran to report that Peter was standing at the gate.

15 But they said to her, “You're mad.” But she affirmed that it was so. Then they said, “It's his angel.”

16 But Peter continued to knock. Then they opened up and saw him and were astonished.

17 Then he signalled to them with his hand to be silent, and explained to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison, and he said, “Tell these things to James and the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

18 And when day came, there was no minor disturbance among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

19 And Herod made a further search for him, and not finding him, he interrogated the guards and ordered them to be led away. Then he went down from Judaea to Caesarea and spent time there.

20 Now Herod was raging against the Tyrians and Sidonians. But they had come to him with one mind, and having won over Blastus who was in charge of the king's bedroom, they asked for peace, because their country was supported by the king's country.

21 And on an appointed day, Herod put on his royal clothes and sat on the tribune and addressed them.

22 And the people shouted out, “It's the voice of God and not of a man!”

23 And immediately the angel of the Lord struck him because he had not given glory to God, and he was consumed by worms and expired.

24 And the word of God grew and increased.

25 Then Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, having fulfilled their mission, taking John surnamed Mark with them too.

13

1 Now there were some prophets and teachers here and there in the church which existed in Antioch: Barnabas, and Simeon surnamed Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen of common upbringing with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

2 And as they were performing service to the Lord and fasting, the holy spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul completely apart for me for the work which I have called them to do.”

3 Then, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and dismissed them.

4 So these men were sent out by the holy spirit and went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed away to Cyprus.

5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jews' synagogues. They also had John as an assistant.

6 When they had crossed the island, as far as Paphos, they found a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, who had the name Barjesus,

7 who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. He called for Barnabas and Saul, and was very keen to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the magician – for that is his name when translated – opposed them, attempting to divert the proconsul from the faith.

9 Then Saul, who is also known as Paul, filled with holy spirit, looked intently at him,

10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all fraud, son of the devil, hostile to all righteousness, will you not cease from perverting the straight ways of the Lord?

11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and darkness fell on him and he went about seeking guides.

12 Then having seen what had taken place, the proconsul believed, and was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

13 Then Paul and his company put out to sea from Paphos and went to Perga in Pamphylia. But John took leave of them and returned to Jerusalem.

14 And they crossed from Perga and arrived at Antioch of Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.

15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent assistants to them, who said, “Men and brothers, if any of you have a word of encouragement to the people, speak up.”

16 Then Paul got up and signalled with his hand and said, “Men and Israelites, and you who fear God, listen.

17 The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm he brought them out of it.

18 And for about a forty year period he put up with their ways in the desert.

19 And he destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, and gave their land to them as an inheritance.

20 And for about four hundred and fifty years after that he gave them judges, until Samuel the prophet.

21 Then after that they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kis, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

22 Then he removed him and raised up David to them as king, to whom he also gave witness and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart who will carry out all my will.’

23 From the seed of this man God brought salvation to Israel according to his promise,

24 John having proclaimed in advance of his coming the baptism of repentance to Israel.

25 And as John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the one. But look, after me is coming one the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to loosen.’

26 Men and brothers, sons of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.

27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers did not know this man, yet they fulfilled the voices of the prophets – which are read every Sabbath – when they judged him.

28 And not finding any grounds for a death penalty, they asked Pilate for him to be executed.

29 And when they had finished doing everything that stood written about him, they took him down from the wood and put him in a tomb.

30 But God raised him from the dead,

31 and he was seen for many days by those who went up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are witnesses of him to the people.

32 And we preach to you the promise to the fathers which has taken place – that God has completely fulfilled it to their children – us – in raising up Jesus,

33 as it also stands written in the second psalm, ‘You are my son; today I have begotten you.’

34 In that he raised him from the dead, no longer destined to return to decay, he has spoken as follows: ‘I will give you the faithful sacred things of David’.

35 On account of this he also says in another place, ‘You will not permit your holy one to see decay.’

36 For David, having served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep and was added to his fathers and saw decay,

37 but he whom God raised up did not see decay.

38 So let it be known to you, men and brothers, that through this man, forgiveness of sins is declared to you,

39 and that through this man everyone who believes is justified from all the things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

40 So see to it that what has been spoken by the prophets does not come upon you.

41 ‘Behold, you haughty ones, and be amazed and vanish, for I am carrying out a work in your days which you certainly would not believe even if someone declared it to you.’ ”

42 And when they had gone out of the synagogue of the Jews, the Gentiles pleaded with them for the words to be spoken to them on the intervening Sabbath.

43 And when the synagogue gathering had broken up, many of the Jews and the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who addressed them and persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

44 And on the next Sabbath, almost all the city gathered to hear the word of God.

45 And when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and spoke against the things being spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.

46 But speaking out boldly, Paul and Barnabas said, “It was necessary for the word of God to be spoken to you first. But since you discard it and do not judge yourselves worthy of age-abiding life, look, we are turning to the Gentiles.

47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have appointed you as a light to the Gentiles, for you to be for salvation up to the end of the earth.’ ”

48 And the Gentiles, hearing this, rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and those who were appointed to age-abiding life believed.

49 And the word of the Lord was spread about through the whole of the region.

50 But the Jews incited the devout women and those of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and threw them out of their territories.

51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium.

52 And the disciples were filled with joy and holy spirit.

14

1 And it came to pass in Iconium that they went in the same way into the Jews' synagogue and spoke in such a way that a large number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against the brothers.

3 And they spent a considerable time speaking out boldly about the Lord, who gave witness to his word of grace, allowing signs and miracles to take place through their hands.

4 So the population of the city was divided, and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

5 But when an assault by both Gentiles and Jews took place with their leaders, intending to maltreat and stone them,

6 they became aware of it and fled to the Lyconian cities of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area.

7 And there they would preach the gospel.

8 And a certain man in Lystra, disabled in his feet, was sitting down. He had been lame from his mother's womb and had never walked.

9 And he heard Paul speaking, who looked at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be saved,

10 said in a loud voice, “Stand up, upright on your feet.” And he leapt and walked about.

11 But when the crowds saw what Peter had done, they raised their voices and said in Lycaonian, “The gods have taken on human likeness and come down to us.”

12 And they called Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes since he was the spokesman.

13 And the priest of Zeus's temple, which was in front of their city, brought bulls and garlands to the gates, and along with the crowds wished to offer sacrifice.

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and leapt into the crowd, shouting

15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men with similar feelings to you, preaching the gospel to you, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and everything that is in them,

16 who in past generations allowed all the Gentiles to go their own ways.

17 And yet he did not leave himself without a witness, doing good, giving rains from the sky and fruit-bearing seasons to you, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

18 And in saying these things they only just stopped the crowds sacrificing to them.

19 Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and they persuaded the crowds otherwise, and they stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he had died.

