The Acts of the Apostles
1 The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerningall that Jesus began both to do and to teach,
2 until theday in which he was received up, after that he had givencommandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom hehad chosen:
3 To whom he also showed himself alive after hispassion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space offorty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom ofGod:
4 and, being assembled together with them, he chargedthem not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promiseof the Father, which, [said he], ye heard from me:
5 ForJohn indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in theHoly Spirit not many days hence.
6 They therefore, when theywere come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at thistime restore the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them,It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Fatherhath set within His own authority.
8 But ye shall receivepower, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be mywitnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, andunto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had saidthese things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloudreceived him out of their sight.
10 And while they werelooking stedfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stoodby them in white apparel;
11 who also said, Ye men ofGalilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who wasreceived up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner asye beheld him going into heaven.
12 Then returned they untoJerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh untoJerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey off.
13 And when theywere come in, they went up into the upper chamber, where theywere abiding; both Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philipand Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James [the son] ofAlphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas [the son] of James.
14 These all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer,with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with hisbrethren.
15 And in these days Peter stood up in the midstof the brethren, and said (and there was a multitude of persons[gathered] together, about a hundred and twenty),
16 Brethren, it was needful that the Scripture should be fulfilled,which the Holy Spirit spake before by the mouth of Davidconcerning Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus.
17 For he was numbered among us, and received his portion in thisministry.
18 (Now this man obtained a field with the rewardof his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in themidst, and all his bowels gushed out.
19 And it became knownto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch that in theirlanguage that field was called Akeldama, that is, The field ofblood.)
20 For it is written in the book of Psalms,Let his habitation be made desolate,And let no man dwell therein:and,His office let another take.
21 Of the men therefore that have companied with us allthe time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that hewas received up from us, of these must one become a witness withus of his resurrection.
23 And they put forward two, Josephcalled Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts ofall men, show of these two the one whom thou hast chosen,
25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from whichJudas fell away, that he might go to his own place.
26 Andthey gave lots for them; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and hewas numbered with the eleven apostles.
1 And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they wereall together in one place.
2 And suddenly there came fromheaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filledall the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appearedunto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it satupon each one of them.
4 And they were all filled with theHoly Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as theSpirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling atJerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
6 And when this sound was heard, the multitude cametogether, and were confounded, because that every man heard themspeaking in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed andmarvelled, saying, Behold, are not all these that speakGalilaeans?
8 And how hear we, every man in our own languagewherein we were born?
9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites,and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, inPontus and Asia,
10 in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt andthe parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, bothJews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabians, we hear themspeaking in our tongues the mighty works of God.
12 And theywere all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, Whatmeaneth this?
13 But others mocking said, They are filledwith new wine.
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven,lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, [saying], Ye menof Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this knownunto you, and give ear unto my words.
15 For these are notdrunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is [but] the third hour of theday.
16 but this is that which hath been spoken through theprophet Joel:
17 And it shall be in the last days, saith God,I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh:And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,And your young men shall see visions,And your old men shall dream dreams:
18 Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those daysWill I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heaven above,And signs on the earth beneath;Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,And the moon into blood,Before the day of the Lord come,That great and notable [day].
21 And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name ofthe Lord shall be saved.
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth,a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders andsigns which God did by him in the midst of you, even as yeyourselves know;
23 him, being delivered up by thedeterminate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand oflawless men did crucify and slay:
24 whom God raised up,having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possiblethat he should be holden of it.
25 For David saithconcerning him,I beheld the Lord always before my face;For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;Moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope:
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades,Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption.
28 Thou madest known unto me the ways of life;Thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance.
29 Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarchDavid, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with usunto this day.
30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowingthat God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of hisloins he would set [one] upon his throne;
31 he foreseeing[this] spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither washe left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
32 This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, andhaving received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, hehath poured forth this, which ye see and hear.
34 For Davidascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself,The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35 Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly,that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom yecrucified.
37 Now when they heard [this,] they were prickedin their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of theapostles, Brethren, what shall we do?
38 And Peter [said]unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in thename of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and yeshall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For to you isthe promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off,[even] as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him.
