BibleWare/BibWare.bin/bibtrans/weymouth.exe/AC.WNT

Text File | 1993-06-07 | 150KB | 2,898 lines

1:1 My former narrative, Theophilus, dealt with all that Jesus
 did and taught /1 as a beginning, down to the day on which,
1:2 after giving instruction through the Holy Spirit to the
 Apostles whom He had chosen, He was /2 taken up to Heaven.
1:3 He had also, after He suffered, /3 shown Himself alive to
 them with many sure /4 proofs, /5 appearing to them at
 intervals during forty days, and speaking of the Kingdom of
 God.
1:4 And /6 while in their company He charged them not to leave
 Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father's promised gift. "This
 you have heard of," He said, "from me.
1:5 For John indeed baptized with water, but before many days
 have passed you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
1:6 /7 Once when they were with Him, they asked Him, "Master, is
 this the time at which you are about to restore the kingdom of
 Israel?"
1:7 "It is not for you," He replied, "to know /8 times or epochs
 which /9 the Father has reserved within His own authority;
1:8 /10 and yet you /11 will receive power when the Holy Spirit
 has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem
 and in all Judaea and Samaria and to the remotest parts of the

/1 earth."
1:9 When He had said this, and while they were looking at Him,
 He was carried up, and a cloud closing beneath Him hid Him from
 their sight.
1:10 But, while they stood intently gazing into the sky as He
 went, suddenly there were two men in white garments standing by
 them,
1:11 who said, "Galilaeans, why stand looking into /2 the sky?
 This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into /2 Heaven
 will come /3 in just the same way as you have seen Him going
 into Heaven."
1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called
 the Oliveyard, which is near Jerusalem, /4 about a mile off.
1:13 They entered the city, and they went up /5 to the upper
 room which was now their fixed place for meeting. Their names
 were Peter and /6 John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,
 Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the
 Zealot, and Judas the brother of James.
1:14 All of these with one mind continued earnest in prayer,
 together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His
 brothers.
1:15 It was on one of these days that Peter stood up in the
 midst of the brethren--the entire number of persons present
 being about 120--and said,
1:16 /7 "Brethren, it was necessary that the Scripture should be
 fulfilled--the prediction, I mean, which the Holy Spirit
 uttered by the lips of David, about Judas, who acted as guide
 to those who arrested Jesus.

1:17 For Judas was reckoned as one of our number, and /1 a share
 in this ministry was allotted to him."
1:18 /2 (Now having bought a piece of ground with the money paid
 for his wickedness he fell there with his face downwards, and,
 his body bursting open, he became disembowelled.
1:19 This fact became widely known to the people of Jerusalem,
 so that the place received the name, in their language, of
 Achel-damach, which means `The Field of Blood.')
1:20 "For it is written in the Book of Psalms, <"`Let his /3
 encampment be desolate: let there be no one to dwell there';>
 and <"`His /4 work let another take up.'>
1:21 "It is necessary, therefore, that of the men who have been
 with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among
 us--
1:22 beginning from His baptism by John down to the day on which
 He was taken up /5 again from us into Heaven--one should be
 appointed to become a witness with us as to His resurrection."
1:23 So /6 two names were proposed, Joseph called
 Bar-sabbas--and surnamed /7 Justus--and Matthias.
1:24 And the brethren prayed, saying, "Thou, Lord, /8 who
 knowest the hearts of all, show clearly which of these two Thou
 hast chosen
1:25 to occupy the place in this ministry and Apostleship /9
 from which Judas /10 through transgression fell, in order to go
 to his own place."

1:26 Then they drew lots between them. The lot fell on Matthias,
 and a place among the eleven Apostles was voted to him.
2:1 /1 At length, on the day of the Harvest Festival, they had
 all met in one place;
2:2 when suddenly there came from the sky a sound as of a strong
 rushing blast of wind. This filled the whole house where they
 were sitting;
2:3 and they saw tongues of what looked like fire /2
 distributing themselves over the assembly, and on the head of
 each person a tongue alighted.
2:4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to
 speak /3 in foreign languages according as the Spirit gave them
 words to utter.
2:5 Now there were Jews /4 residing in Jerusalem, devout men
 from every part of the world.
2:6 So when /5 this noise was heard, they came crowding
 together, and were amazed because everyone heard his own
 language spoken.
2:7 They were beside themselves with wonder, and exclaimed, "Are
 not all these speakers Galilaeans?
2:8 How then does each of us hear his own native language spoken
 by them?
2:9 Some of us are /6 Parthians, Medes, Elamites. Some are /7
 inhabitants of Mesopotamia, of Judaea or Cappadocia, of Pontus
 or /8 the Asian Province, of Phrygia or Pamphylia,
2:10 of Egypt or of the parts of Africa towards Cyrene. Others
 are visitors from Rome--being either Jews or converts from
 heathenism--and others are Cretans or Arabians.
2:11 Yet we all alike hear these Galilaeans speaking in our own
 language about the wonderful things which God has done."

2:12 They were all astounded and bewildered, and asked one
 another, "What can this mean?"
2:13 But others, scornfully jeering, said, "They are brim-full
 of /1 sweet wine."
2:14 Peter however, together with the Eleven, stood up and
 addressed them in a loud voice. "Men of Judaea, and all you
 inhabitants of Jerusalem," he said, "be in no uncertainty about
 this matter but pay attention to what I say.
2:15 For this is not intoxication, as you suppose, it being only
 the /2 third hour of the day.
2:16 But that which was predicted through the Prophet Joel has
 happened:
2:17 <"And it shall come to pass in /3 the last days, God says,
 that I will pour out /4 My Spirit upon all /5 mankind; and your
 sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men
 shall see visions, and your old men shall have dreams;
2:18 and even upon My bondservants, both men and women, at that
 time, I will pour out /4 My Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
2:19 I will display marvels in the sky above, and signs on the
 earth below, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke.

2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into
 blood, to usher in the day of the Lord-- /1 that great and
 illustrious day;
2:21 and every one who calls on the name of the Lord shall be
 saved.'>
2:22 "Listen, Israelites, to what I say. Jesus, the Nazarene, a
 man accredited to you /2 from God by miracles and marvels and
 signs which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves
 know, Him--
2:23 delivered up through God's settled purpose and
 foreknowledge--you by the hands of /3 Gentiles have nailed to a
 cross and have put to death.
2:24 But God has raised Him to life, having /4 /5 terminated the
 throes of death, for in fact it was not possible for Him to be
 held fast by death.
2:25 For David says in reference to Him, <"`I constantly fixed
 my eyes upon the Lord, because He is at my right hand in order
 that I may continue unshaken.
2:26 For this reason my heart /6 is glad and my tongue /6
 exults. My body also /7 shall rest in hope.
2:27 For Thou wilt not leave me in /8 the Unseen World forsaken,
 nor give up Thy holy One to undergo /9 decay.
2:28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of Life: Thou wilt fill
 me with gladness /10 in Thy presence.'>
2:29 "As to the patriarch David, I need hardly remind you,
 brethren, that he died and was buried, and that we still have
 his tomb among us.

2:30 Being a Prophet, however, and knowing that God had solemnly
 sworn to him /1 to seat a descendant of his upon his throne,
2:31 with prophetic foresight he spoke of the resurrection of /2
 the Christ, to the effect that He was not left forsaken in the
 Unseen World, nor did His body undergo decay.
2:32 This Jesus, God has raised to life-- /3 a fact to which all
 of us testify.
2:33 "Being therefore lifted high /4 by the mighty hand of God,
 He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and
 has poured out this which you /5 see and hear.
2:34 For David /6 did not ascend into Heaven, but he says
 himself, <"`The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand
2:35 until I make thy foes a footstool under thy feet.'>
2:36 "Therefore let /7 the whole House of Israel know beyond all
 doubt that God has made Him both LORD and CHRIST--this Jesus
 whom you crucified."
2:37 /8 Stung to the heart by these words, they said to Peter
 and the rest of the Apostles, "Brethren, what are we to do?"

2:38 "Repent," replied Peter, "and be baptized, every one of
 you, in the name of Jesus Christ, /1 with a view to the
 remission of your sins, and you shall receive /2 the gift of
 the Holy Spirit.
2:39 For to you belongs the promise, and to your children, and
 to all who are /3 far off, whoever the Lord our God /4 may
 call."
2:40 And with many more appeals he solemnly warned and entreated
 them, saying, /5 "Escape from this crooked generation."
2:41 Those, therefore, who joyfully welcomed his Message were
 baptized; and on that one day about three thousand persons were
 added to them;
2:42 and they were constant in listening to the teaching of the
 Apostles and in their attendance at the /6 Communion, that is,
 the Breaking of the Bread, and /7 at prayer.
2:43 Fear came upon every one, and many marvels and signs /8
 were done by the Apostles.
2:44 And all the believers kept together, and had everything in
 common.
2:45 They sold their /9 lands and other property, and
 distributed the proceeds among all, according to every one's
 necessities.
2:46 And, day by day, attending constantly in the /10 Temple
 with one accord, and breaking bread /11 in private houses, they
 took their meals with great happiness and single-heartedness,

2:47 praising God and being regarded with favour by all the
 people. Also, day by day, the Lord added /1 to their number
 those /2 whom He was saving.
3:1 One day Peter and John were going up to the Temple for /3
 the hour of prayer--the ninth hour--and, just then,
3:2 some men were carrying there one who had been lame from
 birth, whom they were wont /4 to place every day close to the
 Beautiful /5 Gate (as it was called) of the Temple, for him to
 beg from the people as they went in.
3:3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the Temple, he asked
 them for alms.
3:4 Peter fixing his eyes on him, as John did also, said, "Look
 at us."
3:5 So he looked and waited, expecting to receive something from
 them.
3:6 "I have no silver or gold," Peter said, "but what I have, I
 give you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene-- /6 walk!"
3:7 Then taking his hand Peter lifted him up, and immediately
 his /7 feet and ankles were /8 strengthened.
3:8 Leaping up, he stood upright and began to walk, and went
 into the Temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God.
3:9 All the people saw him walking and praising God;
3:10 and /9 recognizing him as the man who used to sit at the
 Beautiful Gate of the Temple asking for alms, they were filled
 with awe and amazement at what had happened to him.
3:11 While he still clung to Peter and John, the people,
 awe-struck, ran up crowding round them in what was known as
 Solomon's Portico.
3:12 Peter, seeing this, /10 spoke to the people. "Israelites,"
 he said, "why do you wonder at /11 this man? Or why gaze at us,
 as though by any power or piety of our own we had enabled him
 to walk?

3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our
 forefathers, has conferred this honour on His /1 Servant Jesus,
 whom you delivered up and disowned in the presence of Pilate,
 when he had decided to let Him go.
3:14 Yes, you disowned the holy and righteous One, and asked as
 a favour the release of /2 a murderer.
3:15 The Prince of Life you put to death; but God has raised Him
 from the dead, and we are witnesses as to that.
3:16 It is His name-- /3 faith in that name being the
 condition--which has strengthened this man whom you behold and
 know; and the faith which He has given has made this man sound
 and strong again, /4 as you can all see.
3:17 "And now, brethren, I know that it was in ignorance that
 you did it, as was the case with your rulers also.
3:18 But in this way God has fulfilled the declarations He made
 through all the Prophets, that His Christ would suffer.
3:19 Repent, therefore, and /5 reform your lives, so that the
 record of your sins may be cancelled, and that there may come
 /6 seasons of revival from the Lord,
3:20 and that He may send the Christ /7 appointed beforehand for
 you--even Jesus.
3:21 /8 Heaven must receive Him until those times of which God
 has spoken /9 from the earliest ages through the lips of His
 holy Prophets--the times of the /10 reconstitution of all
 things.
3:22 Moses /11 declared, <"`The Lord your God will raise up a
 Prophet for you from among your brethren as He has raised me.
 In all that He says to you, you must listen to Him.

3:23 And every one, without exception, who refuses to listen to
 that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the
 People.'>
3:24 /1 Yes, and all the Prophets, from Samuel onwards--all who
 have spoken--have also /2 announced the coming of this present
 time.
3:25 "You are the /3 heirs of the Prophets, and of the /4
 Covenant which God made with your forefathers when He said to
 Abraham, <`And through your posterity all the families of the
 world shall be blessed.'>
3:26 It is to you first that God, after raising His Servant from
 the grave, has sent Him to bless you, by causing every one of
 you to turn from your wickedness."
4:1 While they were saying this to the people, the Priests, the
 /5 Commander of the Temple Guard, and the Sadducees came upon
 them,
4:2 highly incensed at their teaching the people and proclaiming
 in the case of Jesus the Resurrection from among the dead.
4:3 They arrested the two Apostles and lodged them in custody
 till the next day; for it was already evening.
4:4 But many of those who had listened to their preaching
 believed; and the number of the adult men had now grown to be
 about 5,000.
4:5 The next day a meeting was held in Jerusalem of their
 Rulers, Elders, and Scribes,
4:6 with /6 Annas the High Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander,
 and the other members of the high-priestly family.
4:7 So they made the Apostles stand /7 in the centre, and
 demanded of them, /8 "By /9 what power or /10 in /9 what name
 have you done this?"
4:8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he replied,
 "Rulers and Elders of the people,
4:9 if we to-day are under examination concerning /11 the
 benefit conferred on a man helplessly lame, as to

/1 how /2 this man /3 has been cured;
4:10 be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel,
 that /4 through the name of Jesus /5 the Anointed, the
 Nazarene, whom *you* crucified, but whom *God* has raised from
 among the dead-- /6 through that name this man stands here
 before you in perfect health.
4:11 This Jesus is <the Stone treated with contempt by you the
 builders, but it has been made the Cornerstone.>
4:12 And in no other is /7 the great salvation to be found; for,
 in fact, there is no second name under Heaven that has been
 given among men through which we are to be saved."
4:13 As they looked on /8 Peter and John so fearlessly
 outspoken--and also discovered that they were illiterate
 persons, untrained in the schools--they were surprised; and /9
 now they recognized them as having been with Jesus.
4:14 And seeing the man standing with them--the man who had been
 cured--they had no reply to make.
4:15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin while
 they conferred among themselves.
4:16 "What are we to do with these men?" they asked one another;
 for the fact that a remarkable /10 miracle has been performed
 /11 by them is well known to every one in Jerusalem, and we
 cannot deny it.
4:17 But to prevent /12 the matter spreading any further among
 the people, let us stop them by threats from speaking in the
 future /13 in this name to any one whatever."