20 But the disciples gathered round him, and he got up and went to the city, and on the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

21 And they preached the gospel to that city, and when they had made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch.

22 And they boosted the morale of the disciples and encouraged them to remain in the faith, and said, “We must go through many tribulations into the kingdom of God.”

23 And they appointed them elders in each church, and after praying with fastings they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

24 And they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

25 And they spoke the word in Perga and went down to Attalia.

26 And from there they sailed off to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.

27 And when they had arrived and gathered the church, they reported on all the things that God had done with them and on the fact that he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

28 Then they spent no inconsiderable time there with the disciples.

15

1 And certain men came down from Judaea and were teaching the brothers as follows: “Unless you are circumcised in the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

2 So with a not insignificant standpoint and argument with Paul and Barnabas having arisen against them, they arranged for Paul and Barnabas and some others of their company to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this dispute.

3 So they were seen off on their way by the church, and they went through Phoenicia and Samaria, relating the conversion of the Gentiles in detail, and gave great joy to all the brothers.

4 And when they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received favourably by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported on all the things God had done with them.

5 Then some of the sect of the Pharisees, believers, stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

6 Then the apostles and elders gathered together to look into this matter.

7 And after much disputing had taken place, Peter stood up and said to them, “Men and brothers, you understand that from early days God made a choice among us that the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel through my mouth, and believe.

8 And God who knows our hearts witnessed to them by giving them the holy spirit, as he also did to us,

9 and did not discriminate between us and them in any respect, and purified their hearts by faith.

10 So now, why are you putting God to the test, by putting a yoke on the disciples' neck, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

11 But it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we believe that we have been saved in the same way that they do.”

12 And the whole company went silent and heard Barnabas and Paul relating in detail all the signs and miracles which God had performed among the Gentiles through them.

13 And after they had become silent, James answered and said, “Men and brothers, listen to me.

14 Simon has described how God first deigned to take a people out of the Gentiles in his name.

15 And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it stands written,

16 ‘After these things I will return and build up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and I will rebuild its ruins and restore it,

17 in order that the rest of men might seek out the Lord, including all the Gentiles on whom my name has been called,’ says the Lord, ‘who does all these things.’

18 All his works have been known to God since the beginning of time.

19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God,

20 but should write to them to refrain from the polluted accompaniments of the idols, and from fornication, and anything strangled, and from blood.

21 For Moses from early generations has had those who preach him in various cities, he being read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

22 Then the apostles and the elders with all the church decided to select some men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who is surnamed Barsabbas, and Silas – leading men among the brothers.

23 They wrote as follows, to be taken by hand personally: “From the apostles and the elders and the brothers to the Gentile brothers throughout Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.

24 In view of the fact that we have heard that some of us have gone out and disturbed you with words, upsetting your spiritual condition, telling you to be circumcised and to keep the law, to whom we have given no such instructions,

25 we, reaching unanimity, have decided to send some selected men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

26 who are men who have committed themselves to the cause of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27 So we have sent Judas and Silas with them to report on the same things verbally.

28 For it seemed good to the holy spirit and us not to lay anything heavier on you except these necessary things:

29 to refrain from things sacrificed to idols, and blood, and anything strangled, and fornication. If you keep yourselves from these things, you will be doing well. May you be strong.”

30 So these were sent on their way and they came to Antioch, and when they had gathered the group together, they handed over the epistle.

31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced over the encouragement.

32 And Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and invigorated the brothers with many words.

33 And when they had spent some time there, they were sent on their way with peace from the brothers to the apostles.

34

35 Then Paul and Barnabas spent time in Antioch, teaching and preaching the gospel, with many others, the word of the Lord.

36 And after several days Paul said to Barnabas, “Now then, let us return and visit our brothers in every city in which we declared the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

37 And Barnabas decided to take John who was called Mark with him.

38 But Paul did not think it proper that they should take this man with them, who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them for the work.

39 So a bitter dispute arose, with the result that they took leave of each other, and that Barnabas took Mark with him to sail off to Cyprus.

40 And Paul chose Silas and departed, after being committed to the grace of God by the brothers.

41 And he crossed through Syria and Cilicia, invigorating the churches.

16

1 And he arrived at Derbe and Lystra, where there was a certain disciple by the name of Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman, who was a believer, and a Greek father,

2 and he was highly regarded by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium.

3 Paul wanted him to come along with him, and took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered decrees to them, to keep, which had been issued by the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem.

5 So the churches were consolidated in the faith and they increased in number daily.

6 But as they passed through Phrygia and the Galatian region, they were prevented by the holy spirit from speaking the word in Asia,

7 and they came down to Mysia, and attempted to go down to Bithynia, but the spirit did not allow them,

8 and by-passing Mysia they went down to Troas.

9 Then a vision appeared in the night to Paul – a certain Macedonian man was standing and calling on him and saying, “Cross into Macedonia and help us.”

10 And when he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to depart for Macedonia, deducing that the Lord had called on us to preach the gospel to them.

11 So we set sail from Troas and had a straight voyage to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis.

12 And from there to Philippi, which is the first city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony, and we were in the city itself spending time there for several days.

13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city along the river where prayer was customarily held and we sat down and spoke to the women who were gathered there.

14 And a certain woman by the name of Lydia was listening, a seller of purple cloth, of the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God, whose heart the Lord had opened to pay heed to the things spoken by Paul.

15 And when she had been baptized, along with her household, she invited us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay in my house.” And she urged us to do so.

16 And it came to pass as we were going to prayer that a certain girl who was possessed by a soothsaying spirit met us, and who provided her masters with much business by soothsaying.

17 She followed Paul and us persistently and kept shouting out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they will declare the way of salvation to us.”

18 She kept doing this for many days. Paul, being worn out with annoyance, turned to the spirit and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out at that very hour.

19 But when her masters saw that the mainstay of their business had come out, they laid hold of Paul and Silas dragged them to the market place to the governors.

20 And they led them to the magistrates and said, “These men are stirring up our city, and, being Jews,

21 are declaring customs which we are not permitted to adopt or to do, since we are Romans.”

22 And the crowd rose up against them together, and the magistrates tore their coats and ordered beating with rods.

23 And after inflicting many blows on them, they threw them in prison, ordering the prison guard to guard them securely,

24 and he accepted such a charge and put them in the innermost prison area and secured their feet to the wood.

25 Now at around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

26 when suddenly a heavy earthquake took place, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's shackles became detached.

27 The prison guard was awoken from his sleep, and when he saw that the doors of the prison were open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice and said, “Don't do yourself any harm, for we are all here.”