40 And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them,saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.
41 They then that received his word were baptized: and there wereadded [unto them] in that day about three thousand souls.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching andfellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 Andfear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were donethrough the apostles.
44 And all that believed weretogether, and had all things common;
45 and they sold theirpossessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as anyman had need.
46 And day by day, continuing stedfastly withone accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they tooktheir food with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lordadded to them day by day those that were saved.
1 Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at thehour of prayer, [being] the ninth [hour].
2 And a certainman that was lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom theylaid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful,to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 whoseeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked toreceive an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him,with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them,expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said,Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee.In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
7 And he tookhim by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately hisfeet and his ankle-bones received strength.
8 And leapingup, he stood, and began to walk; and he entered with them intothe temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 Andall the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 and theytook knowledge of him, that it was he that sat for alms at theBeautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonderand amazement at that which had happened unto him.
11 And ashe held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them inthe porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men ofIsrael, why marvel ye at this man? or why fasten ye your eyes onus, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him towalk?
13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, theGod of our fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom yedelivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he haddetermined to release him.
14 But ye denied the Holy andRighteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you,
15 and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from thedead; whereof we are witnesses.
16 And by faith in his namehath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know:yea, the faith which is through him hath given him this perfectsoundness in the presence of you all.
17 And now, brethren,I know that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
18 But the things which God foreshowed by the mouth of allthe prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled.
19 Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins maybe blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshingfrom the presence of the Lord;
20 and that he may send theChrist who hath been appointed for you, [even] Jesus:
21 whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration ofall things, whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophetsthat have been from of old.
22 Moses indeed said, A prophetshall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren,like unto me. To him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoeverhe shall speak unto you.
23 And it shall be, that every soulthat shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterlydestroyed from among the people.
24 Yea and all the prophetsfrom Samuel and them that followed after, as many as havespoken, they also told of these days.
25 Ye are the sons ofthe prophets, and of the covenant which God made with yourfathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all thefamilies of the earth be blessed.
26 Unto you first God,having raised up his Servant, sent him to bless you, in turningaway every one of you from your iniquities.
1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests and thecaptain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
2 being sore troubled because they taught the people, andproclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 Andthey laid hands on them, and put them in ward unto the morrow:for it was now eventide.
4 But many of them that heard theword believed; and the number of the men came to be about fivethousand.
5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that theirrulers and elders and scribes were gathered together inJerusalem;
6 and Annas the high priest [was there], andCaiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of thekindred of the high priest.
7 And when they had set them inthe midst, they inquired, By what power, or in what name, haveye done this?
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders,
9 if wethis day are examined concerning a good deed done to an impotentman, by what means this man is made whole;
10 be it knownunto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the nameof Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raisedfrom the dead, [even] in him doth this man stand here before youwhole.
11 He is the stone which was set at nought of you thebuilders, which was made the head of the corner.
12 And innone other is there salvation: for neither is there any othername under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must besaved.
13 Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter andJohn, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorantmen, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that theyhad been with Jesus.
14 And seeing the man that was healedstanding with them, they could say nothing against it.
15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council,they conferred among themselves,
16 saying, What shall we doto these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath beenwrought through them, is manifest to all that dwell inJerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
17 But that it spread nofurther among the people, let us threaten them, that they speakhenceforth to no man in this name.
18 And they called them,and charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name ofJesus.
19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them,Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto yourather than unto God, judge ye:
20 for we cannot but speakthe things which we saw and heard.
21 And they, when theyhad further threatened them, let them go, finding nothing howthey might punish them, because of the people; for all menglorified God for that which was done.
22 For the man wasmore than forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing waswrought.
23 And being let go, they came to their owncompany, and reported all that the chief priests and the eldershad said unto them.
24 And they, when they heard it, liftedup their voice to God with one accord, and said, O Lord, thouthat didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and allthat in them is:
25 who by the Holy Spirit, [by] the mouthof our father David thy servant, didst say,Why did the Gentiles rage,And the peoples imagine vain things?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves in array,And the rulers were gathered together,Against the Lord, and against his Anointed:
27 for of a truth in this city against thy holy ServantJesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gatheredtogether,
28 to do whatsoever thy hand and thy councilforeordained to come to pass.