4:18 So they recalled the Apostles, and ordered them altogether
 to give up /1 speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus.
4:19 But Peter and John replied, /2 "Judge whether it is right
 in God's sight to listen to you instead of listening to God.
4:20 As for us, what we have seen and heard we cannot help
 speaking about."
4:21 The Court added further threats and then let them go, being
 quite unable to find any way of punishing them on account of
 the people, because all gave God the glory for the thing that
 had happened.
4:22 For the man was over forty years of age on whom this
 miracle of restoration to health had been performed.
4:23 After their release the two Apostles went to their friends,
 and told them all that the High Priests and Elders had said.
4:24 And they, upon hearing the story, /3 all lifted up their
 voices to God and said, "O Sovereign Lord, it is Thou who didst
 make Heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them,
4:25 and didst say /4 through the Holy Spirit by the lips of our
 forefather David Thy /5 servant, <"`Why have the nations /6
 stamped and raged, and the peoples formed futile plans?
4:26 The /7 kings of the /8 earth came near, and the rulers
 assembled together against the Lord and against His
 Anointed.'">
4:27 "They did indeed assemble /9 in this city in hostility to
 Thy holy Servant Jesus whom Thou hadst anointed--Herod and
 Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and also the /10 tribes of
 Israel--
4:28 to do all that Thy /11 power and Thy will had predetermined
 should be done.
4:29 And now, Lord, /12 listen to their threats, and enable Thy
 servants to proclaim Thy Message with fearless courage,

4:30 /1 whilst Thou stretchest out Thine arm to cure men, and to
 give signs and marvels through the name of Thy holy Servant
 Jesus."
4:31 When they had prayed, the place in which they were
 assembled shook, and they were, one and all, filled with the
 Holy Spirit, and proceeded to tell God's Message with boldness.
4:32 Among all those who had embraced the faith there was but
 one heart and soul, so that none of them claimed any of his
 possessions as his own, but everything they had was common
 property;
4:33 while the Apostles with great force of conviction delivered
 their testimony as to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and
 great grace was upon them all.
4:34 And, in fact, there was not a needy man among them, for /2
 all who were possessors of lands or houses /3 sold them, and /3
 brought the money which they realised,
4:35 and /4 gave it to the Apostles, and distribution was made
 to every one according to his wants.
4:36 In this way Joseph, whom the Apostles gave the name of
 Bar-nabas--signifying `Son of /5 Encouragement' --a Levite, /6
 a native of Cyprus,
4:37 sold /7 a farm which he had, and brought the money and /4
 gave it to the Apostles.
5:1 There was a man of the name of /8 Ananias who, with his wife
 Sapphira, sold some property but,
5:2 with her full knowledge and consent, /9 dishonestly kept
 back part of the price which he received for it, though he
 brought the rest and gave it to the Apostles.

5:3 "Ananias," said Peter, "why /1 has Satan taken possession of
 your heart, that you should try to deceive the Holy Spirit and
 dishonestly keep back part of the price paid you for this land?
5:4 While it remained unsold, was not the land your own? And
 when sold, was it not at your own disposal? How is it that you
 have /2 cherished this design in your heart? /3 It is not to
 men you have told this lie, but to God."
5:5 Upon hearing these words Ananias fell down dead, and all who
 heard the words were awe-struck.
5:6 The younger men, however, rose, and wrapping the body up,
 carried it out and buried it.
5:7 About three hours had passed, when his wife came in, knowing
 nothing of what had happened.
5:8 Peter at once /4 questioned her. "Tell me," he said,
 "whether you sold the land for so much." "Yes," she replied,
 "for so much."
5:9 "How was it," replied Peter, "that you two agreed /5 to try
 an experiment upon the Spirit of the Lord? /6 The men who have
 buried your husband are already at the door, and they will
 carry you out."
5:10 Instantly she fell down dead at his feet, and the young men
 /7 came in and found her dead. So they carried her out and
 buried her by her husband's side.
5:11 This incident struck terror into the whole Church, and into
 the hearts of all who heard of it.
5:12 Many signs and marvels continued to be done among the
 people by the Apostles; and by common consent they all met in
 Solomon's Portico.

5:13 But /1 none of the others dared to attach themselves to
 them. Yet the people held them in high honour--
5:14 and more and more believers in the Lord joined them,
 including great numbers both of men and women--
5:15 so that they /2 would even bring out /3 their sick friends
 into the streets and lay them on light couches or mats, in
 order that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall
 on one or other of them.
5:16 The inhabitants, too, of the towns in the neighbourhood of
 Jerusalem /4 came in crowds, bringing sick persons and some who
 were harassed by foul spirits, and they were cured, one and
 all.
5:17 This roused the High Priest. He and all his party--the sect
 of the Sadducees--were filled with angry jealousy
5:18 and laid hands upon the Apostles, and put them into the
 public jail.
5:19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison
 doors and brought them out, and said,
5:20 "Go and stand in the Temple, and go on proclaiming to the
 people all /5 this Message of Life."
5:21 Having received that command they went into the Temple,
 just before daybreak, and began to teach: So when the High
 Priest and his party came, and had called together the
 Sanhedrin as well as all the /6 Elders of the /7 descendants of
 Israel, they sent to the jail to fetch the Apostles.
5:22 But the officers went and could not find them in the
 prison. So they came back and brought word,
5:23 saying, "The jail we found quite safely locked, and the
 warders were on guard at the doors, but /8 upon going in we
 found no one there."
5:24 When the Commander of the Temple Guards and the High
 Priests heard this statement, they were utterly at a loss with
 regard to it, wondering what would happen next.

5:25 And some one came and brought them word, saying, /1 "The
 men you put in prison are actually in the Temple, standing
 there, teaching the people."
5:26 Upon this the Commander went with the officers, and brought
 the Apostles; but without using violence; for they were afraid
 of being stoned by the people.
5:27 So they brought them and made them stand /2 in front of the
 Sanhedrin. And then the High Priest questioned them.
5:28 "We strictly forbad you to teach in that name--did we not?"
 he said. "And see, you have filled Jerusalem with your
 teaching, and are trying to make us responsible for that man's
 death!"
5:29 Peter and the other Apostles replied, "We must obey God
 rather than man.
5:30 The God of our forefathers has /3 raised Jesus to life,
 whom you crucified and put to death.
5:31 God has exalted Him /4 to His right hand as Chief Leader
 and as Saviour, to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of
 sins.
5:32 And we--and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who
 obey Him--are witnesses as to these things."
5:33 /5 Infuriated at getting this answer, they /6 were disposed
 to kill the Apostles.
5:34 But a Pharisee of the name of Gamaliel, a teacher of the
 Law, held in honour by all the people, rose from his seat and
 requested that /7 they should be sent outside the court for a
 few minutes.
5:35 "Israelites," he said, "be careful what you are about to do
 in dealing with these men.
5:36 Years ago Theudas appeared, professing to be a person of
 importance, and a body of men, some four hundred in number,
 joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed
 and annihilated.
5:37 After him, at the time of the Census, came Judas, the
 Galilaean, and was the leader in a revolt. He too perished, and
 all his followers were scattered.

5:38 And now I tell you to hold aloof from these men and leave
 them alone--for if this scheme or work is of human origin, it
 will come to nothing.
5:39 But if it is really from God, you will be powerless to put
 them down--lest perhaps you find yourselves to be actually
 fighting against God."
5:40 His advice carried conviction. So they called the Apostles
 in, and--after /1 flogging them--ordered them not to speak in
 the name of Jesus, and then let them go.
5:41 They, therefore, /2 left the Sanhedrin and went their way,
 /3 rejoicing that they had been deemed worthy to suffer
 disgrace on behalf of /4 the NAME.
5:42 But they did not desist from teaching every day, in the
 Temple or in private houses, and telling the Good News about
 Jesus, the Christ.
6:1 About this time, as the number of disciples was increasing,
 complaints were made by /5 the Greek-speaking Jews against the
 /6 Hebrews because their widows were habitually overlooked in
 the daily /7 ministration.
6:2 So the Twelve called together the general body of the
 disciples and said, "It does not seem /8 fitting that /9 we
 Apostles should neglect the delivery of God's Message and /10
 minister at tables.
6:3 Therefore, brethren, pick out from among yourselves seven
 men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and we
 will appoint them to undertake this duty.
6:4 But, as for us, we will devote ourselves to prayer and to
 the /11 delivery of the Message."
6:5 The suggestion met with general approval, and they selected
 Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip,
 Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte
 of Antioch.

6:6 These men they brought to the Apostles, and, after prayer,
 they laid their hands upon them.
6:7 Meanwhile God's Message continued to spread, and the number
 of the disciples in Jerusalem very greatly increased, and /1
 very many priests obeyed the faith.
6:8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, performed great
 marvels and signs among the people.
6:9 But some members of the so-called `Synagogue of the
 Freed-men,' together with some Cyrenaeans, Alexandrians,
 Cilicians and /2 men from Roman Asia, were roused to encounter
 Stephen in debate.
6:10 They were quite unable, however, to resist the wisdom and
 the Spirit with which he spoke.
6:11 Then they privately put forward men who declared, "We have
 heard him speak blasphemous things against Moses and against
 God."
6:12 In this way they excited the people, the Elders, and the
 Scribes. At length they came upon him, seized him with
 violence, and took him /3 before the Sanhedrin.
6:13 Here they brought forward false witnesses who declared,
 "This fellow is incessantly speaking against the Holy Place and
 the Law.
6:14 For we have heard him say that Jesus, the Nazarene, will
 pull /4 this place down to the ground and will change the
 customs which Moses handed down to us."
6:15 At once the eyes of all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin
 were fastened on him, and they saw his face looking just like
 the face of an angel.
7:1 Then the High Priest asked him, "Are these statements true?"
7:2 The reply of Stephen was, "Sirs--brethren and
 fathers--listen to me. /5 God Most Glorious appeared to our
 forefather Abraham when he was living in Mesopotamia, before he
 settled in Haran,

7:3 and said to him, "`Leave your country and your relatives,
 and go into whatever land I point out to you.'
7:4 "Thereupon he left Chaldaea and settled in Haran till after
 the death of his father, when God caused him to remove into
 this country where /1 you now live.
7:5 But he gave him no inheritance in it, no, not a single /2
 square yard of ground. And yet He promised to bestow the land
 as a permanent possession on him and his posterity after
 him--and promised this at a time when Abraham was childless.
7:6 And God declared that Abraham's posterity should for four
 hundred years make their home in a country not their own, and
 be reduced to slavery and be oppressed.
7:7 "`And the nation, whichever it is, that enslaves them, I
 will judge,' said God; `and afterwards they shall come out, and
 they shall worship Me in this place.'
7:8 "Then He gave him the Covenant of circumcision, and under
 this Covenant he became the father of Isaac--whom he
 circumcised on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of
 Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve Patriarchs.
7:9 "The Patriarchs were jealous of Joseph and sold him into
 slavery in Egypt. But God was with him
7:10 and delivered him from all his afflictions, and gave him
 favour and wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
 who appointed him governor over Egypt and all the royal
 household.
7:11 But there came a famine throughout the whole of Egypt and
 Canaan--and great distress--so that our forefathers could find
 no food.
7:12 When, however, Jacob heard that there was wheat to be had,
 he sent our forefathers into Egypt; that was the first time.
7:13 On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his
 brothers, and Pharaoh was informed of Joseph's parentage.

7:14 Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his
 family, numbering /1 seventy-five persons, to come to him,
7:15 and Jacob went down into Egypt. There he died, and so did
 our forefathers,
7:16 and they were taken to /2 Shechem and were laid in the tomb
 which /3 Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem
 for a sum of money paid in silver.
7:17 "But as the time drew near for the fulfilment of the
 promise which God had made to Abraham, the people became many
 times more numerous in Egypt,
7:18 until there arose a foreign king over Egypt who knew
 nothing of Joseph.
7:19 He adopted a crafty policy towards our race, and oppressed
 our forefathers, making them cast out their infants so that
 they might not /4 be permitted to live.
7:20 At this time Moses was born--a /5 wonderfully beautiful
 child; and for three months he was cared for in his father's
 house.
7:21 At length he was cast out, but Pharaoh's daughter adopted
 him, and brought him up as her own son.
7:22 So Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians,
 and possessed great influence through his eloquence and his
 achievements.
7:23 "And when he was just forty years old, it occurred to him
 to visit his brethren the descendants of Israel.
7:24 Seeing one of them wrongfully treated he took his part, and
 secured justice for the ill-treated man by striking down the
 Egyptian.
7:25 He supposed his brethren to be aware that by him God was
 sending them deliverance; this, however, they did not
 understand.
7:26 The next day, also, he came and found two of them fighting,
 and he endeavoured to make peace between them. "`Sirs,' he
 said, `you are brothers. Why are you wronging one another?'
7:27 "But the man who was doing the wrong /6 resented his
 interference, and asked, "`Who appointed you magistrate and
 judge over us?

7:28 Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian
 yesterday?'
7:29 "Alarmed at this question, Moses fled from the country and
 went to live in the land of Midian. There he became the father
 of two sons.
7:30 "But at the end of forty years there appeared to him in the
 Desert of Mount Sinai an angel in the middle of a flame of fire
 in a bush.
7:31 When Moses saw this he wondered at the sight; but on his
 going up to look further, the voice of the Lord was heard,
 saying,
7:32 "`I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, of
 Isaac, and of Jacob.' "Quaking with fear Moses did not dare
 gaze.
7:33 "`Take off your shoes,' said the Lord, `for the spot on
 which you are standing is holy ground.
7:34 I have seen, yes, I have seen the oppression of My people
 who are in Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have come
 down to deliver them. And now /1 I will send you to Egypt.'
7:35 "The Moses whom they rejected, asking him, `Who appointed
 you magistrate and judge?' --that same Moses /2 we find God
 sending as a magistrate and a /3 deliverer by the help of the
 angel who appeared to him in the bush.
7:36 This was he who brought them out, /4 after performing
 marvels and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea, and in the
 Desert for forty years.
7:37 This is the Moses who said to the descendants of Israel,
 <"`God will raise up a Prophet for you, from among your
 brethren, just as He raised me up.'> /5
7:38 `This is he who was among the /6 Congregation in the
 Desert, together with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai
 and with our forefathers, who received /7 ever-living /8
 utterances to hand on /9 to us.

7:39 "Our forefathers, however, would not submit to him, but
 spurned his authority and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
7:40 They said to Aaron, "`Make /1 gods for us, to march in
 front of us; for as for this Moses who brought us out of the
 land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'
7:41 "Moreover they made a calf at that time, and offered a
 sacrifice to the idol and kept rejoicing in the gods which
 their own hands had made.
7:42 So God turned from them and gave them up to the worship of
 the Host of Heaven, as it is written in the Book of the
 Prophets, <"'Were they victims and sacrifices which you /2
 offered Me, forty years in the Desert, O House of Israel?
7:43 /3 Yes, you /4 lifted up /5 Moloch's tent and the Star of
 the God Rephan--the images which you made in order to worship
 them; and I will remove you beyond Babylon.'>
7:44 "Our forefathers had /6 the Tent of the Testimony in the
 Desert, built as He who spoke to Moses had instructed him to
 make it in imitation of the model which he had seen.
7:45 That Tent was bequeathed to the next generation of our
 forefathers. Under Joshua they brought it with them when they
 were taking possession of the land of the Gentile nations, whom
 God drove out before them. So it continued till David's time.
7:46 David obtained favour with God, and asked leave to provide
 a dwelling-place for the God of Jacob.
7:47 But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.
7:48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in buildings erected by
 men's hands. But, as the Prophet declares,

7:49 <"`The sky is My throne, and earth is the footstool for My
 feet. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord,
 or what resting place shall I have?
7:50 Did not My hand form this universe.'>
7:51 "O stiff-necked men, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you
 also are continually /1 at strife with the Holy Spirit--just as
 your forefathers were.
7:52 Which of the Prophets did not your forefathers persecute?
 Yes, they killed those who announced beforehand the advent of
 the righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now
 become--
7:53 you who received the Law /2 given through angels, and yet
 have not obeyed it."
7:54 As they listened to these words, they became infuriated and
 gnashed their teeth at him.
7:55 But, /3 full of the Holy Spirit and looking up to Heaven,
 /4 Stephen /5 saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God's
 right hand.
7:56 /6 "I can see Heaven wide open," he said, "and the Son of
 Man standing at God's right hand."
7:57 Upon this, with a loud outcry they stopped their ears,
 rushed upon Stephen in a body,
7:58 dragged him out of the city, and /7 stoned him, the
 witnesses throwing off their outer garments and giving them
 into the care of a young man called Saul.
7:59 So they /7 stoned Stephen, /8 while he prayed, /9 "Lord
 Jesus, receive my spirit."
7:60 Then, rising on his knees, he cried aloud, /10 "Lord, do
 not reckon this sin against them." And with these words he fell
 asleep.
8:1 And Saul fully approved of his murder. At this time a great
 persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem, and /1
 all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judaea and
 Samaria.
8:2 A party of /2 devout men, however, /3 buried Stephen, and
 made loud lamentation over him.
8:3 But Saul cruelly harassed the Church. He went into house
 after house, and, dragging off both men and women, threw them
 into prison.
8:4 Those, however, who were scattered abroad went from place to
 place spreading the Good News of God's Message;
8:5 while Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed
 Christ there.
8:6 Crowds of people, with one accord, gave attention to what
 they heard from him, listening, and witnessing the signs which
 he did.
8:7 For, with a loud cry, foul spirits came out of many
 possessed by them, and many paralytics and lame persons were
 restored to health.
8:8 And there was great joy in that city.
8:9 Now for some time past there had been a man named Simon
 living there, who had been practising magic and astonishing /4
 the Samaritans, pretending that he was more than human.
8:10 To him people of all classes paid attention, declaring,
 "This man is the Power of God, known as the great Power."
8:11 His influence over them arose from their having been, for a
 long time, bewildered by his sorceries.
8:12 But when Philip began to tell the Good News about the
 Kingdom of God and about the Name of Jesus Christ, and they
 embraced the faith, they /5 were baptized, men and women alike.