29 Then he asked for light and rushed in, and with trembling he fell down at Paul and Silas,

30 and led them out, and said, “Gentlemen, what must I do to be saved?”

31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you and your household will be saved.”

32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all those in his house.

33 Then he took them along at that hour of the night and washed their wounds, and was immediately baptized, as were all those of his family.

34 And he led them up to his house, and served them a meal and rejoiced with all his household, having believed in God.

35 After a day had passed, the magistrates sent the lictors and said, “Release those men.”

36 And the prison guard reported these words to Paul as follows, “The magistrates have sent word that you should be released. So depart now and go in peace.”

37 Then Paul said to them, “They flogged us when we were uncondemned, in public, whilst we are Roman citizens, and threw us in prison. And now, are they going to expel us in secret? Not likely! Rather, let them come and conduct us out themselves.”

38 And the lictors reported these words to the magistrates, and they became afraid when they heard that they were Romans,

39 and they came and apologized to them profusely, then they conducted them out and asked them to leave the city.

40 So they came out of the prison and went to Lydia, and saw the brothers there and encouraged them, and departed again.

17

1 And they travelled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

2 And in accordance with his custom, Paul went to them, and for three Sabbaths he debated with them from the scriptures,

3 expounding and explaining as follows: “Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead”, and “This is who the Christ is: Jesus whom I declare to you”.

4 And some of them were persuaded and were allotted to Paul and Silas, as were a very large number of the devout Greeks and not an insignificant number of the leading women.

5 But the unbelieving Jews recruited some good-for-nothing men from those who hang around the market area, and when they had collected a crowd, they brought the city into uproar and took a stand at Jason's house and tried to bring them to the people.

6 But as they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers to the city rulers, shouting, “Those upsetting the world are these present right here,

7 whom Jason has received as guests. And all these are doing things contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king – Jesus.”

8 And they stirred up the crowd and the rulers of the city who heard these things.

9 Then they took bail from Jason and the others, and released them.

10 And the brothers immediately during the night sent Paul and Silas away to Berea, who, when they arrived, went to the Jews' synagogue.

11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they received the word with all readiness, closely examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

12 So many of them believed, as did not a few of the Greek women of high standing, and men.

13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica came to know that the word of God had also been declared in Berea by Paul, they came there too and stirred up the crowds.

14 And then immediately the brothers sent Paul out so that he could go in the direction of the sea. But both Silas and Timothy stayed there.

15 And they conducted Paul and brought him to Athens, then having received an instruction for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.

16 And in Athens, while Paul was waiting for them, his spirit in him was exasperated when he saw how the city was given to idolatry.

17 So he discussed with the Jews and devout people in the synagogue, and every day with those who happened to be around in the market place.

18 And also some of the Epicurean and the Stoic philosophers engaged him in conversation, and some said, “What could this amateur be getting at?” But others said, “He seems to be a propounder of foreign deities.” This was because he preached Jesus and the resurrection.

19 And they took him along with them and brought him to Ares Hill and said, “May we know what this new teaching is which is being spoken by you?

20 For you are bringing some strange ideas to our ears. So we wish to know what these things mean.”

21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners living away from home spend their leisure time in nothing other than talking or hearing about something new.

22 So Paul, standing before the Ares Hill council said, “Men of Athens, I see, apparently, that you are very reverent to the gods in all respects.

23 For as I passed through and looked at your objects of worship, I also found an altar on which had been inscribed, ‘To an unknown god.’ Now him whom you worship in ignorance, I declare to you.

24 God who made the universe and everything in it – he being Lord of heaven and earth – does not dwell in shrines made by hands,

25 nor is he served by human hands as if he lacked anything, but he himself gives life and breath in all respects to all.

26 And he made every nation of men from one blood, so as dwell on all the surface of the earth, and he set appointed times and the borders of their territory,

27 so that they should seek the Lord, to see if they might possibly feel their way to him and find him, and at any rate he is not far from any one of us.

28 For in him we live and move and exist, as also some of your poets have said, ‘For we too are his kindred.’

29 So since we are the offspring of God, we should not think the Godhead is like gold or silver or stone or a sculpture from the craftsmanship and the ponderings of men.

30 And so although God turned a blind eye throughout the times of ignorance, in these times he commands all men everywhere to repent.

31 For he has appointed a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness, through a man whom he has appointed, having provided assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

32 And when they heard, “resurrection of the dead”, some scoffed, but some said, “We will hear you again on this matter.”

33 And so Paul departed from their company.

34 But some men stuck with him and believed, among whom were Dionysius the Ares Hill council member, and a woman by the name of Damaris and others with them.

18

1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

2 And he found a certain Jew by the name of Aquila, a Pontian by descent, who had just come from Italy and Priscilla his wife (because Claudius had decreed that all the Jews must depart from Rome), and he went up to them,

3 and since they were of the same trade, he remained with them and did some work, for they were tent-makers by trade.

4 And he was in discussion in the synagogue every Sabbath, and he tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

5 And when both Silas and Timothy had come down from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in spirit and testified solemnly to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.

6 But since they took an opposing standpoint and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your head. I am clear of responsibility. From now on I am going to the Gentiles.”

7 And moving on from there he went to the house of a certain man by the name of Justus, who worshipped God, whose house abutted on the synagogue.

8 But Crispus the leader of the synagogue believed in the Lord with the whole of his household, and many of the Corinthians heard and believed and were baptized.

9 Then the Lord said to Paul through a vision at night, “Do not be afraid, but speak out and do not be silent,

10 for I am with you and no-one will attack you so as to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

11 And he remained there for a year and six months teaching the word of God among them.

12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaea, the Jews unanimously rose up against Paul and led him to the court,

13 saying, “This man is inciting men to worship God in a way contrary to the law.”

14 And as Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “Now if it had been some wrongdoing or nefarious malpractice, O Jews, I would have accepted your charge as reasonable,

15 but if it is a dispute about a word and names and your law, see to it yourselves. For I do not wish to be a judge of these things.”

16 And he dismissed them from the court.

17 And all the Greeks took hold of Sosthenes the leader of the synagogue and beat him in the presence of the court. But none of these things was a scruple to Gallio.

18 And Paul stayed on several days more, then bade farewell to the brothers and sailed away to Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila, who had had his head shaved in Cenchreae, for he had made a vow.

19 And he reached Ephesus and left those there while he himself went to the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews.

20 But when they asked him to stay with them longer, he did not assent,

21 but took his leave of them, and said, “I must at all events keep the coming festival in Jerusalem, but I will come back to you again, God willing.” And he set sail from Ephesus.

22 And he landed at Caesarea, and went up and greeted the church and came down to Antioch.

23 And he spent some time there, then departed and crossed through, in sequence, the Galatian region and Phrygia, invigorating all the disciples.