29 And now, Lord, look upontheir threatenings: and grant unto thy servants to speak thyword with all boldness,
30 while thy stretchest forth thyhand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through thename of thy holy Servant Jesus.
31 And when they had prayed,the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; andthey were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake theword of God with boldness.
32 And the multitude of them thatbelieved were of one heart and soul: and not one [of them] saidthat aught of the things which he possessed was his own; butthey had all things common.
33 And with great power gave theapostles their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus:and great grace was upon them all.
34 For neither was thereamong them any that lacked: for as many as were possessors oflands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the thingsthat were sold,
35 and laid them at the apostles' feet: anddistribution was made unto each, according as any one had need.
36 And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas(which is, being interpreted, Son of exhortation), a Levite, aman of Cyprus by race,
37 having a field, sold it, andbrought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira hiswife, sold a possession,
2 and kept back [part] of theprice, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certainpart, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said,Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the HolySpirit, and to keep back [part] of the price of the land?
4 While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it wassold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hastconceived this thing in thy heart? thou has not lied unto men,but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell downand gave up the ghost: and great fear came upon all that heardit.
6 And the young men arose and wrapped him round, andthey carried him out and buried him.
7 And it was about thespace of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what wasdone, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell mewhether ye sold the land for so much. And she said, Yea, for somuch.
9 But Peter [said] unto her, How is it that ye haveagreed together to try the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feetof them that have buried thy husband are at the door, and theyshall carry thee out.
10 And she fell down immediately athis feet, and gave up the ghost: and the young men came in andfound her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by herhusband.
11 And great fear came upon the whole church, andupon all that heard these things.
12 And by the hands of theapostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people;and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
13 Butof the rest durst no man join himself to them: howbeit thepeople magnified them;
14 and believers were the more addedto the Lord, multitudes both of them and women;
15 insomuchthat they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laidthem on beds and couches, that, as Peter came by, at the leasthis shadow might overshadow some one of them.
16 And therealso came together the multitudes from the cities round aboutJerusalem, bring sick folk, and them that were vexed withunclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
17 But thehigh priest rose up, and all they that were with him (which isthe sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy,
18 and laid hands on the apostles, and put them in publicward.
19 But an angel of the Lord by night opened the prisondoors, and brought them out, and said,
20 Go ye, and standand speak in the temple to the people all the words of thisLife.
21 And when they heard [this], they entered into thetemple about daybreak, and taught. But the high priest came, andthey that were with him, and called the council together, andall the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to theprison-house to have them brought.
22 But the officers thatcame found them not in the prison; and they returned, and told,
23 saying, The prison-house we found shut in all safety, andthe keepers standing at the doors: but when we had opened, wefound no man within.
24 Now when the captain of the templeand the chief priests heard these words, they were muchperplexed concerning them whereunto this would grow.
25 Andthere came one and told them, Behold, the men whom ye put in theprison are in the temple standing and teaching the people.
26 Then went the captain with the officers, and broughtthem, [but] without violence; for they feared the people, lestthey should be stoned.
27 And when they had brought them,they set them before the council. And the high priest askedthem,
28 saying, We strictly charged you not to teach inthis name: and behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with yourteaching, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
29 But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey Godrather than men.
30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus,whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree.
31 Him did God exaltwith his right hand [to be] a Prince and a Saviour, to giverepentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
32 And we arewitnesses of these things; and [so is] the Holy Spirit, whom Godhath given to them that obey him.
33 But they, when theyheard this, were cut to the heart, and minded to slay them.
34 But there stood up one in the council, a Pharisee, namedGamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in honor of all the people,and commanded to put the men forth a little while.
35 And hesaid unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves astouching these men, what ye are about to do.
36 For beforethese days rose up Theudas, giving himself out to be somebody;to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves:who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed,and came to nought.
37 After this man rose up Judas ofGalilee in the days of the enrolment, and drew away [some ofthe] people after him: he also perished; and all, as many asobeyed him, were scattered abroad.
38 And now I say untoyou, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if thiscounsel or this work be of men, it will be overthrown:
39 but if it is of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them; lesthaply ye be found even to be fighting against God.