8:13 Simon himself also /1 believed, and after being baptized
 remained in close attendance on Philip, and was full of
 amazement at seeing such signs and such great miracles
 performed.
8:14 When the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans
 had accepted God's Message, they sent Peter and /2 John to
 visit them.
8:15 They, when they came down, prayed for them that they might
 receive the Holy Spirit:
8:16 for He had not as yet fallen upon any of them. They /3 had
 only been baptized /4 into the name of the Lord Jesus.
8:17 Then the Apostles /5 placed their hands upon them, and they
 /5 received the Holy Spirit.
8:18 When, however, Simon saw that it was through the laying on
 of the Apostles' hands that the Spirit was bestowed, he offered
 them money.
8:19 "Give me too," he said, "that power, so that every one on
 whom I place my hands will receive the Holy Spirit."
8:20 "Perish your money and yourself," replied Peter, "because
 you have imagined that you can obtain God's free gift with
 money!
8:21 /6 No part or lot have you in this /7 matter, for your
 heart is not right in God's sight.
8:22 /8 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray
 to the Lord, /9 in the hope that the /10 purpose which is in
 your heart may perhaps be forgiven you.
8:23 For I perceive that you /11 have fallen into the bitterest
 bondage of unrighteousness."
8:24 "Pray, both of you, to the Lord for me," answered Simon,
 "that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."

8:25 So the Apostles, after giving a solemn charge and
 delivering the Lord's Message, travelled back to Jerusalem,
 making known the Good News also in many of the Samaritan
 villages.
8:26 And an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and proceed
 /1 south to /2 the road that runs down from Jerusalem to Gaza,
 /3 crossing the Desert."
8:27 Upon this he rose and went. Now, /4 as it happened, an
 Ethiopian eunuch who was in a position of high authority with
 Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, as her treasurer, had visited
 Jerusalem to worship there,
8:28 and was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot
 he was /5 reading the Prophet Isaiah.
8:29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go and /6 enter that
 chariot."
8:30 So Philip ran up and heard the eunuch reading the Prophet
 Isaiah. /7 "Do you understand what you are reading?" he asked.
8:31 "Why, how can I," replied the eunuch, "unless some one
 explains it to me?" And he earnestly invited Philip to come up
 and sit with him.
8:32 The passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:
 <"Like a sheep He was led to slaughter, and just as a lamb
 before its shearer is dumb so He opened not His mouth.
8:33 In His humiliation justice was denied Him. /8 Who will make
 known His posterity? For He is destroyed from among men.">
8:34 "Pray, of whom is the Prophet speaking?" inquired the
 eunuch; "of himself or of some one else?"
8:35 Then Philip /9 began to speak, and, commencing with that
 same portion of Scripture, told him the Good News about Jesus.

8:36 So they proceeded on their way till they came to some
 water; and the eunuch exclaimed, "See, here is water; what is
 there to prevent my being baptized?"
8:37 /1 []
8:38 So he stopped the chariot; and both of them--Philip and the
 eunuch--went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
8:39 But no sooner had they come up out of the water than /2 the
 Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch did not
 see him again. With a glad heart he resumed his journey;
8:40 but Philip found himself at /3 Ashdod. Then visiting town
 after town he everywhere made known the Good News until he
 reached Caesarea.
9:1 Now Saul, whose every breath was a threat of destruction for
 the disciples of the Lord,
9:2 went to the High Priest and begged from him letters
 addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, in order that if he
 found /4 any believers there, either men or women, he might
 bring them in chains to Jerusalem.
9:3 But on the journey, as he was getting near Damascus,
 suddenly there flashed round him a light from Heaven;
9:4 and falling to the ground he heard a voice which said to
 him, /5 "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"
9:5 "Who art thou, Lord?" he asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are
 persecuting," was the reply.
9:6 /6 "But rise and go to the city, and you will be told what
 you are to do.

9:7 Meanwhile the men who travelled with Saul were standing dumb
 with amazement, hearing a /1 sound, but seeing no one.
9:8 Then he rose from the ground, but when he /2 had opened his
 eyes, he could not see, and they led him by the /3 arm and
 brought him to Damascus.
9:9 And /4 for two days he remained without sight, and did not
 eat or drink anything.
9:10 Now in Damascus there was a disciple of the name of
 Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, saying, "Ananias!"
 "I am here, Lord," he answered.
9:11 "Rise," said the Lord, "and go to Straight Street, and
 inquire at the house of Judas for a man called Saul, from
 Tarsus, for he is actually praying.
9:12 He has seen a man called Ananias /5 come and lay his hands
 upon him so that he may recover his sight."
9:13 "Lord," answered Ananias, "I have heard about that man from
 many, and I have heard of the great mischief he has done to Thy
 /6 people in Jerusalem;
9:14 and here he is authorized by the High Priests to arrest all
 who call upon Thy name."
9:15 "Go," replied the Lord; "he is a chosen /7 instrument of
 Mine to carry My name /8 to the Gentiles and to kings and to
 the descendants of Israel.
9:16 For I will let him know the great sufferings which he must
 pass through for My sake."
9:17 So Ananias went and entered the house; and, laying his two
 hands upon Saul, said, "Saul, brother, the Lord--even Jesus who
 appeared to you on your journey--has sent me, that you may
 recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
9:18 Instantly there dropped from his eyes what seemed to be
 scales, and he could see once more. Upon this he rose and
 received baptism;
9:19 after which he took food and regained his strength. Then he
 remained /9 some little time with the disciples in Damascus.
9:20 And in the synagogues he began at once to proclaim Jesus as
 the Son of God;

9:21 and his hearers were all amazed, and began to ask one
 another, "Is not this the man who in Jerusalem /1 tried to
 exterminate those who called upon that Name, and /2 came here
 on purpose to carry them off in chains to the High Priests?"
9:22 Saul, however, /3 gained more and more influence, and as
 for the Jews living in Damascus, he bewildered them with his
 proofs that Jesus is the Christ.
9:23 /4 At length the Jews plotted to kill Saul;
9:24 but information of their intention was given to him. They
 even watched the gates, day and night, in order to murder him;
9:25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down /5
 through the wall, lowering him in a /6 hamper.
9:26 So he came to Jerusalem and made several attempts to
 associate with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him,
 being in doubt as to whether he himself was a disciple.
9:27 Barnabas, however, came to his assistance. He brought Saul
 to the Apostles, and related to them how, on his journey, he
 had seen the Lord, and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how
 in Damascus he had fearlessly taught in the name of Jesus.
9:28 Henceforth Saul was one of them, going in and out of the
 city,
9:29 and speaking fearlessly in the name of the Lord. And he
 often talked with the Hellenists and had discussions with them.
9:30 But they kept trying to take his life. On learning this,
 the brethren brought him down to Caesarea, and then /7 sent him
 by sea to Tarsus.
9:31 The Church, however, throughout the whole of Judaea,
 Galilee and Samaria, had peace and was spiritually built up;
 and grew in numbers, /8 living in the fear of the Lord and /9
 receiving /10 encouragement from the Holy Spirit.

9:32 Now Peter, as he went to town after town, came down also to
 /1 God's people at Lud.
9:33 There he found a man of the name of Aeneas, who for eight
 years had kept his /2 bed, through being paralysed.
9:34 Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ cures you. Rise
 and /3 make your own bed." He at once rose to his feet.
9:35 And all the people of Lud and Sharon saw him; and they
 turned to the Lord.
9:36 Among the disciples at /4 Jaffa was a woman called Tabitha,
 or, as the name may be translated, /5 `Dorcas.' /6 Her life was
 wholly devoted to the good and charitable actions which she was
 constantly doing.
9:37 But, as it happened, just at that time she was taken ill
 and died. After washing her body they laid it out in a room
 upstairs.
9:38 Lud, however, being near Jaffa, the disciples, who had
 heard that Peter was at Lud, sent two men to him with an urgent
 request that he would come across to them without delay.
9:39 So Peter rose and went with them. On his arrival they took
 him upstairs, and the widow women all came and stood by his
 side, weeping and showing him the underclothing and cloaks and
 garments of all kinds which Dorcas used to make while she was
 still with them.
9:40 Peter, however, putting every one out of the room, knelt
 down and prayed, and then turning to the body, he said,
 "Tabitha, rise." Dorcas at once opened her eyes, and seeing
 Peter, sat up.
9:41 Then, giving her his hand, he raised her to her feet and,
 calling to him God's people and the widows, he / 7 gave her
 back to them alive.
9:42 This incident became known throughout Jaffa, and many /8
 believed in the Lord;
9:43 and Peter remained for a considerable time at Jaffa,
 staying at the house of a man called Simon, a tanner.
10:1 Now a Captain of the Italian Regiment, named Cornelius, was
 quartered at Caesarea.
10:2 He was religious and God-fearing--and so was every member
 of his household. He was also liberal in his charities to the
 people, and continually offered prayer to God.

10:3 About three o'clock one afternoon he had a vision, and
 distinctly saw an angel of God /1 enter /2 his house, who
 called him by name, saying, "Cornelius!"
10:4 Looking steadily at him, and being much alarmed, he said,
 /3 "What do you want, Sir?" "Your prayers and charities," he
 replied, "have gone up and have been recorded before God.
10:5 And now send to Jaffa and fetch Simon, surnamed Peter.
10:6 He is staying as a guest with Simon, a tanner, who has a
 house close to the sea." /4
10:7 So when the angel who had been speaking to him was gone,
 Cornelius called two of his /5 servants and a God-fearing
 soldier who was in constant attendance on him,
10:8 and, after telling them everything, he sent them to Jaffa.
10:9 The next day, while they were still on their journey and
 were getting near the town, about noon Peter went up on the
 house-top to pray.
10:10 He had become unusually hungry and wished for food; but,
 while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance.
10:11 The sky had opened to his view, and what seemed to be an
 enormous sail was descending, being let down to the earth by
 ropes at the four corners.
10:12 In it were /6 all kinds of quadrupeds, reptiles and birds,
10:13 and a voice came to him which said, "Rise, Peter, kill and
 eat."
10:14 "On no account, Lord," he replied; "for I have never yet
 eaten anything unholy and impure."
10:15 Again a second time a voice was heard which said, "What
 God has purified, you must not regard as unholy."
10:16 This /7 was said three times, and immediately the sail was
 drawn up /8 out of sight.
10:17 While Peter was greatly perplexed as to the meaning of the
 vision which he had seen, just then the men sent by Cornelius,
 having by inquiry found out Simon's house,

10:18 had come to the door and had called the servant, and were
 asking, "Is Simon, surnamed Peter, staying here?"
10:19 And Peter was still earnestly thinking over the vision,
 when the Spirit said to him, /1 "Three men are now inquiring
 for you.
10:20 Rise, go down, and go with them without any misgivings;
 for it is I who have sent them to you."
10:21 So Peter went down and said to the men, "I am the Simon
 you are inquiring for. What is the reason of your coming?"
10:22 Their reply was, "Cornelius, a Captain, an upright and
 God-fearing man, of whom the whole Jewish nation speaks well,
 has been divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to
 come to his house and listen to what you have to say."
10:23 Upon hearing this, Peter invited them in, and gave them a
 lodging. The next day he set out with them, some of the
 brethren from Jaffa going with him,
10:24 and the day after that they reached Caesarea. There
 Cornelius was awaiting their arrival, and had invited all his
 relatives and intimate friends to be present.
10:25 When Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him, and threw
 himself at his feet to do him homage.
10:26 But Peter lifted him up. "Stand up," he said; "I myself
 also am but a man."
10:27 So Peter went in and conversed with him, and found a large
 company assembled.
10:28 He said to them, /2 "You know better than most that a Jew
 /3 is strictly forbidden to associate with a Gentile or visit
 him; but God has taught me to call no one unholy or unclean.
10:29 So for this reason, when sent for, I came without raising
 any objection. I therefore ask why you sent for me."
10:30 "Just at this hour, /4 three days ago," replied Cornelius,
 "I was

/1 offering afternoon prayer in my house, when suddenly a man in
 shining raiment stood in front of me,
10:31 who said, "`Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and
 your charities have been put on record before God.
10:32 Send therefore to Jaffa, and invite Simon, surnamed Peter,
 to come here. He is staying as a guest in the house of Simon, a
 tanner, close to the sea.' /2
10:33 "Immediately, therefore, I sent to you, and /3 I thank you
 heartily for having come. That is why all of us are now
 assembled here in God's presence, to listen to what the Lord
 has commanded you to say."
10:34 Then Peter began to speak. "I clearly see," he said, "that
 /4 God makes no distinctions between one man and another;
10:35 but that in every nation those who fear Him and live good
 lives are acceptable to Him.
10:36 The Message which He sent to the descendants of Israel,
 when He announced the Good News of peace through Jesus
 Christ--He is Lord of all--that Message /5 you cannot but know;
10:37 the story, I mean, which has spread through the length and
 breadth of Judaea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism which
 John proclaimed.
10:38 It tells how God /6 anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the /7
 Holy Spirit and with power, so that He went about everywhere
 doing acts of kindness, and curing all who were being
 continually oppressed by the Devil--for God was with Jesus.

10:39 "And we are witnesses as to all that He did both in the
 country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. But they even put Him to
 death, /1 by crucifixion.
10:40 That same Jesus God raised to life on the third day, and
 permitted Him to appear unmistakably,
10:41 not to all the people, but to witnesses--men previously
 chosen by God--namely, to us, who ate and drank with Him after
 He rose from the dead.
10:42 And He has commanded us to preach to the people and
 solemnly declare that this is He who has been appointed by God
 to be the Judge of /2 the living and the dead.
10:43 To Him all the Prophets bear witness, and testify that
 through His name all who /3 believe in Him receive the
 forgiveness of their sins."
10:44 While Peter /4 was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit
 fell on all who were listening to the Message.
10:45 And all the /5 Jewish believers who had come with Peter
 were astonished that on the Gentiles also the gift of the Holy
 Spirit was poured out.
10:46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling the
 majesty of God. Then Peter /6 said,
10:47 "Can any one forbid the use of water, and object to these
 persons being baptized--men who have received the Holy Spirit
 just as we did?"
10:48 And /7 he directed /8 that they should be baptized in the
 name of Jesus Christ. Then they begged him to remain with them
 for a time.
11:1 Now the Apostles, and the brethren /9 in various parts of
 Judaea, heard that the Gentiles also had received God's
 Message;
11:2 and, when Peter returned to Jerusalem, the champions of
 circumcision found fault with him.
11:3 "You went into the houses of men who are not Jews," they
 said, "and you ate with them."