24 And a certain Jew by the name of Apollos, and Alexandrian by descent an erudite man, being masterful in the scriptures, came down to Ephesus.

25 He had been taught the way of the Lord verbally, and being fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught the matters concerning the Lord accurately, although he only knew the baptism of John.

26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. And when Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

27 And as he wished to cross over to Achaea, the brothers urged him on and wrote to the disciples to receive him. And when he arrived he contributed much to those who had believed, through grace.

28 For he vigorously and thoroughly refuted the Jews, publicly demonstrating through the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

19

1 And it came to pass while Apollos was in Corinth that Paul crossed through the upper regions and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples,

2 and asked them, “Did you receive holy spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether holy spirit exists.”

3 And he asked them, “With what were you baptized, then?” And they said, “With the baptism of John.”

4 Then Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is in Christ Jesus.”

5 And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the holy spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

7 And there were about twelve of these men in total.

8 And he went to the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, discussing and persuading them of matters concerning the kingdom of God.

9 But when some became hardened and disbelieved, and denigrated “the way” in the presence of the community, he withdrew from them and separated the disciples from them, holding discussions daily in the lecture room of a certain Tyrannus.

10 This took place for two years, resulting in all those living in Asia hearing the word of the Lord Jesus – both Jews and Greeks.

11 And God performed deeds of power of no ordinary sort through the hands of Paul,

12 so that even sweat-bands or gowns which had been in contact with him were brought and put on the sick, and the diseases were removed from them, and evil spirits came out of them.

13 Then some of the roaming Jewish exorcists took it in hand to name the name of the Lord Jesus over those possessed by the evil spirits and they said, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

14 And there were a certain seven sons of Sceva, a senior Jewish priest, doing this.

15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “I know Jesus and I am well acquainted with Paul, but as for you, who are you?”

16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leapt on them and overpowered them, and prevailed over them with the result that they only escaped from that house naked and wounded.

17 And this became known to all the Jews and Greeks who were living in Ephesus, and a fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

18 And many of those who had believed came confessing and admitting their practices.

19 And a considerable number of those who had engaged in superstitious practices collected their books and burned them up in the presence of everyone, and they added up the value of them and found that it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.

20 In this way the word of the Lord increased strongly and prevailed.

21 And when these things had been completed, Paul resolved, after going across Macedonia and Achaea, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I arrive there, I must also see Rome.”

22 Then he sent two of those who were assisting him, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, but he himself stayed on for a while in Asia.

23 And a not insignificant disturbance took place at about that time concerning “the way”.

24 For a certain Demetrius by name, a silversmith, who made silver shrines to Artemis, provided the craftsmen with no small amount of work,

25 and he gathered them together, including the workmen connected with such things, and said, “Men, you understand that our prosperity comes from this trade.

26 And you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but in almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded a considerable number of people and caused them to change their position, saying that there are no gods made by hands.

27 And not only is this line of business of ours in danger of coming into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis is in danger of being considered worthless, and also her magnificence of being destroyed – Artemis whom the whole of Asia and the world worships.”

28 When they heard this, they also became full of anger, and shouted, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

29 And the whole city was filled with confusion, and they rushed with one mind to the theatre and rounded up Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, travelling companions of Paul.

30 And whereas Paul wanted to go to the people at large, the disciples did not allow him.

31 And also some of the rulers of Asia, since they were friendly towards him, sent to him, and exhorted him not to venture into the theatre.

32 So some were shouting one thing, and some another. For the legislative assembly was in confusion, and most did not know on account of what they had gathered together.

33 And they put Alexander forward from the crowd, the Jews having proposed him. And Alexander motioned his hand for quiet and wished to speak in defence to the people,

34 but when they realized he was a Jew, there arose one call from all of them, and they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.”

35 Then the town clerk restrained the crowd and said, “Men of Ephesus, after all, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the custodian of the temple of the great goddess Artemis, and of the image of Zeus fallen from above.

36 So since these things are irrefutable, you must exercise restraint and not do anything rash.

37 For you have brought these men here, but they are not temple plunderers or blasphemers of your goddess.

38 So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a charge against anyone, the courts are functional and there are proconsuls available – let them charge one another.

39 But if you are seeking something relating to other matters, it will be settled in the legislative assembly.

40 For we are also in danger of being charged for today's rioting, although there is no cause concerning which we will not be able to give an account of this rally.”

41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the legislative assembly.

20

1 And after the uproar had ceased, Paul called for the disciples, and when he had wished them well, he departed, to go to Macedonia.

2 And when he had crossed through those parts and encouraged them with many a word, he went to Greece.

3 And after spending three months there, when a plot was hatched by the Jews against him when he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

4 And Sopater, a Berean, accompanied him as far as Asia, as did Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and the Asians Tychicus and Trophimus.

5 These proceeded to, and waited for, us in Troas.

6 But after the days of the unleavened bread we sailed away from Philippi and came to them at Troas in five days, where we spent seven days.

7 And on the first of the Sabbaths when the disciples had gathered together to break bread, Paul held a discussion with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged the discussion up to midnight.

8 And there was a considerable number of lamps in the upper room where we were gathered.

9 Now a certain young man by the name of Eutychus was sitting at the window, and was weighed down by deep sleepiness, while Paul was all the more engaged in discussion, and when he was finally overcome by the sleepiness, he fell down from the third storey and was taken up dead.

10 But Paul went down and fell on him and embraced him and said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.”

11 And he went upstairs and broke bread, and had a taste of it, and talked for a long time – until daybreak – and then he departed.

12 And they brought the boy in alive, and were comforted in no small measure.

13 And we arrived and went on board the ship and set sail to Assos, and from there we planned to take Paul on board, for that is how he had made arrangements, he himself having the intention to go there on foot.

14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and we went to Mitylene.

15 And from there on the next day we sailed off and skirted round Chios, and on the day after we crossed over past Samos, and we stayed in Trogullium, and on the day after that we went to Miletus.

16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not end up spending time in Asia. For he was eager, if it was possible for him, to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

17 And from Miletus he sent word to Ephesus, and sent for the elders of the church.

18 And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You know from the first day on which I set foot on Asia, how I was with you all the time,

19 serving the Lord with all humility and many tears and trials which befell me through the plots of the Jews,

20 how I did not keep back anything profitable – not refraining from informing you and teaching you in public and from house to house,

21 testifying to both Jews and Greeks repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus.

22 And now, look, I am going bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what things will befall me there,

23 except that the holy spirit testifies from city to city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.

24 But I consider it a matter of no concern, nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so long as I complete my course with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to give a witness of the gospel of the grace of God.

25 And now, look, I know that none of you, among whom I went about proclaiming the kingdom of God, will see my face any longer,

26 which is why I testify to you on this very day that I am clear of the blood of all people.

27 For I have not refrained from declaring the whole will of God to you.

28 So take heed for yourselves and the whole flock, over which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the church of the Lord and God, which he acquired through his own blood.

29 For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come to you, not sparing the flock.

30 And from within your company men will arise, saying perverse things in order to draw away the disciples after them.

31 Be watchful, therefore, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.

32 And regarding present matters, brothers, I commit you to God and his word of grace which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who have been sanctified.

33 I have not coveted anyone's gold or silver or clothing.

34 You yourselves know that these hands served my needs and the needs of those who were with me.

35 I have set you an example in all respects, showing you that this is how you must toil to help those who are weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus as he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.

37 And there was considerable weeping by all of them, and they fell round Paul's neck and kissed him,

38 feeling grief most of all at the words which he had spoken, that they would not see his face any more. Then they escorted him to the ship.

21

1 And when it came to pass that we set sail, after we had taken our leave of them, we sailed a straight course and went to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there we went to Patara,

2 and when we found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail.

3 Then we came in sight of Cyprus, and leaving it behind on the port side, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for that is where the ship was to unload its cargo.

4 And when we had sought out the disciples, we stayed on there for seven days, and they told Paul through the spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.

5 Then when it came to pass that we had come to the end of the days, we departed and moved on, while they all with wives and children escorted us as far as outside the city, and we knelt down on the shore and prayed.

6 We bade each other farewell and embarked on the ship, and they returned to their homes.

7 And as for us, we completed our voyage from Tyre and reached Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed one day with them.

8 Then on the next day, Paul and his company departed and came to Caesarea, and went into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and we stayed with him.

9 Now he had four daughters who were virgins, who prophesied.

10 And as we were staying on for many days, a certain prophet by the name of Agabus came down from Judaea.

11 And he came to us and took Paul's belt and bound his feet and hands and said, “The holy spirit says this: ‘In this way the Jews will bind in Jerusalem the man whose belt this is, and they will hand him over to the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

12 And when we heard that, both we and the locals exhorted him not to go up to Jerusalem.

13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the sake of the name of the Lord Jesus.”

14 And as he was not persuaded, we desisted and said, “Let the will of the Lord come to pass.”

15 So after those days we made our preparations and went up to Jerusalem.

16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us, and they brought a certain Mnason, a Cypriot, along with them, who was a disciple of long standing, with whom we were to lodge.

17 And when we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.

18 Then on the next day Paul went with us into James's house, and all the elders were present.

19 And he greeted them and related each thing one by one of what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

20 And those listening glorified the Lord, and said to him, “You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous of the law.

21 But they have been instructed concerning you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles defection from Moses, saying that they should not circumcise their children, or observe the customs.

22 So which way is it? At all events, the community must gather, for they will hear that you have come.

23 So do this that we are telling you. We have four men who have taken a vow on themselves.

24 Take these with you and be purified with them, and pay expenses on their behalf so that they may shave their heads and everyone may know that there is nothing in the things about which they have been instructed concerning you, but that you yourself also walk according to regulation and keep the law.

25 And concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter, since we judge that they should keep no such thing, except to keep themselves from anything sacrificed to idols, and blood, and anything strangled, and fornication.”

26 Then Paul took the men with him, and on the next day he purified himself with them, and went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of their purification, until the offering had been made for each one of them.

27 But as the seven days were about to be completed, the Jews from Asia saw him in the temple and stirred up all the crowd, and laid hands on him,

28 shouting, “Men and Israelites, help. This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere things against the people and the law and this place. Moreover he has brought Greeks into the temple and has profaned this holy place.”

29 For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, whom they supposed Paul had brought into the temple.

30 And the whole city was stirred up, and a rally of the people took place, and they seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the gates were closed.

31 And while they tried to find a way to kill him, a report came to the commander of the cohort that the whole of Jerusalem was in turmoil,

32 and he immediately took soldiers with him and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the cohort commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

33 Then the cohort commander approached and seized him and ordered him to be bound with two chains, and he enquired who he was and what he had done.

34 Now various people in the crowd were shouting various things, and since he could not find out exactly what was going on because of the disturbance, he ordered him to be brought to the camp.

35 And when he came to the steps, it was necessary for him to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd.

36 For the mob of the people was following, shouting, “Away with him!”

37 And as Paul was about to be led into the camp, he said to the cohort commander, “Is it permitted for me to speak to you?” And he said, “Do you speak Greek?

38 So you are not the Egyptian who a while ago caused a revolt and led the four thousand cut-throats into the desert?”

39 Then Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of a city which is not insignificant. And I ask you, permit me to speak to the people.”

40 And he permitted him, and Paul, standing on the steps, signalled to the people with his hand. And when it had gone very quiet, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, and said,

22

1 “Men and brothers, and fathers, hear my present defence to you.”

2 And when they heard that he had addressed them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more quiet. And he said,

3 “I am a Jewish man who was born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the exactness of the ancestral law, being a zealot for God, as all of you are today,

4 and I followed this way as far as death, binding and committing both men and women to prison,

5 as the high priest also testifies to me, as does the whole council of elders, from whom I also received letters addressed to the brothers, and I went to Damascus in order to also bring those there bound to Jerusalem for them to be punished.

6 But it came to pass as I was going along and approaching Damascus at about mid-day, that suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.

7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you are persecuting.’

9 And the people who were with me saw the light and became fearful, but they did not hear the voice of him who was speaking to me.

10 And I said, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus and there you will be told about all the things that have been appointed for you to do.’

11 But as I could not see because of that dazzling light, I came to Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.

12 And a certain Ananias, a man who was devout according to the law, held in high regard by all the Jewish inhabitants,

13 came to me and confronted me and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, recover your sight.’ And at that very hour I recovered my sight and looked up at him.

14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will and to see the just one and to hear a sound from his mouth,

15 because you will be a witness to him towards all men of what you have seen and heard.

16 And now, why do you delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and wash away your sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.’

17 And it happened that when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I went into a trance,

18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry up and depart from Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive your witness concerning me.’

19 And I said, ‘Lord, they know that I used to imprison and flog those who believed in you as I went from synagogue to synagogue.

20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself was also standing by, approving of his elimination, while guarding the coats of those eliminating him.’

21 And he said to me, ‘Get going, for I will send you to Gentiles a long way off.’ ”

22 And they heard him as far as this word, then they raised their voices and said, “Remove a man like this from the face of the earth, for it is not proper that he should live.”

23 And as they were shouting and throwing their coats off and throwing dust into the air,

24 the cohort commander ordered him to be brought into the camp, ordering him to be interrogated with whips, so that he might ascertain the reason why they clamoured like that against him.