11:4 Peter, however, explained the whole matter to them from the
 beginning.
11:5 "While I was in the town of Jaffa, offering prayer," he
 said, "in a trance I saw a vision. There descended what seemed
 to be an enormous sail, being let down from the sky by ropes at
 the four corners, and it came close to me.
11:6 Fixing my eyes on it, I examined it closely, and saw
 various kinds of quadrupeds, wild beasts, reptiles and birds.
11:7 I also heard a voice saying to me, "`Rise, Peter, kill and
 eat.'
11:8 "`On no account, Lord,' I replied, `for nothing unholy or
 impure has ever gone into my mouth.'
11:9 "But a voice answered, speaking a second time from the sky,
 "`What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy.'
11:10 "This was said three times, and then everything was drawn
 up again out of sight.
11:11 "Now at that very moment three men came to the house where
 we were, having been sent from Caesarea to find me.
11:12 And the Spirit told me to accompany them /1 without any
 misgivings. There also went with me these six brethren who are
 now present, and we reached the /2 Centurion's house.
11:13 Then he described to us how he had seen /3 the angel come
 and /4 enter his house and say, "`Send to Jaffa and fetch
 Simon, surnamed Peter.
11:14 He will teach you truths by which you and all your family
 will be saved.'"
11:15 "And," said Peter, "no sooner had I begun to speak than
 the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He fell upon us at the
 first.
11:16 Then I remembered the Lord's words, how He used to say,
 "`John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the
 Holy Spirit.'
11:17 "If therefore God gave them the /5 same gift as He gave us
 when we /6 first believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, why, who
 was I to be able to thwart God?"

11:18 This statement of Peter's silenced his opponents. They
 extolled the goodness of God, and said, "So, then, to the
 Gentiles also God has given the repentance which leads to
 Life."
11:19 Those, however, who had been driven in various directions
 by the persecution which broke out on account of Stephen made
 their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, delivering the
 Message to none but Jews.
11:20 But some of them were Cyprians and Cyrenaeans, who, on
 coming to Antioch, spoke to the /1 Greeks also and told them
 the Good News concerning the Lord Jesus.
11:21 The /2 power of the Lord was with them, and there were a
 vast number who believed and turned to the Lord.
11:22 When tidings of this reached the ears of the Church in
 Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas as far as Antioch.
11:23 On getting there he was delighted to see the grace which
 God had bestowed; and he /3 encouraged them all to remain, with
 fixed resolve, faithful to the Lord.
11:24 For he was a good man, and was full of the Holy Spirit and
 of faith; and the number of believers in the Lord greatly
 increased.
11:25 Then Barnabas paid a visit to Tarsus to try to find Saul.
11:26 He succeeded, and brought him to Antioch; and for a whole
 year they attended the meetings of the Church, and taught a
 large number of people. And it was in Antioch that the
 disciples first received the name of `Christians.'
11:27 At /4 that time certain Prophets came down from Jerusalem
 to Antioch,
11:28 one of whom, named Agabus, being instructed by the Spirit,
 /5 publicly predicted the speedy coming of a great famine
 throughout the world. (It came in the reign of Claudius.)
11:29 So the disciples decided to send relief, every one in
 proportion to his means, to the brethren living in Judaea.

11:30 This they did, forwarding their contributions to the /1
 Elders by Barnabas and Saul.
12:1 Now, about that time, King Herod arrested certain members
 of the Church, in order to ill-treat them;
12:2 and James, John's brother, he beheaded.
12:3 Finding that this gratified the Jews, he proceeded to seize
 Peter also; these being the days of Unleavened Bread.
12:4 He had him arrested and lodged in jail, handing him over to
 the care of /2 sixteen soldiers; and intended after the
 Passover to bring him out again to the people.
12:5 So Peter was kept in prison; but long and fervent prayer
 was offered to God by the Church on his behalf.
12:6 Now when Herod was on the point of taking him out of
 prison, that very night Peter was asleep between two soldiers,
 bound with two chains, and /3 guards were /4 on duty outside
 the door.
12:7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light
 shone in the cell; and, striking Peter on the side, he woke him
 and said, "Rise quickly." Instantly the chains dropped off his
 wrists.
12:8 "Fasten your girdle," said the angel, "and tie on your
 sandals." He did so. Then the angel said, "Throw your cloak
 round you, and follow me."
12:9 So Peter went out, following him, yet could not believe
 that what the angel was doing was real, but supposed that he
 saw a vision.
12:10 And passing through /5 the first ward and the second, they
 came to the iron gate leading into the city. This opened to
 them of itself; and, going out, they passed on through one of
 the streets, and then suddenly the angel left him.
12:11 Peter coming to himself said, "Now I know for certain that
 the Lord has sent His angel and has rescued me from the power
 of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were
 anticipating."

12:12 So, after thinking things over, he went to the house of
 Mary, the mother of John surnamed Mark, where a large number of
 people were assembled, praying.
12:13 When he knocked at the /1 wicket in the door, a
 maidservant named /2 Rhoda came to answer the knock;
12:14 and recognizing Peter's voice, for very joy she did not
 open the door, but ran in and told them that Peter was standing
 there.
12:15 "You are mad," they said. But she strenuously maintained
 that it was true. "It is his /3 guardian angel," they said.
12:16 Meanwhile Peter went on knocking, until at last they
 opened the door and saw that it was really he, and were filled
 with amazement.
12:17 But he motioned with his hand for silence, and then
 described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the
 prison. "Tell all this to James and the brethren," he added.
 Then he left them, and went to another place.
12:18 When morning came, there was no little commotion among the
 soldiers, as to what could possibly have become of Peter.
12:19 And when Herod had had him searched for and could not find
 him, after sharply questioning the guards he ordered them away
 to execution. He then went down from Judaea to Caesarea and
 remained there.
12:20 Now the people of Tyre and Sidon had incurred Herod's
 violent displeasure. So they sent a large deputation to wait on
 him; and having secured the good will of Blastus, his
 treasurer, they begged the king /4 to be friendly with them
 again, because their country was dependent on his for its food
 supply.
12:21 So, on an appointed day, Herod, having arrayed himself in
 royal robes, took his seat on the tribunal, and was haranguing
 them;
12:22 and the assembled people kept shouting, "It is the voice
 of a god, and not of a man!"
12:23 Instantly an angel of the Lord struck him, because he had
 not given the glory to God, and being eaten up by worms, he /5
 died.

12:24 But God's Message prospered, and converts were multiplied.
12:25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, having
 discharged their mission, and they brought with them John,
 surnamed Mark.
13:1 Now there were in Antioch, /1 in the Church there--as
 Prophets and teachers--barnabas, /2 Symeon surnamed `the
 black,' Lucius the Cyrenaean, Manaen /3 (who was Herod the
 Tetrarch's foster-brother), and Saul.
13:2 While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy
 Spirit said, "Set apart for Me, now at once, Barnabas and Saul,
 for the work to which I have called them."
13:3 So, after fasting and prayer and the laying on of hands,
 they let them go.
13:4 They therefore, being thus sent out by the Holy Spirit,
 went /4 down to Seleuceia, and from there sailed to Cyprus.
13:5 Having reached Salamis, they began to announce God's
 Message in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John as
 their /5 assistant.
13:6 When they had gone through the whole length of the island
 as far as Paphos, they there met with a Jewish magician and
 false prophet, /6 Bar-Jesus by name,
13:7 who was a friend of the Proconsul Sergius Paulus. The
 Proconsul was a man of keen intelligence. He sent for Barnabas
 and Saul, and asked to be told God's Message.
13:8 But /7 Elymas (or `the Magician,' for such is the meaning
 of the name) opposed them, and tried to /8 prevent the
 Proconsul from accepting the faith.
13:9 Then Saul, who is also called Paul, was filled with the
 Holy Spirit, and, fixing his eyes on Elymas,

13:10 said, "You who are full of every kind of craftiness and
 unscrupulous cunning--you son of the Devil and foe to all that
 is right--will you never cease /1 to misrepresent the straight
 paths of the Lord?
13:11 The Lord's hand is now upon you, and you will be blind for
 a time and unable to see the light of day." Instantly there
 fell upon him a mist and a darkness, and, as he walked about,
 he begged people to lead him /2 by the hand.
13:12 Then the Proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed,
 being struck with amazement at /3 the teaching of the Lord.
13:13 From Paphos, Paul and his party put out to sea and sailed
 to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to
 Jerusalem.
13:14 But they themselves, passing through from Perga, came to
 Antioch in Pisidia. Here, on the Sabbath day, they went into
 the synagogue and sat down.
13:15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the Wardens
 of the synagogue sent word to them. "Brethren," they said, "if
 you have anything encouraging to say to the people, speak."
13:16 So Paul rose, and motioning with his hand for silence,
 said, "Israelites, and you others who fear God, pay attention
 to me.
13:17 The God of this people of Israel chose our forefathers,
 and made the people great during their stay in Egypt, until
 with /4 wondrous power He brought them out from that land.
13:18 For a period of about forty years, He /5 fed them, like a
 nurse, in the Desert.
13:19 Then, after overthrowing seven nations in the land of
 Canaan, He divided that country among them as their inheritance
 for about four hundred and fifty years;
13:20 and afterwards He gave them judges down to the time of the
 Prophet Samuel.
13:21 Next they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son
 of Kish, a Benjamite, who reigned forty years.

13:22 After removing him, He raised up David to be their king,
 to whom He also bore witness when He said, "`I have found David
 the son of Jesse, a man I love, who will obey all My commands.'
13:23 "It is from among David's descendants that God, in
 fulfilment of His promise, has raised up a Saviour for Israel,
 even Jesus.
13:24 Before the coming of Jesus, John had proclaimed to all the
 people of Israel a baptism of repentance.
13:25 But John, towards the end of his career, repeatedly asked
 the people, "`What do you suppose me to be? I am not the
 Christ. But there is One coming after me whose sandal I am not
 worthy to unfasten.'
13:26 "Brethren, descendants of the family of Abraham, and all
 among you who fear God, to us has this Message of salvation
 been sent.
13:27 For the people of Jerusalem and their rulers, /1 by the
 judgement they pronounced on Jesus, have actually fulfilled the
 predictions of the Prophets which are read Sabbath after
 Sabbath, through ignorance of those predictions and of Him.
13:28 Without having found Him guilty of any capital offence
 they urged Pilate to have Him put to death;
13:29 and when they had carried out everything which had been
 written about Him, they took Him down from the /2 cross and
 laid Him in a tomb.
13:30 "But God raised Him from the dead.
13:31 And, after a few days, He appeared to the people who had
 gone up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem and are now
 witnesses concerning Him to the Jews.
13:32 And we bring you the Good News about the promise made to
 our forefathers,
13:33 that God has amply fulfilled it to our children in /3
 raising up Jesus; as it is also written in /4 the second Psalm,
 <`Thou art My Son: to-day I have become Thy Father.'>
13:34 And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, never
 again to be in the position of one soon to return to decay, He
 /5 speaks thus: <`I will give you the holy and trustworthy
 promises made to David.'>

13:35 Because in another Psalm also He says, <`Thou wilt not /1
 give up Thy Holy One to undergo decay.'>
13:36 For David, /2 after having been useful to his own
 generation in accordance with God's purpose, did fall asleep,
 was gathered to his forefathers, and did undergo decay.
13:37 But He whom God raised to life underwent no decay.
13:38 "Understand therefore, brethren, that through this Jesus
 forgiveness of sins is announced to you;
13:39 and in Him every believer is absolved from all offences,
 from which you could not be absolved under the Law of Moses.
13:40 Beware, then, lest what is spoken in the Prophets should
 come true of you:
13:41 <`Behold, you despisers, be astonished and perish, because
 I am carrying on a work in your time--a work which you will
 utterly refuse to believe, though it be fully declared to
 you.'">
13:42 As /3 Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the
 people earnestly begged to have all this repeated to them on
 the following Sabbath.
13:43 And, when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews
 and of the devout converts from heathenism continued with Paul
 and Barnabas, who talked to them and urged them to hold fast to
 the grace of God.
13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole population of the
 city came together to hear the Lord's Message.
13:45 Seeing the crowds, the Jews, filled with angry jealousy,
 opposed Paul's statements and abused him.
13:46 Then, throwing off all reserve, Paul and Barnabas said,
 "We were bound to proclaim God's Message to you first. But
 since you spurn it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of the
 Life /4 of the Ages--well, we turn to the Gentiles.
13:47 For such is the Lord's command to us. <"`I have placed
 Thee,'> He says of Christ, <`as a light to the Gentiles, in
 order that Thou mayest be a Saviour as far as the remotest
 parts of the earth.'">
13:48 The Gentiles listened with delight and extolled the Lord's
 Message; and all who were pre-destined to the Life of the Ages
 believed.

13:49 So the Lord's Message spread through the whole district.
13:50 But the Jews influenced the gentlewomen of rank who
 worshipped with them, and also the leading men in the city, and
 stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them
 out of the district.
13:51 But they shook off the dust from their feet as a protest
 against them and came to Iconium;
13:52 and as for the disciples, they were /1 more and more
 filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
14:1 At Iconium the Apostles went /2 together to the Jewish
 synagogue and preached, with the result that a great number
 both of Jews and Greeks believed.
14:2 But the Jews who /3 had refused /4 obedience stirred up the
 Gentiles and embittered their minds against the brethren.
14:3 Yet Paul and Barnabas remained there for a considerable
 time, speaking freely and relying on the Lord, while He bore
 witness to the Message of His grace by permitting signs and
 marvels to be done by them.
14:4 At length the people of the city /5 split into parties,
 some siding with the Jews and some with the Apostles.
14:5 And when a hostile movement was made by both Gentiles and
 Jews, with the sanction of their magistrates, to maltreat and
 stone them,
14:6 the Apostles, having become aware of it, made their escape
 into the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe, and the
 neighbouring country.
14:7 And there they continued to tell the Good News.
14:8 Now a man who had no power in his feet used to sit in the
 streets of Lystra. He had been lame from his birth and /6 had
 never walked.
14:9 /7 After this man had listened to one of Paul's sermons,
 the Apostle, looking steadily at him and perceiving that he had
 faith to be cured,
14:10 said in a loud voice, "Stand upright upon your feet!"

14:11 So he sprang up and began to walk about. Then the crowds,
 seeing what Paul had done, rent the air with their shouts in
 the Lycaonian language, saying, "The gods have assumed human
 form and have come down to us."
14:12 They called Barnabas `Zeus,' and Paul, as being the
 principal speaker, `Hermes.'
14:13 And the priest of Zeus--the temple of Zeus being at the
 entrance to the city--brought bullocks and garlands to /1 the
 gates, and in company with the crowd was intending to offer
 sacrifices to them.
14:14 But the Apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it; and
 tearing their clothes they rushed out into the middle of the
 crowd, exclaiming, "Sirs, why are you doing all this?
14:15 We also are but men, with /2 natures kindred to your own;
 and we bring you the Good News that you are to turn from these
 unreal things, to worship the ever-living God, the Creator of
 earth and sky and sea and of everything that is in them.
14:16 In times gone by He allowed all the nations to go their
 own ways;
14:17 and yet by His beneficence He has not left His existence
 unattested--His beneficence, I mean, in sending you rain from
 Heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food
 and joyfulness."
14:18 Even with words like these they had difficulty in
 preventing the thronging crowd from offering sacrifices to
 them.
14:19 But now a party of Jews came from Antioch and Iconium,
 and, having won over the crowd, they stoned Paul and dragged
 him out of the town, believing him to be dead.
14:20 When, however, the disciples had collected round him, he
 rose and went back into the town. The next day he went with
 Barnabas to Derbe;
14:21 and, after proclaiming the Good News to the people there
 and gaining a large number of converts, they retraced their
 steps to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch.
14:22 Everywhere they strengthened the disciples by encouraging
 them to hold fast to the faith, and warned them saying, "It is
 through many afflictions that we must make our way into the
 Kingdom of God."

14:23 And in every Church, after prayer and fasting, they /1
 selected Elders /2 by show of hands, and commended them to the
 Lord on whom their faith rested.
14:24 Then passing through Pisidia they came into Pamphylia;
14:25 and after telling the Message at Perga they came down to
 Attaleia.
14:26 Thence they sailed to Antioch, where they had previously
 been commended to the grace of God in connexion with the work
 which they had now completed.
14:27 Upon their arrival they called the Church together and
 proceeded to report in detail all that God, working with them,
 had done, and how He had opened for the Gentiles the door of
 faith.
14:28 And they remained a considerable time in Antioch with the
 disciples.
15:1 But certain persons who had come down from Judaea tried to
 convince the brethren, saying, "Unless you are circumcised in
 accordance with the Mosaic custom, you cannot be saved."
15:2 Between these new comers and Paul and Barnabas there was no
 little disagreement and controversy, until at last it was
 decided that Paul and Barnabas and some other brethren should
 go up to consult the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem on this
 matter.
15:3 So they set out, being accompanied for a short distance by
 some other members of the Church; and as they passed through
 Phoenicia and Samaria, they told the whole story of the
 conversion of the Gentiles and inspired all the brethren with
 great joy.
15:4 Upon their arrival in Jerusalem they were cordially
 received by the Church, the Apostles, and /3 the Elders; and
 they reported in detail all that God, working with them, had
 done.
15:5 But certain men who had belonged to the sect of the
 Pharisees but were now believers, stood up in the assembly, and
 said, "Yes, Gentile believers ought to be circumcised and be
 ordered to keep the Law of Moses."

15:6 Then the Apostles and Elders met to consider the /1 matter;
15:7 and after there had been a long discussion Peter rose to
 his feet. "It is within /2 your own knowledge," he said, "that
 God /3 originally made choice among you that from my lips the
 Gentiles were to hear the Message of the Good News, and
 believe.
15:8 And God, who knows all hearts, gave His testimony in their
 favour by bestowing the Holy Spirit on them just as He did on
 us;
15:9 and He made no difference between us and them, in that He
 cleansed their hearts by their faith.
15:10 Now, therefore, why try an experiment upon God, /4 by
 laying on the necks of these disciples a yoke which neither our
 forefathers nor we have been able to bear?
15:11 On the contrary, we believe that it is by the grace of the
 Lord Jesus that we, as well as they, shall be saved."
15:12 Then the whole assembly /5 remained silent while they
 listened to the statement made by Paul and Barnabas as to all
 the signs and marvels that God had done among the Gentiles
 through their instrumentality.
15:13 When they had finished speaking, James said, "Brethren,
 listen to me.
15:14 /6 Symeon has related how God first looked graciously on
 the Gentiles to take from among them a People to be called by
 His name.
15:15 And this is in harmony with the language of the Prophets,
 which says:
15:16 <"`"Afterwards I will return, and will rebuild David's
 fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will set it /7 up
 again;
15:17 In order that the rest of mankind may earnestly seek the
 Lord--even all the nations which are called by My name,"

15:18 Says the Lord, /1 who has been making these things known
 /2 from ages long past.'>
15:19 "My judgement, therefore, is against inflicting /3
 unexpected annoyance on those of the Gentiles who are turning
 /4 to God.
15:20 Yet let us send them written instructions to abstain from
 /5 things polluted by connexion with idolatry, from
 fornication, from meat killed by strangling, and from blood.
15:21 For Moses from /6 the earliest times /7 has had his
 preachers in every town, being read, as he is, Sabbath after
 Sabbath, in the various synagogues."
15:22 Thereupon it was decided by the Apostles and Elders, with
 the approval of the whole Church, to choose suitable persons
 from among themselves and send them to Antioch, with Paul and
 Barnabas. Judas, called Bar-sabbas, and Silas, leading men
 among the brethren, were selected,
15:23 and they took with them the following letter: "The
 Apostles and the elder brethren send greeting to the Gentile
 brethren throughout Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.
15:24 As we have been informed that certain persons who have
 gone out from among us have disturbed you by their teaching and
 have unsettled your minds, without having received any such
 instructions from us;
15:25 we have /8 unanimously decided to select certain men and
 send them to you in company with our dear friends Barnabas and
 Paul,
15:26 who have endangered their very lives for the sake of our
 Lord Jesus Christ.
15:27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who are themselves
 bringing you the same message by word of mouth.

15:28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay
 upon you no burden heavier than these necessary requirements--
15:29 You must abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from
 blood, from things strangled, and from fornication. Keep
 yourselves clear of these things, and it will be well with you.
 Farewell."
15:30 They, therefore, having been solemnly sent, came down to
 Antioch, where they called together the whole assembly and
 delivered the letter.
15:31 The people /1 read it, and were delighted with the comfort
 it brought them.
15:32 And Judas and Silas, being themselves also /2 Prophets,
 gave /3 them a long and encouraging talk, and strengthened them
 in the faith.
15:33 After spending some time there they received an
 affectionate farewell from the brethren to return to those who
 had sent them.
15:34 /4 []
15:35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and,
 in company with many others, telling the Good News of the
 Lord's Message.
15:36 After a while Paul said to Barnabas, "Suppose we now
 revisit the brethren in the various towns in which we have made
 known the Lord's Message--to see whether they are prospering!"
15:37 Barnabas, however, was bent on taking with them John,
 whose other name was Mark,
15:38 while Paul deemed it undesirable to have as their
 companion one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not
 gone on with them to the work.
15:39 So there arose a serious disagreement between them, which
 resulted in their parting from one another, Barnabas taking
 Mark and setting sail for Cyprus.
15:40 But Paul chose Silas as his travelling companion; and set
 out, after being commended by the brethren to the grace of the
 Lord;
15:41 and he passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the
 Churches.

16:1 He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. At Lystra he found a
 disciple, Timothy by name--the son of /1 a Christian Jewess,
 though he had a Greek father.
16:2 Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and
 Iconium,
16:3 and Paul desiring that he should accompany him on his
 journey, took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in
 those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
16:4 As they journeyed on from town to town, they handed to the
 brethren for their observance the decisions which had been
 arrived at by the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem.
16:5 So the Churches went on gaining a stronger faith and
 growing in numbers from day to day.
16:6 Then /2 Paul and his companions passed through /3 Phrygia
 and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to
 proclaim the Message in the province of Asia.
16:7 When they reached the frontier of Mysia, they were about to
 enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit this.
16:8 So, /4 passing along Mysia, they came to /5 Troas.
16:9 Here, one night, Paul saw a vision. There was a Macedonian
 who was standing, entreating him and saying, "Come over into
 Macedonia and help us."
16:10 So when he had seen the vision, we immediately looked out
 for an opportunity of passing on into Macedonia, confidently
 inferring that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to
 the people there.
16:11 Accordingly we put out to sea from Troas, and ran a
 straight course to Samothrace. The next day we came to
 Neapolis,
16:12 and thence to Philippi, /6 which is a city in Macedonia,
 the first in its district, a Roman colony. And there we stayed
 some little time.

16:13 On the Sabbath we went beyond the city gate to the
 riverside, where we had reason to believe that there was a
 place for prayer; and sitting down we talked with the women who
 had come together.
16:14 Among our hearers was one named Lydia, a dealer in purple
 goods. She belonged to the city of Thyateira, and was a
 worshipper /1 of the true God. The Lord opened her heart, so
 that she gave attention to what Paul was saying.
16:15 When she and her household had been baptized, she urged
 us, saying, "If /2 in your judgement I am a believer in the
 Lord, come and stay at my house." And she made us go there.
16:16 One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, a
 slave girl met us who /3 claimed to be inspired and was
 accustomed to bring her owners large profits by telling
 fortunes.
16:17 She kept following close behind Paul and the rest of us,
 crying aloud, "These men are the bondservants of the Most High
 God, and are proclaiming to you the way of salvation."
16:18 This she persisted in /4 for a considerable time, until
 Paul, /5 wearied out, turned round and said to the spirit, "I
 command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her."
 And it came out /6 immediately.
16:19 But when her owners saw that their hopes of gain were
 gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them off to the /7
 magistrates in the public square.
16:20 Then they brought them before the praetors. "These men,"
 they said, "are creating a great disturbance in our city.

16:21 They are Jews, and are teaching customs which we, as
 Romans, are not permitted to adopt or practise."
16:22 The crowd, too, /1 joined in the outcry against them, till
 at length the praetors /2 ordered them to be stripped and
 beaten with rods;
16:23 and, after severely flogging them, they threw them into
 jail and bade the jailer keep them safely.
16:24 He, having received an order like that, lodged them in the
 inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.
16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing
 hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
16:26 when suddenly there was such a violent shock of earthquake
 that the prison shook to its foundations. Instantly the doors
 all flew open, and the chains /3 fell off from every prisoner.
16:27 Starting up from sleep and seeing the doors of the jail
 wide open, the jailer drew his sword and was on the point of
 killing himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
16:28 But Paul shouted loudly to him, saying, "Do yourself no
 injury: we are all here.
16:29 Then, calling for lights, he sprang in and fell trembling
 at the feet of Paul and Silas;
16:30 and, bringing them out of the prison, he exclaimed, "O
 sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
16:31 "Believe on the Lord Jesus," they replied, "and both you
 and your household will be saved."
16:32 And they told /4 the Lord's Message to him as well as to
 all who were in his house.
16:33 Then he took them, even at that time of night, washed
 their wounds, and he and all his household were immediately
 baptized;
16:34 and bringing the Apostles up into his house, he spread a
 meal for them, and was filled with gladness, /5 with his whole
 household, /6 his faith resting on God.

16:35 In the morning the praetors sent their lictors with the
 order, "Release those men."
16:36 So the jailer brought Paul word, saying, "The praetors /1
 have sent orders for you to be released. Now therefore you can
 go, and proceed on your way in peace."
16:37 But Paul said to them, "After /2 cruelly beating us in
 public, without trial, Roman citizens though we are, they have
 thrown us into prison, and are they now going to send us away
 privately? /3 No, indeed! Let them come in person and fetch us
 out."
16:38 This answer the lictors took back to the praetors, who
 were alarmed when they were told that Paul and Silas were Roman
 citizens.
16:39 Accordingly they came and /4 apologized to them; and,
 bringing them out, asked them to leave the city.
16:40 Then Paul and Silas, having come out of the prison, went
 to Lydia's house; and, after seeing the brethren and
 encouraging them, they left Philippi.
17:1 Then, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went
 to Thessalonica. Here there was a synagogue of the Jews.
17:2 Paul--following his usual custom--betook himself to it, and
 /5 for three successive Sabbaths reasoned with them from the
 Scriptures,
17:3 which he clearly explained, pointing out that it had been
 necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise again from the
 dead, and insisting, "The Jesus whom I am announcing to you is
 the Christ."
17:4 Some of the people were won over, and /6 attached
 themselves to Paul and Silas, including many /7 God-fearing
 Greeks and not a few gentlewomen of high rank.
17:5 But the jealousy of the Jews was aroused, and, calling to
 their aid some ill-conditioned and idle fellows, they got
 together a riotous mob and filled the city with uproar. They
 then attacked the house of Jason and searched for Paul and
 Silas, to bring them out before the assembly of people.

17:6 But, failing to find them, they dragged Jason and some of
 the other brethren before the /1 magistrates of the city,
 loudly accusing them. "These men," they said, "who have raised
 a tumult throughout the Empire, have come here also.
17:7 Jason has received them into his house; and they all set
 Caesar's /2 authority at defiance, declaring that there is
 another /3 Emperor-- /4 one called Jesus."
17:8 Great was the excitement among the crowd, and among the
 magistrates of the city, when they heard these charges.
17:9 They required Jason and the rest to find substantial bail,
 and after that they let them go.
17:10 The brethren at once sent Paul and Silas away by night to
 Beroea, and they, on their arrival, went to the synagogue of
 the Jews.
17:11 The Jews at Beroea were of a nobler disposition than those
 in Thessalonica, for they very readily received the Message,
 and day after day searched the Scriptures to see whether /5 it
 was as Paul stated.
17:12 As the result many of them became believers, and so did
 not a few of the Greeks--gentlewomen of good position, and men.
17:13 As soon, however, as the /6 Jews of Thessalonica learnt
 that God's Message /7 had been proclaimed by Paul at Beroea,
 they came there also, and incited the mob to a riot.
17:14 Then the brethren promptly sent Paul down to the
 sea-coast, but Silas and Timothy remained behind.
17:15 Those who were caring for Paul's safety went with him as
 far as Athens, and then left him, taking a message from him to
 Silas and Timothy, asking them to join him as speedily as
 possible.

17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit /1
 was stirred within him when he noticed that the city was full
 of idols.
17:17 So he /2 had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews
 and the other /3 worshippers, and in the market place, day
 after day, with those whom he happened to meet.
17:18 A few of the Epicurean and Stoic /4 philosophers also /5
 encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this /6 beggarly
 babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to
 cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling
 the Good News of Jesus and the /7 Resurrection.
17:19 Then they /8 took him and brought him up to /9 the
 Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching
 of yours is?
17:20 For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We
 should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean."
17:21 (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to
 devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about
 something new.)
17:22 So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus,
 spoke as follows: /10 "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are
 in every respect remarkably religious.
17:23 For as I passed along and observed the things you worship,
 I found also an altar bearing the inscription, /11 `TO AN
 UNKNOWN GOD.' /12 "The Being, therefore, whom you, without
 knowing Him, revere,

/1 Him I now proclaim to you.
17:24 GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being
 Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built
 by men.
17:25 Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He
 needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and
 breath and all things.
17:26 /2 He caused to spring /3 from one forefather people of
 every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth,
 and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the
 boundaries of their homes;
17:27 /4 that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope
 for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of
 us.
17:28 For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move
 and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute
 among yourselves have said, `For we are also His offspring.'
17:29 Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine
 that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything
 sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man.
17:30 Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But
 now He commands all men everywhere to repent,
17:31 seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long,
 He will judge /5 the world in righteousness, /6 through the
 instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work,
 and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from
 the dead."
17:32 When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men,
 some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again
 on that subject."
17:33 So Paul went away from them.
17:34 A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed,
 among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a
 gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others.
18:1 After this he left Athens and came to Corinth.
18:2 Here he found a Jew, /7 a native of Pontus, of the name of
 Aquila. He and his wife Priscilla had recently come from Italy
 because of Claudius's edict expelling all the Jews from Rome.
 So Paul paid them a visit;

18:3 and because he was of the same trade--that of /1
 tent-maker--he lodged with them /2 and worked with them.
18:4 But, Sabbath after Sabbath, he preached in the synagogue
 and tried to win over both Jews and Greeks.
18:5 Now at the time when Silas and Timothy came down from
 Macedonia, Paul was preaching fervently and was solemnly
 telling the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.
18:6 But upon their opposing him with abusive language, he shook
 his clothes by way of protest, and said to them, "Your ruin
 will be upon your own heads. I am not responsible: in future I
 will go among the Gentiles."
18:7 So he left the place and went to the house of a person
 called Titius Justus, a worshipper of the true God. His house
 was next door to the synagogue.
18:8 And Crispus, the Warden of the synagogue, believed in the
 Lord, and so did all his household; and /3 from time to time
 many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and received
 baptism.
18:9 And, in a vision by night, the Lord said to Paul, "Dismiss
 your fears: go on speaking, and do not give up.
18:10 I am with you, and no one shall attack you to injure you;
 for I have very many people in this city."
18:11 So Paul remained in Corinth for a year and six months,
 teaching among them the Message of God.
18:12 But when Gallio became Proconsul of Greece, the Jews with
 one accord made a dead set at Paul, and brought him before the
 court.
18:13 "This man," they said, "is inducing people to offer
 unlawful worship to God."
18:14 But, when Paul was about to begin his defence, Gallio said
 to the Jews, "If it had been some wrongful act or piece of
 cunning knavery I might reasonably have listened to you Jews.
18:15 But since these are questions about words and names and
 your Law, you yourselves must see to them. I refuse to be a
 judge in such matters."