25 And when he had stretched him out, bound with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it permitted for you to whip a man who is a Roman, and who has not been condemned?”

26 And when the centurion heard it, he went and told the cohort commander, and said, “Watch what you are about to do. For this man is a Roman.”

27 Then the cohort commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.”

28 And the cohort commander answered, “I obtained this citizenship for a large sum of money”. Then Paul said, “But I was born with it”.

29 So those who were going to interrogate him immediately stood back from him, and the cohort commander was afraid, as he had ascertained that he was a Roman, and had bound him.

30 And the next day, wishing to know the details of what he had been accused of by the Jews, he released him from his bonds and ordered the senior priests and the whole of their Sanhedrin council to come, and brought Paul down and stood him before them.

23

1 And Paul looked at the Sanhedrin council intently and said, “Men and brothers, I have lived as a citizen with a fully clear conscience before God up to this day.”

2 But Ananias the high priest ordered those standing by him to strike his mouth.

3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall. And you sit judging me according to the law, but you order me to be struck, acting contrary to the law.”

4 Then those standing around said, “Do you insult the high priest of God?”

5 Then Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that it was the high priest. For it stands written, ‘You shall not speak ill of the ruler of your people.’ ”

6 Then Paul, knowing that one part was of the Sadducees and the other Pharisees, shouted out in the Sanhedrin council, “Men and brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. For the hope and the resurrection of the dead I am being judged.”

7 And when he had said this, contention arose with the Pharisees, and the assembly was divided.

8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor even angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees confess all of these.

9 And loud shouting arose and the scribes of the faction of the Pharisees stood up and strove, and said, “We do not find anything wrong in this man. And if a spirit or angel has spoken to him, let us not fight God.”

10 And when a lot of contention arose, the cohort commander saw to it that that Paul should not be torn apart by them, and ordered the army to come down and seize and take him away from them and to bring him to the camp.

11 The following night the Lord came and stood by him and said, “Take courage, Paul, for as you bore witness to the things concerning me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness in Rome.”

12 And when day had broken, some of the Jews made an alliance and bound themselves with a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

13 And there were more than forty who engaged in this conspiracy.

14 And they went to the senior priests and the elders, and said, “We have absolutely bound ourselves with a curse, that we will not taste anything until we have killed Paul.

15 So for your part, give a plain message to the cohort commander, with the Sanhedrin council, to the intent that he brings him down to you tomorrow, as if you intend to investigate more precisely the matters concerning him. Then for our part, we are prepared to eliminate him before he comes near.”

16 But the son of Paul's sister heard about the ambush plot and went to the camp and went in and told Paul.

17 Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the cohort commander, for he has something to report to him.”

18 So he took him with him and brought him to the cohort commander and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, who has something to say to you.”

19 Then the cohort commander took him by the hand and went aside privately and enquired, “What is it that you have to report to me?”

20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed together to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the Sanhedrin council, as if you intend to ascertain something more precisely about him.

21 So don't you be persuaded by them. For more than forty men of theirs are making an ambush, and they have bound themselves with a curse neither to eat nor drink until they have eliminated him, and now they are ready, expecting your promise.”

22 So the cohort commander sent the young man away, having given this instruction, “Do not divulge the fact that you have reported this to me.”

23 And he called for a certain two of the centurions and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to be ready at the third hour of the night,

24 and to provide pack animals, to mount Paul on and bring him safely through to Felix the governor,”

25 and he wrote a letter comprising the following content:

26 “From Claudius Lysias to the most excellent governor Felix, greetings.

27 I intervened with the army and rescued this man, having learned that he was a Roman citizen, when he had been seized by the Jews and was about to be eliminated by them,

28 and wishing to know the reason why they were bringing a charge against him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin council,

29 and I found that he was charged concerning enquiries into their law, but not in any way under a charge worthy of death or bonds.

30 And when a plot against the man by the Jews had been disclosed to me which was about to take place, I immediately sent word to you, also instructing his accusers to state the charges against him in your presence. Farewell.”

31 So the soldiers took Paul with them, according to their orders, and brought him by night to Antipatris.

32 And the next day, they left it to the horsemen to go with him and returned to the camp.

33 And when they had arrived in Caesarea, they handed over the letter to the governor and also presented Paul to him.

34 Then the governor read it and asked what province he was from, and ascertained that he was from Cilicia.

35 He said, “I will hold your hearing when your accusers also arrive.” And he ordered him to be guarded in Herod's official residence.

24

1 And five days afterwards Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator, Tertullius, and they explained the charge against Paul to the governor.

2 And when he had been called, Tertullius began to make the accusation, and said, “We have enjoyed a very peaceful time thanks to you, and through your foresight sound undertakings have been accomplished to the benefit of this nation,

3 which in every way and in every place, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge with much gratitude.

4 Now so that I do not hold you up further, I entreat you to hear us briefly in your equitable way.

5 For we found this man to be a pest, and to be stirring up a revolt among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,

6 and he attempted to defile the temple, and we for our part arrested him.

7

8 And from him you yourself, after questioning him concerning all these things, will be able to ascertain the matters of which we accuse him.”

9 And the Jews also joined in the attack, alleging that these things were so.

10 Then, when the governor had signalled to him that he should speak, Paul answered, “Knowing that you have been a judge over this people for many years, I make a defence of the charges concerning me in very good spirits,

11 while you may know that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

12 Now they did not find me in the temple disputing with anyone or causing a popular riot, either in the synagogues or around the city.

13 Nor can they incriminate me concerning the things of which they now accuse me.

14 But I confess this to you, that according to ‘the way’, which they call ‘sectarian’, so I serve the God of my forefathers, believing in all the things which are according to the law and which stand written by the prophets,

15 having a hope in God, which these people themselves also expect – that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust.

16 And I myself am at pains in respect of this, having an irreproachable conscience towards God and men at all times.

17 After many years I came to give alms to my nation, and to offer sacrifices.

18 And during these undertakings certain Jews from Asia found me sanctified in the temple, not with a crowd or with a disturbance,

19 who ought to be present before you and make their accusation if they should have anything against me,

20 or let these themselves say what wrong-doing they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin council,

21 or concerning this one expression which I exclaimed when I stood among them: ‘I am being judged by you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.’ ”

22 Then when Felix had heard these things, he postponed their hearing, knowing the reports about “the way” in quite some detail, and said, “When Lysias the cohort commander comes down, I will investigate your case.”

23 And he ordered the centurion that Paul should be guarded and have privileges and that he should not prevent any of his own people from attending to him or coming to him.

24 And after a certain number of days, Felix came with Drusilla his wife, who was Jewish, and called for Paul and heard him about faith in Christ.