18:16 So he ordered them out of court.
18:17 Then the people all set upon Sosthenes, the Warden of /1
 the synagogue, and beat him /2 severely in front of the court.
 Gallio did not concern himself in the least about this.
18:18 After remaining a considerable time longer in Corinth,
 Paul took leave of the brethren and set sail for Syria; and
 Priscilla and Aquila were with him. /3 He had shaved his head
 at Cenchreae, because he was bound by a vow.
18:19 They put in at Ephesus, and there Paul left his companions
 behind. As for himself, he went to the synagogue and /4 had a
 discussion with the Jews.
18:20 When they asked him to remain longer he did not consent,
18:21 but took leave of them with the promise, "I will return to
 you, God willing." So he set sail from Ephesus.
18:22 Landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and inquired
 after the welfare of the Church, and then went down to Antioch.
18:23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out on a
 tour, visiting the whole of Galatia and Phrygia in order, and
 strengthening all the disciples.
18:24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a
 native of Alexandria, /5 a man of great learning and well
 versed in the Scriptures.
18:25 He had been instructed by word of mouth in the way of the
 Lord, and, being full of burning zeal, he used to speak and
 teach accurately the facts about Jesus, though he knew of no
 baptism but John's.

18:26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, and Priscilla
 and Aquila, after hearing him, took him home and explained /1
 God's way to him more accurately.
18:27 Then, as he had made up his mind to cross over into
 Greece, the brethren wrote to the disciples in Corinth begging
 them to give him a kindly welcome. Upon his arrival he rendered
 valuable help to those who through grace had believed;
18:28 for he powerfully and in public overcame the Jews in
 argument, proving to them from the Scriptures that Jesus is the
 Christ.
19:1 During the stay of Apollos in Corinth, Paul, after passing
 through the inland districts, came to Ephesus, where he found a
 few disciples.
19:2 "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you /2 first
 believed?" he asked them. "No," they replied, "we did not even
 hear that there is a Holy Spirit."
19:3 /3 "Into what then were you baptized?" he asked. /3 "Into
 John's baptism," they replied.
19:4 "John," he said, "administered a baptism /4 of repentance,
 bidding the people believe on One who was to come after him;
 namely, on Jesus."
19:5 On hearing this, they were baptized /3 into the name of the
 Lord Jesus;
19:6 and when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit
 came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and /5 to
 prophesy.
19:7 They numbered in all about twelve men.
19:8 Afterwards he went into the synagogue. There for three
 months he continued to preach fearlessly, explaining in words
 which carried conviction the truths which concern the Kingdom
 of God.
19:9 But some grew obstinate in unbelief and spoke evil of /6
 the new faith before all the congregation. So Paul left them,
 and, /7 taking with him those who were disciples, held
 discussions daily in Tyrannus's lecture-hall.
19:10 This went on for two years, so that /8 all the inhabitants
 of the province of Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, heard the
 Lord's Message.

19:11 God also brought about extraordinary miracles through
 Paul's instrumentality.
19:12 /1 Towels or aprons, for instance, which Paul had handled
 used to be carried to the sick, and they recovered from their
 ailments, /2 or the evil spirits left them.
19:13 But there were also some wandering Jewish exorcists who
 undertook to invoke the name of Jesus over those who had the
 evil spirits, saying, "I command you by that Jesus whom Paul
 preaches."
19:14 There were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew of high-priestly
 family, who were doing this.
19:15 "Jesus I know," the evil spirit answered, "and Paul /3 I
 have heard of, but who are you?"
19:16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was sprang on two of
 them, over-mastered them both, and treated them with such
 violence, that they fled from the house stripped of their
 clothes and wounded.
19:17 All the people of Ephesus, Jews as well as Greeks, came to
 know of this. There was widespread terror, and they /4 began to
 hold the name of the Lord Jesus in high honour.
19:18 Many also of those who /5 believed /6 came confessing
 without reserve what their conduct had been,
19:19 and not a few of those who had practised magical arts
 brought their books together and /7 burnt them in the presence
 of all. The total value was reckoned and found to be /8 50,000
 silver coins.
19:20 Thus mightily did the Lord's Message spread and triumph!
19:21 When matters had reached this point, Paul decided in his
 own /9 mind to travel through Macedonia and Greece, and go to
 Jerusalem. "After that," he said, "I must also see Rome."

19:22 But he sent two of /1 his assistants, Timothy and Erastus,
 to Macedonia, while he himself remained for a while in Roman
 Asia.
19:23 Now just at that time there arose no small commotion about
 /2 the new faith.
19:24 There was a certain Demetrius, a silversmith, who made
 miniature silver sanctuaries of /3 Diana, a business which
 brought great gain to the mechanics in his employ.
19:25 He called his workmen together, and others who were
 engaged in similar trades, and said to them, "You men well know
 that our prosperity depends on this business of ours;
19:26 and you see and hear that, not in Ephesus only but
 throughout almost the whole province of Asia, this fellow Paul
 has led away a vast number of people by inducing them to
 believe that they are not gods at all that are made by men's
 hands.
19:27 There is danger, /4 therefore, not only that this our
 trade will become of no account, but also that the /5 temple of
 the great goddess Diana will fall into utter disrepute, and
 that before long she will be actually deposed from her majestic
 rank--she who is now worshipped by the whole province of Asia;
 nay, by the whole world."
19:28 After listening to this harangue, they became furiously
 angry and kept calling out, "Great is the Ephesian Diana!"
19:29 The riot and uproar spread through the whole city, till at
 last with one accord they rushed into /6 the Theatre, dragging
 with them Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were
 fellow travellers with Paul.
19:30 Then Paul would have liked to go in and address the
 people, but the disciples would not let him do so.
19:31 A few of the /7 public officials, too, who were friendly
 to him, sent repeated messages entreating him not to venture
 into the Theatre.
19:32 The people, meanwhile, kept shouting, /8 some one thing
 and some another; for the assembly was all uproar and
 confusion, and the greater part had no idea why they had come
 together.

19:33 Then some of the people /1 crowded round Alexander, whom
 the Jews had pushed forward; and Alexander, motioning with his
 hand to get silence, was prepared to make a defence to the
 people.
19:34 No sooner, however, did they see that he was a Jew, than
 there arose from them all one roar of shouting, lasting about
 two hours. "Great is the Ephesian Diana," they said.
19:35 At length the /2 Recorder quieted them down. "Men of
 Ephesus," he said, "who is there of all mankind that needs to
 be told that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple
 of the great Diana and of the image which fell down from Zeus?
19:36 These facts, then, being unquestioned, it becomes you to
 maintain your self-control and not act recklessly.
19:37 For you have brought these men here, who are neither
 robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.
19:38 If, however, Demetrius and the mechanics who support his
 contention have a grievance against any one, /3 there are
 Assize-days and there are Proconsuls: let the persons
 interested accuse one another.
19:39 But if you desire /4 anything further, it will have to be
 settled in the regular assembly.
19:40 For in connexion with to-day's proceedings there is danger
 of our being charged with attempted insurrection, there having
 been no real reason for this riot; nor shall we be able to
 justify the behaviour of this disorderly mob."
19:41 With these words he dismissed the assembly.
20:1 When the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples;
 and, after speaking words of encouragement to them, he took his
 leave, and started for Macedonia.
20:2 Passing through those districts he encouraged the disciples
 in frequent addresses, and then came into /5 Greece, and spent
 three months there.
20:3 The Jews having planned to waylay him whenever he might be
 on the point of taking ship for Syria, he decided to travel
 back by way of Macedonia.

20:4 He was accompanied as far as the province of Asia by
 Sopater the Beroean, the son of Pyrrhus; by the Thessalonians,
 Aristarchus and Secundus; by Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and
 by the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.
20:5 These brethren had gone on and were waiting for us in the
 Troad.
20:6 But we ourselves sailed from Philippi after the days of
 Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined them in the Troad,
 where we remained for a week.
20:7 On the first day of the week, when we had met to break
 bread, Paul, who was going away the next morning, was preaching
 to them, and prolonged his discourse till midnight.
20:8 Now there were a good many lamps in the room upstairs where
 we all were,
20:9 and a youth of the name of Eutychus was sitting at the
 window. This lad, gradually sinking into deep sleep while Paul
 preached at unusual length, overcome at last by sleep, fell
 from the second floor and was taken up dead.
20:10 Paul, however, went down, threw himself upon him, and
 folding him in his arms said, /1 "Do not be alarmed; his life
 is still in him."
20:11 Then he went /2 upstairs again, broke bread, and took some
 food; and after a long conversation which was continued till
 daybreak, at last he parted from them.
20:12 They had taken the lad home alive, and were greatly
 comforted.
20:13 The rest of us had already gone on board a ship, and now
 we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there;
 for so he had arranged, he himself intending to go by land.
20:14 Accordingly, when he met us at Assos, we took him on board
 and came to Mitylene.
20:15 Sailing from there, we arrived the next day /3 off Chios.
 On the next we touched at /4 Samos; and on the day following
 reached Miletus.
20:16 For Paul's plan was to sail past Ephesus, so as not to
 spend much time in the province of Asia; since he was very
 desirous of being in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of the
 /5 Harvest Festival.

20:17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the /1 Elders of the
 Church to come to him.
20:18 Upon their arrival he said to them, "You Elders well know,
 from the first day of my setting foot in the province of Asia,
 the kind of life I lived among you the whole time,
20:19 serving the Lord /2 in all humility, and /2 with /3 tears,
 and /2 amid trials which came upon me through the plotting of
 the Jews--
20:20 and that I never shrank from declaring to you anything
 that was profitable, or from teaching you in public and in your
 homes,
20:21 and urging upon both Jews and Greeks the necessity of
 turning to God and of believing in Jesus /4 our Lord.
20:22 "And now, /5 impelled by a sense of duty, I am on my way
 to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,
20:23 except that the Holy Spirit, at town after town, testifies
 to me that imprisonment and suffering are awaiting me.
20:24 But even /6 the sacrifice of my life I count as nothing,
 if only I may perfect my earthly course, and be faithful to the
 /7 duty which the Lord Jesus has entrusted to me of
 proclaiming, as of supreme importance, the Good News of God's
 grace.
20:25 "And now, I know that none of you among whom I have gone
 in and out proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom will any
 longer see my face.
20:26 Therefore I protest to you to-day that I am not
 responsible for the ruin of any one of you.
20:27 For I have not shrunk from declaring to you God's whole /8
 truth.
20:28 "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which
 the Holy Spirit has /9 placed you to take the oversight /10 for
 Him and act as shepherds to /11 the Church of God, which He has
 bought with His own blood.
20:29 I know that, when I am gone, cruel wolves will come among
 you and will not spare the flock;

20:30 and that from among your own selves men will rise up who
 will seek with their perverse talk to draw away the disciples
 after them.
20:31 Therefore be on the alert; and remember that, night and
 day, for three years, I never ceased admonishing every one,
 even with tears.
20:32 "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His
 grace. He is able to build you up and to give you your
 inheritance among His people.
20:33 No one's silver or gold or clothing /1 have I coveted.
20:34 You yourselves know that /2 these hands of mine have
 provided for my own necessities and for the people with me.
20:35 In all things I have set you an example, showing you that,
 by working as I do, you ought to help the weak, and to bear in
 mind the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, "`It is
 more blessed to give than to receive.'"
20:36 Having spoken thus, Paul knelt down and prayed with them
 all;
20:37 and with loud lamentation they all threw their arms round
 his neck, and kissed him /3 lovingly,
20:38 grieved above all things at his having told them that /4
 after that day they were no longer to see his face. And they
 went with him to the ship.
21:1 When, at last, we had torn ourselves away and had set sail,
 we ran in a straight course to Cos; the next day to Rhodes, and
 from there to Patara.
21:2 Finding a ship bound for Phoenicia, we went on board and
 put to sea.
21:3 After sighting Cyprus and leaving that island on our left,
 we continued our voyage to Syria and put in at Tyre; for there
 the ship was to unload her cargo.
21:4 Having searched for the disciples and found them, we stayed
 at Tyre for seven days; and, taught by the Spirit, they
 repeatedly urged Paul not to proceed to Jerusalem.
21:5 When, however, our time was up, we left and went on our
 way, all the disciples and their wives and children coming to
 see us off. Then, after kneeling down on the beach and praying,
21:6 we took leave of one another; and we went on board, while
 they returned home.

21:7 As for us, our voyage was over when having sailed from Tyre
 we reached Ptolemais. here we inquired after the welfare of the
 brethren, and remained a day with them.
21:8 On the morrow /1 we left Ptolemais and /2 went on to
 Caesarea, where we came to the house of Philip the Evangelist,
 who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
21:9 Now Philip had four unmarried daughters who were
 prophetesses;
21:10 and /3 during our somewhat lengthy stay a Prophet of the
 name of Agabus came down from Judaea.
21:11 When he arrived he took Paul's /4 loincloth, and bound his
 own feet and arms with it, and said, "Thus says the Holy
 Spirit, `So will the Jews in Jerusalem bind the owner of this
 loincloth, and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'"
21:12 As soon as we heard these words, both we and the brethren
 at Caesarea entreated Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
21:13 His reply was, "What can you mean by thus breaking my
 heart with your grief? Why, as for me, I am ready not only to
 go to Jerusalem and be put in chains, but even to die there for
 the sake of the Lord Jesus."
21:14 So when he was not to be dissuaded, we ceased
 remonstrating with him and said, "The Lord's will be done!"
21:15 A few days afterwards we loaded our baggage-cattle and
 continued our journey to Jerusalem.
21:16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also joined our party,
 and /5 brought with them Mnason, a Cyprian, one of the early
 disciples, at whose house we were to lodge.
21:17 At length we reached Jerusalem, and there the brethren
 gave us a hearty welcome.

21:18 On the following day we went with Paul to call on James,
 and all the Elders of the Church came also.
21:19 After exchanging friendly greetings, Paul told in detail
 all that God had done among the Gentiles through his
 instrumentality.
21:20 And they, when they had heard his statement, gave the
 glory to God. Then they said, "You see, brother, /1 how many
 tens of thousands of Jews there are among those who have
 accepted the faith, and they are all zealous upholders of the
 Law.
21:21 Now what they have been repeatedly told about you is that
 you teach all the Jews among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, and
 that you forbid them to circumcise their children or observe
 old-established customs.
21:22 What then ought you to do? They are sure to hear that you
 have come to Jerusalem;
21:23 so do this which we now tell you. We have four men here
 who have a vow resting on them.
21:24 Associate with these men and purify yourself with them,
 and pay their expenses so that they can shave their heads. Then
 everybody will know that there is no truth in these stories
 about you, but that in your own actions you yourself /2
 scrupulously obey the Law.
21:25 But as for the Gentiles who have accepted the faith, we
 have communicated to them our decision /3 that they are
 carefully to abstain from anything sacrificed to an idol, from
 blood, from what is strangled, and from fornication."
21:26 So Paul associated with the men; and the next day, /4
 having purified himself with them, he /5 went into the Temple,
 giving /6 every one to understand that the days of their
 purification were finished, and there he remained /7 until the
 sacrifice for each of them was offered.
21:27 But, when the seven days were nearly over, the Jews from
 the province of Asia, having seen Paul in the Temple, set about
 rousing the fury of all the people against him.