25 And while he was debating about righteousness and self-control and the judgment which is to come, Felix became fearful and answered, “For the present, go your way, but I will take an opportunity and call for you.”

26 And at the same time he hoped that money would be given to him by Paul for him to release him, and for that reason he quite often sent for him and held conversations with him.

27 Then after two full years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And Felix, wishing to do the Jews a favour, left Paul bound.

25

1 So Festus took up office as governor and three days later he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

2 And the high priest and the highest-ranking Jews made their position against Paul clear to him, and appealed to him,

3 asking for a favour against the man, that he would send for him to come to Jerusalem, while they laid an ambush so as to eliminate him on the way.

4 So Festus answered that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, whereas he himself was going to depart shortly.

5 He said, “Well then, let the men of senior rank among you come down together and accuse him, if there is anything against this man.”

6 Then he spent more than ten days among them, and when he had come back down to Caesarea, on the following day he took his seat in the court and ordered Paul to be brought.

7 And when he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood round about, bringing many serious charges against Paul, which they could not substantiate,

8 whereas he stated in his defence, “I have neither offended against the law of the Jews nor against the temple nor against Caesar in any respect.”

9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favour, answered and said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be judged on these matters by me there?”

10 Then Paul said, “I stand in Caesar's court where I should be judged. I have not wronged the Jews, as you for your part know very well.

11 So if I am in the wrong, and have done anything deserving death, I do not ask for the death penalty to be lifted, but if the things which these people accuse me of are nothing, no-one can hand me over to them as a favour. I appeal to Caesar.”

12 Then Festus conferred with the council and replied, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go.”

13 Now when a number of days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.

14 And when he had spent several days there, Festus set Paul's case out to the king, and said, “There is a certain man who was left by Felix, a prisoner,

15 concerning whom when I was in Jerusalem the senior priests and elders of the Jews explained a case, asking for a penalty against him.

16 And I replied to them that it is not the custom for Romans to hand over any man to the death penalty before the accused has the accusers face to face, and receives an opportunity for defence concerning the accusation.

17 So they gathered here and I made no delay and held a sitting in the court the next day and I ordered the man to be brought in.

18 But the accusers stood there and did not make any accusation concerning him of the kind which I suspected,

19 but they had some dispute about their own religion against him, and about a certain Jesus who had died, whom Paul was asserting to be alive.

20 And I was at a loss in this dispute concerning this man, and I asked if he wished to go to Jerusalem and be judged there concerning these things.

21 But when Paul appealed that he should be guarded awaiting Augustus's decision, I ordered him to be guarded until I send him to Caesar.”

22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I myself would also like to hear the man.” “Tomorrow,” he then said, “you will hear him.”

23 So the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with much pomp, and went to the audience hall with the cohort commanders and the prominent men of the city, and at Festus's command Paul was brought in.

24 And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all you gentlemen who are present with us, you see this man concerning whom the whole multitude of Jews has been prevailing on me in Jerusalem and here, shouting out that he should no longer live.

25 But I do not detect that he has done anything worthy of death, and as he himself has appealed to Augustus, I have decided to send him.

26 But I have nothing specific about him to write to the sovereign, which is why I have produced him before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that when an interrogation has taken place, I might have something to write.

27 For it seems to me to be unreasonable when sending a prisoner not also to indicate the charges against him.”

26

1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “It is permitted for you to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and spoke in his defence.

2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to be in a position to make my defence before you today concerning everything that I have been accused of by the Jews,

3 especially as you are an expert in all the customs and disputes among the Jews. So I ask you to hear me patiently.

4 Now all the Jews know my way of life from my youth, which from the start was led among my people in Jerusalem.

5 They have known me from the beginning – perhaps they would care to testify – that I lived according to the strictest sect of our religion, as a Pharisee.

6 And now I stand being judged for the hope of the promise which was made by God to the fathers,

7 to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, serving strenuously night and day. And concerning this hope I have been indicted, King Agrippa, by the Jews.

8 Why should it be judged incredible with you if God raises the dead?

9 Now I decided for myself that it was necessary to do many things in opposition to the name of Jesus the Nazarene,

10 which I duly did in Jerusalem, and I shut up many of the saints in prisons, having obtained authority from the senior priests, and when they were liable to be executed, I voted against them.

11 And I punished them in all the synagogues many times, and compelled them to blaspheme, and being exceedingly mad at them, I persecuted them even to cities abroad.

12 And in these circumstances, when I was going to Damascus with authority and a commission from the senior priests,

13 at mid-day on my way, I saw, O king, a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, flash around me and those travelling with me.

14 And when we had all fallen down on the ground, I heard a voice which spoke to me and said in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

15 Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

16 But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this: to appoint you as a servant and witness to both the things you have seen and the things in which I will be evident to you,

17 rescuing you from the people and the Gentiles to whom I am sending you,

18 to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified through faith in me.’

19 In view of which, King Agrippa, I have not been disobedient to the heavenly vision.

20 But I preached to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem, and in the whole region of Judaea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.

21 On account of these things the Jews arrested me in the temple and tried to do away with me.

22 So having obtained help from God up to this day, I stand witnessing to both small and great, not saying anything outside of what the prophets and Moses said would take place,

23 as to whether Christ was to suffer, as to whether he as the first of the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light to the people and to the Gentiles.”

24 And as he said these things in his defence, Festus said in a loud voice, “You are mad, Paul. Much learning is reducing you to madness.”

25 But he said, “I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I speak words of truth and sanity in my defence.

26 For the king has understanding of these things, and I speak freely to him. For I am not persuaded that any of these things escape his notice. For this has not been done in a corner.

27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe.”

28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In brief, you are persuading me to become a Christian.”

29 Then Paul said, “I could wish to God that not only you but also all those who hear me today would both in brief and at length become such as I am, except for these bonds.”

30 And when he had said these things, the king stood up, as did the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them.

31 And they withdrew and spoke to each other, saying, “This man has done nothing deserving death or bonds.”

32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

27

1 Now when it had been decided that we should sail to Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion by the name of Julius, of the Augustan cohort.

2 So we embarked on an Adramyttian ship intending to sail to various places in Asia, and we put out to sea, there being Aristarchus a Macedonian of Thessalonica with us.

3 On the next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul in a kindly way, and permitted him to go to his friends to receive their care.

4 And from there we put out to sea and sailed in the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us.

5 And when we had sailed across the high sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we arrived at Myra in Lycia.

6 And there the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he had us embark on it.

7 And after we had been sailing slowly for several days and had hardly reached being opposite Cnidus, the wind not allowing us to proceed, we sailed under Crete, passing opposite Salmone.

8 Then sailing past it with difficulty, we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, which the town of Lasea was near to.