21:28 They laid hands on him, crying out, "Men of Israel, help!
 help! This is the man who goes everywhere preaching to
 everybody against the Jewish people and the Law and this place.
 And besides, he has even brought Gentiles into the Temple and
 has desecrated this holy place."
21:29 (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with
 him in the city, and imagined that Paul had brought him into
 the Temple.)
21:30 The excitement spread through the whole city, and the
 people rushed in crowds to the Temple, and there laid hold of
 Paul and began to drag him out; and the Temple gates were
 immediately closed.
21:31 But while they were trying to kill Paul, word was taken up
 to the Tribune in command of the battalion, that all Jerusalem
 was in a ferment.
21:32 He instantly sent for a few soldiers and their officers,
 and came down among the people with all speed. At the sight of
 the Tribune and the troops they ceased beating Paul.
21:33 Then the Tribune, making his way to him, arrested him,
 and, having ordered him to be secured with two chains,
 proceeded to ask who he was and what he had been doing.
21:34 Some of the crowd shouted one accusation against Paul and
 some another, until, as the uproar made it impossible for the
 truth to be ascertained with certainty, the Tribune ordered him
 to be brought into the barracks.
21:35 When Paul was going up the steps, he had to be carried by
 the soldiers because of the violence of the mob;
21:36 for the whole mass of the people pressed on in the rear,
 shouting, "Away with him!"
21:37 When he was about to be taken into the barracks, Paul said
 to the Tribune, "May I speak to you?" "Do you know Greek?" the
 Tribune asked.
21:38 "Are you not the Egyptian who some years ago excited the
 riot of the 4,000 /1 cut-throats, and led them out into the
 Desert?"
21:39 "I am a Jew," replied Paul, "belonging to Tarsus in
 Cilicia, and am a citizen of no unimportant city. Give me
 leave, I pray you, to speak to the people."
21:40 So with his permission Paul stood on the steps and
 motioned with his hand to the people to be quiet; and when
 there was perfect silence he addressed them in Hebrew.

22:1 "Brethren and fathers," he said, "listen to my defence
 which I now make before you."
22:2 And on hearing him address them in Hebrew, they kept all
 the more quiet; and he said,
22:3 "I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in
 this city. I was carefully trained at the feet of Gamaliel in
 the Law of our forefathers, and, like all of you to-day, was
 zealous for God.
22:4 I persecuted to death this new faith, continually binding
 both men and women and throwing them into prison;
22:5 as the High Priest also and all the Elders can bear me
 witness. It was, too, from them that I received letters to the
 brethren in Damascus, and I was already on my way to Damascus,
 intending to bring those also who had fled there, in chains to
 Jerusalem, to be punished.
22:6 "But on my way, when I was now not far from Damascus, about
 noon a sudden blaze of light from Heaven shone round me.
22:7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, "`Saul,
 Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'
22:8 "`Who art thou, Lord?' I asked. "`I am Jesus, the
 Nazarene,' He replied, `whom you are persecuting.'
22:9 "Now the men who were with me, though they saw the light,
 did not hear the /1 words of Him who spoke to me.
22:10 And I asked, "`What am I to do, Lord?' "And the Lord said
 to me, "`Rise, and go into Damascus. There you shall be told of
 all that has been appointed for you to do.'
22:11 "And as I could not see because the light had been so
 dazzling, those who were with me had to lead me by the arm, and
 so I came to Damascus.
22:12 "And a certain Ananias, a pious man who obeyed the Law and
 bore a good character with all the Jews of the city,
22:13 came to me and standing at my side said, "`Brother Saul,
 recover your sight.' "I instantly /2 regained my sight and
 looked up at him.
22:14 Then he said, `The God of our forefathers has appointed
 you to know His will, and to see the righteous One and hear Him
 speak.

22:15 For you shall be a witness for Him, to all men, of what /1
 you have seen and heard.
22:16 And now why delay? Rise, get yourself baptized, and wash
 off your sins, calling upon His name.'
22:17 "After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the
 Temple, I fell into a trance.
22:18 I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "`Make haste and leave
 Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony
 about Me.'
22:19 "`Lord,' I replied, `they themselves well know how active
 I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after
 synagogue those who believe in Thee;
22:20 and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy
 witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held
 the clothes of those who were killing him.'
22:21 "`Go,' He replied; `I will send you as an Apostle /2 to
 nations far away.'"
22:22 Until they heard this last statement the people listened
 to Paul, but now with a roar of disapproval they cried out,
 "Away with such a fellow from the earth! He ought not to be
 allowed to live."
22:23 And when they continued their furious shouts, throwing
 their clothes into the air and flinging dust about,
22:24 the Tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks,
 and be examined by flogging, in order to ascertain the reason
 why they thus cried out against him.
22:25 But, when they had tied him up /3 with the straps, Paul
 said to the Captain who stood by, "Does the Law permit you to
 flog a Roman citizen--and one too who is uncondemned?"
22:26 On hearing this question, the Captain went to report the
 matter to the Tribune. /4 "What are you intending to do?" he
 said. "This man is a Roman citizen."
22:27 So the Tribune came to Paul and asked him, "Tell me, are
 you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said.

22:28 "I paid a large sum for my citizenship," said the Tribune.
 "But I was born free," said Paul.
22:29 So the men who had been on the point of putting him /1
 under torture immediately left him. And the Tribune, too, was
 frightened when he learnt that Paul was a Roman citizen, for he
 had had him bound.
22:30 The next day, wishing to know exactly what charge was
 being brought against him by the Jews, the Tribune ordered his
 chains to be removed; and, having sent word to the High Priests
 and all the Sanhedrin to assemble, he brought Paul down and
 made him stand before them.
23:1 Then Paul, fixing a steady gaze on the Sanhedrin, said,
 "Brethren, it is with a perfectly clear conscience that I have
 discharged my duties before God up to this day."
23:2 On hearing this the High Priest Ananias ordered those who
 were standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.
23:3 "Before long," exclaimed Paul, /2 "God will strike you, you
 white-washed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me in
 accordance with the Law, and do you yourself actually break the
 Law by ordering me to be struck?"
23:4 "Do you rail at God's High Priest?" cried the men who stood
 by him.
23:5 "I did not know, brethren," replied Paul, "that he was the
 High Priest; for it is written, <`Thou shalt not speak evil of
 a ruler of Thy people.'">
23:6 Noticing, however, that the Sanhedrin consisted partly of
 Sadducees and partly of /3 Pharisees, he called out loudly
 among them, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees.
 It is because of my hope of a resurrection of the dead that I
 am on my trial."
23:7 These words of his caused an angry dispute between the
 Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly took different
 sides.

23:8 For the Sadducees maintain that there is no resurrection,
 and neither angel nor spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge the
 existence of both.
23:9 So there arose a great uproar; and some of the Scribes
 belonging to the sect of the Pharisees sprang to their feet and
 fiercely contended, saying, "We find no harm in the man. /1
 What if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel----!"
23:10 But when the struggle was becoming violent, the Tribune,
 fearing that Paul would be torn to pieces by the people,
 ordered the troops to go down and take him from among them by
 force and bring him into the barracks.
23:11 The following night the Lord came and stood at Paul's
 side, and said, "Be of good courage, for as you have borne
 faithful witness about me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear
 witness in Rome."
23:12 Now, when daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and
 solemnly swore not to eat or drink till they had killed Paul.
23:13 There were more than forty of them who bound themselves by
 this oath.
23:14 They went to the High Priests and Elders and said to them,
 "We have bound ourselves under a heavy curse /2 to take no food
 till we have killed Paul.
23:15 Now therefore you and the Sanhedrin should make
 representations to the Tribune for him to bring him down to
 you, under the impression that you intend to inquire more
 minutely about him; and we are prepared to assassinate him
 before he comes near the place."
23:16 But Paul's sister's son heard of the intended attack upon
 him. So he came and went into the barracks and told Paul about
 it;
23:17 and Paul called one of the Captains and said, "Take this
 young man to the Tribune, for he has information to give him."
23:18 So he took him and brought him to the Tribune, and said,
 "Paul, the prisoner, called me to him and begged me to bring
 this youth to you, because he has something to say to you."

23:19 Then the Tribune, taking him by the /1 arm, withdrew /2
 out of the hearing of others and asked him, "What have you to
 tell me?"
23:20 "The Jews," he replied, "have agreed to request you to
 bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin to-morrow for the purpose of
 making yourself more accurately acquainted with the case.
23:21 I beg you not to comply; for more than forty men among
 them are lying in wait for him, who have solemnly vowed that
 they will neither eat nor drink till they have assassinated
 him; and even now they are ready, in anticipation of receiving
 that promise of you."
23:22 So the Tribune sent the youth home, cautioning him. "Do
 not let any one know that you have given me this information,"
 he said.
23:23 Then, calling to him two of the Captains, he gave his
 orders. "Get ready two hundred men," he said, "to march to
 Caesarea, with seventy cavalry and two hundred light infantry,
 starting at nine o'clock to-night."
23:24 He further told them to provide /3 horses to mount Paul
 on, so as to bring him safely to Felix the Governor.
23:25 He also wrote a letter of which these were the /4
 contents:
23:26 "Claudius Lysias to his Excellency, Felix the Governor:
 all good wishes.
23:27 This man Paul had been seized by the Jews, and they were
 on the point of killing him, when I came upon them with the
 troops and rescued him, for I had been informed that he was a
 Roman citizen.
23:28 And, wishing to know with certainty the offense of which
 they were accusing him, I brought him down into their
 Sanhedrin,
23:29 and I discovered that the charge had to do with questions
 of their Law, but that he was accused of nothing for which he
 deserves death or imprisonment.
23:30 But now that I have received information of an intended
 attack upon him, I immediately send him to you, directing his
 accusers also to state before you the case they have against
 him."

23:31 So, in obedience to their orders, the soldiers took Paul
 and brought him by night as far as Antipatris.
23:32 The next day the infantry returned to the barracks,
 leaving the cavalry to proceed with him;
23:33 and, the cavalry having reached Caesarea and delivered the
 letter to the Governor, they brought Paul also to him.
23:34 Felix, after reading the letter, inquired from what
 province he was; and being told "from Cilicia,"
23:35 he said, "I will hear all you have to say, when your
 accusers also have come." And he ordered him to be detained in
 custody in Herod's Palace.
24:1 /1 Five days after this, Ananias the High Priest came down
 to Caesarea with a number of Elders and a pleader called
 Tertullus. They stated to the Governor the case against Paul.
24:2 So Paul was sent for, and Tertullus began to impeach him as
 follows: "Indebted as we are," he said, "to you, most noble
 Felix, for the perfect peace which we enjoy, and for reforms
 which your wisdom has introduced to this nation,
24:3 in every instance and in every place we accept them with
 profound gratitude.
24:4 But--not to detain you too long--I beg you in your
 forbearance to listen to a brief statement from us.
24:5 For we have found this man Paul a source of mischief and a
 disturber of the peace among all the Jews throughout the
 Empire, and a ringleader in the heresy of the Nazarenes.
24:6 He even attempted to profane the Temple, but we arrested
 him.
24:7 /2 []
24:8 You, however, by examining him, will yourself be able to
 learn the truth as to all this which we allege against him."
24:9 The Jews also /3 joined in the charge, maintaining that
 these were facts.
24:10 Then, at /4 a sign from the Governor, Paul answered,
 "Knowing, /5 Sir, that for many years you have administered
 justice to this nation, I cheerfully make my defence.

24:11 For you have it in your power to ascertain that it is not
 more than twelve days ago that I went up to worship in
 Jerusalem;
24:12 and that neither in the Temple nor in the synagogues, nor
 anywhere in the city, did they find me disputing with any
 opponent or collecting a crowd about me.
24:13 Nor can they /1 prove the charges which they are now
 bringing against me.
24:14 But this I confess to you--that in the way which they
 style a heresy, I worship the God of our forefathers, believing
 everything that is taught in the Law or is written in the
 Prophets,
24:15 and having a hope directed towards God, which my accusers
 themselves also entertain, that before long there will be a
 resurrection both of the righteous and the unrighteous.
24:16 This too is my own earnest endeavour--always to have a
 clear conscience in relation to God and man.
24:17 "Now after an interval of several years I came to bring
 alms to my nation, and to offer sacrifices.
24:18 While I was busy about these, they found me in the Temple
 purified, with no crowd around me and no uproar; but there were
 certain Jews from the province of Asia.
24:19 They ought to have been here before you, and to have been
 my prosecutors, if they have any charge to bring against me.
24:20 Or let these men themselves say what misdemeanour they
 found me guilty of when I stood before the Sanhedrin,
24:21 unless it was in that one expression which I made use of
 when I shouted out as I stood among them, "`The resurrection of
 the dead is the thing about which I am on my trial before you
 to-day.'"
24:22 At this point Felix, who was fairly well informed about
 the new faith, adjourned the trial, saying to the Jews, "When
 the Tribune Lysias comes down, I will enter carefully into the
 matter."
24:23 And he gave orders to the Captain that Paul was to be kept
 in custody, but be treated with indulgence, and that his
 personal friends were not to be prevented from showing him
 kindness.
24:24 Not long after this, Felix came with Drusilla his wife, a
 Jewess, and sending for Paul, listened to him as he spoke about
 faith in Christ Jesus.

24:25 But when he dealt with the subjects of justice, /1
 self-control, and the judgement which was soon to come, Felix
 became alarmed and said, "For the present leave me, and when I
 can find a convenient opportunity I will send for you."
24:26 At the same time he hoped that Paul would give him money;
 and for this reason he sent for him the oftener to converse
 with him.
24:27 But after the lapse of fully two years Felix was succeeded
 by Porcius Festus; and being desirous of gratifying the Jews,
 Felix left Paul still /2 in prison.
25:1 Festus, having entered on his duties as governor of the
 province, two days later went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.
25:2 The High Priests and the leading men among the Jews
 immediately made representations to him against Paul, and
 begged him--
25:3 asking it as a favour, to Paul's prejudice--to have him
 brought to Jerusalem. They were planning an ambush to kill him
 on the way.
25:4 Festus, however, replied that Paul was in custody /3 in
 Caesarea, and that he was himself going there very soon.
25:5 "Therefore let those of you," he said, "who can come, go
 down with me, and impeach the man, if there is anything amiss
 in him."
25:6 After a stay of eight or ten days in Jerusalem--not
 more--he went down to Caesarea; and the next day, taking his
 seat on the tribunal, he ordered Paul to be brought in.
25:7 Upon Paul's arrival, the Jews who had come down from
 Jerusalem stood round him, and brought many grave charges
 against him which they were unable to substantiate.
25:8 But, in reply, Paul said, "Neither against the Jewish Law,
 nor against the Temple, nor against Caesar, have I committed
 any offence whatever."
25:9 Then Festus, being anxious to gratify the Jews, asked Paul,
 "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem, and there /4 stand your
 trial before me on these charges?"