9 After the ship had spent a considerable time there, and sailing was already dangerous, (considering even the fast had already passed), Paul gave some advice,

10 and said to them, “Men, I see that the voyage is going to be with damage and much loss, not only to the cargo and the ship, but also to our lives.”

11 But the centurion was more persuaded by the captain and the ship owner than by the things said by Paul.

12 And as the port was unsuitable for wintering, the majority took a decision to put out to sea, and from there to reach, if they possibly could, Phenice, to winter there, a port in Crete facing south-west and north-west.

13 And as a south wind was blowing gently, and thinking that they had secured their objective, they weighed anchor and sailed very close to Crete.

14 But not long afterwards, a tempestuous wind called Eurokludon swept against it.

15 As the ship was caught up and not able to make headway against the wind, we gave up and allowed ourselves to be carried along.

16 And when we had run into the lee of a small island called Clauda, we were barely able to keep control of the tender.

17 And they hoisted it aboard and applied reinforcements by undergirding the ship. And being afraid that they would run aground in the Syrtis, they lowered the tackling and were carried along like that.

18 And on the next day, when we were severely tossed by the storm, they jettisoned some cargo.

19 And on the third day, we cast the ship's tackling overboard with our own hands.

20 And since neither the sun nor the stars were visible for many days, with a not inconsiderable storm raging, from that time all hope of us being saved was lost.

21 And after much abstinence from food, Paul then stood up in with them and said, “Men, you should have done what I said by not putting out to sea from Crete and running up this damage and loss.

22 And as for the present situation, I exhort you to be in good spirits, for there will be no loss of life among you, except for the ship.

23 For the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, stood by me this night,

24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And look, God has kindly given you all those who are sailing with you.’

25 So, men, be in good spirits, for I believe God that it will be so, just as it was spoken to me.

26 And we must run aground at a certain island.”

27 And when it was the fourteenth night of us being driven about in the Adriatic, at about midnight, the sailors suspected that they were approaching land.

28 And when they took soundings, they found the depth to be twenty fathoms, and after leaving a short interval, when they took soundings again, they found the depth to be fifteen fathoms.

29 And fearing that we might run up against rocky places, they cast four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come.

30 But when the sailors tried to abandon the ship and had lowered the tender into the sea, under pretext of being about to stretch out anchor lines from the bow,

31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you cannot be saved.”

32 Then the soldiers cut the cords of the tender free and let it drop.

33 Then while day was on the point of breaking, Paul encouraged everyone to partake of food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been without food, waiting in suspense, not taking any.

34 So I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your salvation. For not a hair from anyone will fall from his head.”

35 And when he had said these things, he took bread and thanked God in the presence of everyone and broke it and began to eat.

36 Then they all became cheerful and they took food themselves too.

37 Now there were two hundred and seventy-six of us in the ship in all.

38 And when they had had their fill of food, they lightened the ship by jettisoning the corn into the sea.

39 And when day had come, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay which had a beach, on which they resolved to drive the ship ashore, if possible.

40 And they slipped anchors and committed everything to the sea, while at the same time they loosened the connections to the rudders and hoisted the foresail to the prevailing wind and brought the ship to the beach.

41 So they were wrecked at a place with sea on two sides and ran the ship aground, and the prow became stuck and remained motionless, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves.

42 Then a decision was made by the soldiers to kill the prisoners in case anyone should swim away and escape.

43 But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, prevented them from carrying out their intention and ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,

44 then the remainder, some on planks, others on various parts of the ship. And in this way it so happened that all came safely through onto land.

28

1 Then, having come safely through, they learned that the island was called Malta.

2 Now the barbarians showed us extraordinary kindness, for they lit a fire and welcomed all of us because of the rain which had come on and because of the cold.

3 And when Paul had gathered a mass of firewood and put it on the fire, a viper came out of the heat and fastened itself onto his hand.

4 And when the barbarians saw the wild beast hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man is no doubt a murderer, whom Justice has not allowed to live, although he was saved from the sea.”

5 Now he shook off the beast into the fire and suffered no harm,

6 but they expected him to become inflamed or to suddenly fall down dead, but after they had been in expectation for a long time, and seen nothing untoward happen to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

7 And in the neighbourhood of that place was the estate of the principal man of the island, by the name of Publius, who received us for three days and lodged us in a friendly way.

8 Now it came to pass that the father of Publius was lying sick, afflicted with fever and dysentery, and Paul went to him and prayed and laid hands on him and cured him.

9 And when this had taken place, the rest on the island who had sicknesses also came forward and were cured,

10 and they also honoured us with many honours, and when we set sail, they supplied us with what was needed.

11 And after three months, we set sail in a ship which had wintered on the island – an Alexandrian one with the ensign of Castor and Pollux.

12 Then we put in at Syracuse and remained there for three days.

13 From there we sailed round and reached Rhegium, and one day later, when a south-west wind sprang up, we came to Puteoli on the second day,

14 where we found some brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days, and in this way we went to Rome.

15 And when the brothers from that place heard about our circumstances, they came out to meet us at the Appian Forum and Three Taverns, and when Paul saw them, he gave thanks to God and took courage.

16 And when we came to Rome, the centurion handed over the prisoners to the military commander, but he permitted Paul to remain by himself with the soldier guarding him.

17 And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the prominent Jews together, and when they had gathered together, he said to them, “Men and brothers, I have done nothing against the people or the ancestral customs, but I have been delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,

18 who after interrogating me wanted to release me because there was no cause for a death penalty against me.

19 But since the Jews spoke against me, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything to accuse my nation of.

20 So for this reason I requested to see you and to address you, for I have this chain round me for the sake of the hope of Israel.”

21 Then they said to him, “We have neither received letters about you from Judaea, nor has any of the brothers come and reported or said anything bad about you.

22 We consider it proper to hear from you what you think. For concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.”

23 And they appointed him a day, and very many came to him, to his lodging, to whom he expounded, testifying solemnly to the kingdom of God, persuading them of the things concerning Jesus from the law of Moses and the prophets, from morning to evening.

24 And some were persuaded by the things said, but others disbelieved.

25 And being at variance with each other, they separated, after Paul had made one remark, “The holy spirit spoke well through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,

26 saying, ‘Go to this people and say «You will definitely hear but certainly won't understand, and you will definitely see but certainly won't perceive,

27 for the heart of this people has become obtuse, and with their ears they hear in a dull way, and they have closed their eyes, so that they should not see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and repent, and I would heal them.» ’.

28 So let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it.”

29 And when he had said these things, the Jews departed, holding a lot of debate among themselves.

30 Then Paul remained for a full two years in his own hired house and he received all those who came to him,

31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, with all frankness, unhindered.