25:10 "I am standing before Caesar's tribunal," replied Paul,
 "where alone I ought to be tried. The Jews have no real ground
 of complaint against me, as in fact you yourself are beginning
 to see more clearly.
25:11 If, however, I have done wrong and have committed any
 offence for which I deserve to die, I do not ask to be excused
 that penalty. But if there is no truth in what these men allege
 against me, no one has the right to give me up to them as a
 favour. I appeal to Caesar."
25:12 Then, after conferring with the Council, Festus replied,
 "To Caesar you have appealed: to Caesar you shall go."
25:13 A short time after this, Agrippa the king and Bernice came
 to Caesarea to pay a complimentary visit to Festus;
25:14 and, during their rather long stay, Festus laid Paul's
 case before the king. "There is a man here," he said, "whom
 Felix left a prisoner,
25:15 about whom, when I went to Jerusalem, the High Priests and
 the Elders of the Jews made representations to me, begging that
 sentence might be pronounced against him.
25:16 My reply was that it is not the custom among the Romans to
 give up any one for punishment before the accused has had his
 accusers face to face, and has had an opportunity of defending
 himself against the charge which has been brought against him.
25:17 "When, therefore, a number of them came here, the next day
 I took my seat on the tribunal, without any loss of time, and
 ordered the man to be brought in.
25:18 But, when his accusers stood up, they did not charge him
 with the misdemeanours of which I had been suspecting him.
25:19 But they quarrelled with him about certain matters
 connected with their own religion, and about one Jesus who had
 died, but--so Paul persistently maintained--is now alive.
25:20 I was at a loss how to investigate such questions, and
 asked Paul whether he would care to go to Jerusalem and there
 stand his trial on these matters.
25:21 But when Paul appealed to have his case kept for the
 Emperor's decision, I ordered him to be kept in prison until I
 could send him up to Caesar."
25:22 "I should like to hear the man myself," said Agrippa.
 "to-morrow," replied Festus, "you shall." Accordingly, the next
 day, Agrippa and Bernice came in state
25:23 and took their seats in the Judgement Hall, attended by
 the Tribunes and the men of high rank in the city; and, at the
 command of Festus, Paul was brought in.

25:24 Then Festus said, "King Agrippa and all who are present
 with us, you see here the man about whom the whole nation of
 the Jews made suit to me, both in Jerusalem and here, crying
 out that he ought not to live any longer.
25:25 I could not discover that he had done anything for which
 he deserved to die; but as he has himself appealed to the
 Emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome.
25:26 I have nothing very definite, however, to tell our
 Sovereign about him. So I have brought the man before you
 all--and especially before you, King Agrippa--that after he has
 been examined I may find something which I can put into
 writing.
25:27 For, when sending a prisoner to Rome, it seems to me to be
 absurd not to state the charges against him."
26:1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak
 about yourself." So Paul, with outstretched arm, proceeded to
 make his defence.
26:2 "As regards all the accusations brought against me by the
 Jews," he said, /1 "I think myself fortunate, King Agrippa, in
 being about to defend myself to-day before /2 you,
26:3 who are so familiar with all the customs and speculations
 that prevail among the Jews; and for this reason, I pray you,
 give me a patient hearing.
26:4 "The kind of life I have lived from my youth upwards, as
 exemplified in my early days among my nation and in Jerusalem,
 is known to all the Jews.
26:5 For they all know me of old--if they would but testify to
 the fact--how, being an adherent of the strictest sect of our
 religion, my life was that of a Pharisee.
26:6 And now I stand here impeached /3 because of my hope in the
 fulfilment of the promise made by God to our forefathers--
26:7 the promise which our twelve tribes, worshipping day and
 night with intense devotedness, hope to have made good to them.
 It is on the subject of this hope, /4 Sir, that I am accused by
 the Jews.
26:8 Why is it deemed with all of you a thing past belief if God
 raises the dead to life?

26:9 "I myself, however, thought it a duty to do many things in
 hostility to the name of Jesus, the Nazarene.
26:10 And that was how I acted in Jerusalem. Armed with
 authority received from the High Priests I shut up many of /1
 God's people in various prisons, and when they were about to be
 put to death I gave my vote against them.
26:11 In all the synagogues also I punished them many a time,
 and tried to make them blaspheme; and in my wild fury I chased
 them even to foreign towns.
26:12 "While thus engaged, I was travelling one day to Damascus
 armed with authority and a commission from the High Priests,
26:13 and on the journey, at noon, Sir, I saw a light from
 Heaven--brighter than the brightness of the sun--shining around
 me and around those who were travelling with me.
26:14 We all fell to the ground; and I heard a voice which said
 to me in Hebrew, "`Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? You
 are finding it painful to kick against the ox-goad.'
26:15 "`Who art Thou, Lord?' I asked. "`I am Jesus whom you are
 persecuting,' the Lord replied.
26:16 `But rise, and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to
 you for the very purpose of appointing you My servant and My
 witness both as to the things you have already seen and as to
 those in which I will appear to you.
26:17 I will save you from the Jewish people and from the
 Gentiles, /2 to whom I send you to open their eyes,
26:18 that they may turn from darkness to light and from the
 obedience to Satan to God, in order to receive forgiveness of
 sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified through
 faith in Me.'
26:19 "Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the
 heavenly vision;
26:20 but I proceeded to preach first to the people in Damascus,
 and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judaea, and to the
 Gentiles, that they must repent and turn to God, and live lives
 consistent with such repentance.
26:21 "It was on this account that the Jews seized me in the
 Temple and tried to kill me.
26:22 Having, however, obtained the help which is from God, I
 have stood firm until now, and have solemnly exhorted rich and
 poor alike, saying nothing except what the Prophets and Moses
 predicted as soon to happen,

26:23 since the Christ was to be a suffering Christ, and by
 coming back from the dead was then to be the first to proclaim
 a message of light both to the Jewish people and to the
 Gentiles."
26:24 As Paul thus made his defence, Festus exclaimed in a loud
 voice, "You are raving mad, Paul; and great learning is driving
 you mad."
26:25 "I am not mad, most noble Festus," replied Paul; "I am
 speaking words of sober truth.
26:26 For the King, to whom I speak freely, knows about these
 matters. I am not to be persuaded that any detail of them /1
 has escaped his notice; for these things have not been done in
 a corner.
26:27 King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you
 believe them."
26:28 Agrippa answered, /2 "In brief, you are doing your best to
 persuade me to become a Christian."
26:29 "My prayer to God, whether /2 briefly or at length,"
 replied Paul, "would be that not only you but all who are my
 hearers to-day, might become such as I am--except these
 chains."
26:30 So the King rose, and the Governor, and Bernice, and those
 who were sitting with them;
26:31 and, having withdrawn, they talked to one another and
 said, "This man is doing nothing for which he deserves death or
 imprisonment."
26:32 And Agrippa said to Festus, "He might have been set at
 liberty, if he had not appealed to Caesar."
27:1 Now when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they
 handed over Paul and a few other prisoners into the custody of
 Julius, a Captain of the Augustan battalion;
27:2 and going on board a ship of Adramyttium which was about to
 sail to the ports of the province of Asia, we put to sea;
 Aristarchus, the Macedonian, from Thessalonica, forming one of
 our party.

27:3 The next day we put in at Sidon. There Julius treated Paul
 with thoughtful kindness and allowed him to visit his friends
 and profit by their generous care.
27:4 Putting to sea again, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus,
 because the winds were /1 against us;
27:5 and, sailing the whole length of the sea that lies off
 Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached /2 Myra in Lycia.
27:6 There Julius found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy, and
 put us on board of her.
27:7 It took several days of slow sailing for us to come with
 difficulty off Cnidus; from which point, as the wind did not
 allow us to get on in the direct course, we ran under the lee
 of Crete /3 by Salmone.
27:8 Then, coasting along with difficulty, we reached a place
 called `Fair Havens,' near the town of Lasea.
27:9 /4 Our voyage thus far had occupied a considerable time,
 and the navigation being now unsafe and /5 the Fast also
 already over, Paul warned them.
27:10 "Sirs," he said, "I perceive that before long the voyage
 will be attended with danger and heavy loss, not only to the
 cargo and the ship but to our own lives also."
27:11 But Julius let himself be persuaded by the pilot and by
 the owner rather than by Paul's arguments;
27:12 and as the harbour was inconvenient for wintering in, the
 majority were in favour of putting out to sea, to try whether
 they could get to Phoenix--a harbour on the coast of Crete /6
 facing north-east and south-east--to winter there.
27:13 And a light breeze from the south sprang up, so that they
 supposed they /7 were now sure of their purpose. So weighing
 anchor they ran along the coast of Crete, hugging the shore.

27:14 But it was not long before /1 a furious north-east wind,
 coming /2 down from the mountains, /3 burst upon us and carried
 the ship out of her course.
27:15 She was unable to make headway against the gale; so we
 gave up and let her drive.
27:16 Then we ran under the lee of a little island called /4
 Cauda, where we managed with great difficulty to secure the
 boat;
27:17 and, after hoisting it on board, they used frapping-cables
 /5 to undergird the ship, and, as they were afraid of being
 driven on the Syrtis quicksands, they lowered the gear and /6
 lay to.
27:18 But, as the storm was still violent, the next day they
 began to lighten the ship;
27:19 and, on the third day, with their own hands they threw the
 ship's spare gear overboard.
27:20 Then, when for several days neither sun nor stars were
 seen and the terrific gale still harassed us, the last ray of
 hope was now vanishing.
27:21 When for a long time they had taken but little food, Paul,
 standing up among them, said, "Sirs, you ought to have listened
 to me and not have sailed from Crete. You would then have
 escaped this suffering and loss.
27:22 But now take courage, for there will be no destruction of
 life among you, but of the ship only.
27:23 For there stood by my side, last night, an angel of the
 God to whom I belong, and whom also I worship,
27:24 and he said, "`Dismiss all fear, Paul, for you must stand
 before Caesar; and God has granted you the lives of all who are
 sailing with you.'
27:25 "Therefore, Sirs, take courage; for I believe God, and am
 convinced that things will happen exactly as I have been told.
27:26 But we are to be stranded on a certain island."
27:27 It was now the fourteenth night, and we were /7 drifting
 through /8 the Sea of Adria, when, about midnight, the sailors
 suspected that land was close at hand.

27:28 So they hove the lead and found twenty fathoms of water;
 and after a short time they hove again and found fifteen
 fathoms.
27:29 Then for fear of possibly running on rocks, they threw out
 four anchors from the stern and /1 waited impatiently for
 daylight.
27:30 The sailors, however, wanted to make their escape from the
 ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that
 they were going to lay out anchors from the bow.
27:31 But Paul, addressing Julius and the soldiers, said, "Your
 lives will be sacrificed, unless these men remain on board."
27:32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes of the ship's boat and let
 her fall off.
27:33 And continually, up till daybreak, Paul kept urging all on
 board to take some food. "This is the fourteenth day," he said,
 "that you have been anxiously waiting for the storm to cease,
 and have fasted, eating little or nothing.
27:34 I therefore strongly advise you to take some food. This is
 essential for your safety. For not a hair will perish from the
 head of any one of you."
27:35 Having said this he took some bread, and, after giving
 thanks to God for it before them all, he broke it in pieces and
 began to eat it.
27:36 This raised the spirits of all, and they too took food.
27:37 There were /2 276 of us, crew and passengers, all told.
27:38 After eating a hearty meal they lightened the ship by
 throwing the wheat overboard.
27:39 When daylight came, they tried in vain to recognise the
 coast. But an inlet with a sandy beach attracted their
 attention, and now /3 their object was, if possible, to run the
 ship aground /4 in this inlet.
27:40 So they cut away the anchors and left them in the sea,
 unloosing at the same time the bands which secured the /5
 paddle-rudders. Then, hoisting the foresail to the wind, they
 made for the beach.
27:41 But coming to a place where two seas met, they stranded
 the ship, and her bow sticking fast remained immovable, while
 the stern began to go to pieces under the heavy hammering of
 the sea.

27:42 Now the soldiers recommended that the prisoners should be
 killed, for fear some one of them might swim ashore and effect
 his escape.
27:43 But their Captain, bent on securing Paul's safety, kept
 them from their purpose and gave orders that those who could
 swim should first jump overboard and get to land;
27:44 and that the rest should follow, some on planks, and
 others on various things from the ship. In this way they all /1
 got safely to land.
28:1 Our lives having been thus preserved, we discovered that
 the island was called /2 Malta.
28:2 The strange-speaking natives showed us remarkable kindness,
 for they lighted a fire and made us all welcome because of the
 pelting rain and the cold.
28:3 Now, when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and had
 thrown them on the fire, a viper, driven by the heat, came out
 and fastened itself on his hand.
28:4 When the natives saw the creature hanging to his hand, they
 said to one another, "Beyond doubt this man is a murderer, for,
 though saved from the sea, unerring Justice does not permit him
 to live."
28:5 He, however, shook the reptile off into the fire and was
 unhurt.
28:6 They expected him soon to swell with inflammation or
 suddenly fall down dead; but, after waiting a long time and
 seeing no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said
 that he was a god.
28:7 Now in the same part of the island there were estates
 belonging to the Governor, whose name was Publius. He welcomed
 us to his house, and for three days generously made us his
 guests.
28:8 It happened, however, that his father was lying ill of
 dysentery aggravated by attacks of fever; so Paul went to see
 him, and, after praying, laid his hands on him and cured him.
28:9 After this, all the other sick people in the island came
 and were cured.
28:10 They also loaded us with honours, and when at last we
 sailed they put supplies on board for us.

28:11 Three months passed before we set sail in an Alexandrian
 vessel, /1 called the `Twin Brothers,' which had wintered at
 the island.
28:12 At Syracuse we put in and stayed for /2 two days.
28:13 From there we /3 came round and reached Rhegium; and a day
 later, a south wind sprang up which brought us by the evening
 of the next day to Puteoli.
28:14 Here we found brethren, who invited us to remain with them
 for a week; and so we reached Rome.
28:15 Meanwhile the brethren there, hearing of our movements,
 came as far as /4 the Market of Appius and the Three Huts to
 meet us; and when Paul saw them he thanked God and felt
 encouraged.
28:16 Upon our arrival /5 in Rome, Paul received permission to
 live /6 by himself, guarded by a soldier.
28:17 After /7 one complete day he invited the leading men among
 the Jews to meet him; and, when they were come together, he
 said to them, "As for me, brethren, although I had done nothing
 prejudicial to our people or contrary to the customs of our
 forefathers, I was handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem
 into the power of the Romans.
28:18 They, after they had sharply questioned me, were willing
 to set me at liberty, because they found no offence in me for
 which I deserve to die.
28:19 But, /8 at last, the opposition of the Jews compelled me
 to appeal to Caesar; not however that I had any charge to bring
 against my nation.
28:20 For these reasons, then, I have invited you here, that I
 might see you and speak to you; for it is for the sake of /9
 Him who is the hope of Israel that this chain hangs /10 upon
 me."

28:21 "For our part," they replied, "we have not received any
 letters from Judaea about you, nor have any of our countrymen
 come here and reported or stated anything to your disadvantage.
28:22 But we should be glad to hear from you what it is that you
 believe; for as for this sect all we know is that it is
 everywhere spoken against."
28:23 So they arranged a day with him and came to him in /1
 considerable numbers /2 at the house of the friends who were
 entertaining him. And then, with solemn earnestness, he
 explained to them the subject of the Kingdom of God,
 endeavouring from morning till evening to convince them about
 Jesus, both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.
28:24 Some were convinced; others refused to believe.
28:25 Unable to agree among themselves, they at last left him,
 but not before Paul had spoken a parting word to them, saying,
 "Right well did the Holy Spirit say to your forefathers through
 the Prophet Isaiah:
28:26 <"`Go to this people and tell them, you will hear and
 hear, and by no means understand; and will look and look, and
 by no means see.
28:27 For this people's mind has grown callous, their hearing
 has become dull, and their eyes they have closed; to prevent
 their ever seeing with their eyes, or hearing with their ears,
 or understanding with their minds, and turning back, so that I
 might cure them.'>
28:28 "Be fully assured, therefore, that this salvation--God's
 salvation--has now been sent to the Gentiles, and that they, at
 any rate, will give heed."
28:29 /3 []
28:30 After this Paul lived for fully two years in a hired house
 of his own, receiving all who came to see him.
28:31 He announced the coming of the Kingdom of God, and taught
 concerning the Lord Jesus Christ without let or hindrance.