40 And tohim they agreed: and when they had called the apostles untothem, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the nameof Jesus, and let them go.
41 They therefore departed fromthe presence of the council, rejoicing that they were countedworthy to suffer dishonor for the Name.
42 And every day, inthe temple and at home, they ceased not to teach and to preachJesus [as] the Christ.
1 Now in these days, when the number of the disciples wasmultiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews againstthe Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the dailyministration.
2 And the twelve called the multitude of thedisciples unto them, and said, It is not fit that we shouldforsake the word of God, and serve tables.
3 Look ye outtherefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good report,full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over thisbusiness.
4 But we will continue stedfastly in prayer, andin the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased thewhole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith andof the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, andTimon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus a proselyte of Antioch;
6 whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed,they laid their hands upon them.
7 And the word of Godincreased; and the number of the disciples multiplied inJerusalem exceedingly; and a great company of the priests wereobedient to the faith.
8 And Stephen, full of grace andpower, wrought great wonders and signs among the people.
9 But there arose certain of them that were of the synagoguecalled [the synagogue] of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians,and of the Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and Asia,disputing with Stephen.
10 And they were not able towithstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake.
11 Then they suborned men, who said, We have heard him speakblasphemous words against Moses, and [against] God.
12 Andthey stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, andcame upon him, and seized him, and brought him into the council,
13 and set up false witnesses, who said, This man ceasethnot to speak words against this holy place, and the law:
14 for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shalldestroy this place, and shall change the customs which Mosesdelivered unto us.
15 And all that sat in the council,fastening their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been theface of an angel.
1 And the high priest said, Are these things so?
2 And he said, Brethren and fathers, hearken: The God of gloryappeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia,before he dwelt in Haran,
3 and said unto him, Get thee outof thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land whichI shall show thee.
4 Then came he out of the land of theChaldaeans, and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his fatherwas dead, [God] removed him into this land, wherein ye nowdwell:
5 and he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not somuch as to set his foot on: and he promised that he would giveit to him in possession, and to his seed after him, when [asyet] he had no child.
6 And God spake on this wise, that hisseed should sojourn in a strange land, and that they shouldbring them into bondage, and treat them ill, four hundred years.
7 And the nation to which they shall be in bondage will Ijudge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serveme in this place.
8 And he gave him the covenant ofcircumcision: and so [Abraham] begat Isaac, and circumcised himthe eighth day; and Isaac [begat] Jacob, and Jacob the twelvepatriarchs.
9 And the patriarchs, moved with jealousyagainst Joseph, sold him into Egypt: and God was with him,
10 and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gavehim favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he madehim governor over Egypt and all his house.
11 Now there camea famine over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction: andour fathers found no sustenance.
12 But when Jacob heardthat there was grain in Egypt, he sent forth our fathers thefirst time.
13 And at the second time Joseph was made knownto his brethren; and Joseph's race became manifest unto Pharaoh.
14 And Joseph sent, and called to him Jacob his father, andall his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
15 And Jacobwent down into Egypt; and he died, himself and our fathers;
16 and they were carried over unto Shechem, and laid in thetomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver of the sons ofHamor in Shechem.
17 But as the time of the promise drewnigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew andmultiplied in Egypt,
18 till there arose another king overEgypt, who knew not Joseph.
19 The same dealt craftily withour race, and ill-treated our fathers, that they should cast outtheir babes to the end they might not live.
20 At whichseason Moses was born, and was exceeding fair; and he wasnourished three months in his father's house.
21 and when hewas cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished himfor her own son.
22 And Moses was instructed in all thewisdom of the Egyptians; and he was mighty in his words andworks.
23 But when he was well-nigh forty years old, it cameinto his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
24 And seeing one [of them] suffer wrong, he defended him,and avenged him that was oppressed, smiting the Egyptian:
25 and he supposed that his brethren understood that God by hishand was giving them deliverance; but they understood not.
26 And the day following he appeared unto them as theystrove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, yeare brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?
27 But he thatdid his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee aruler and a judge over us?
28 Wouldest thou kill me, as thoukilledst the Egyptian yesterday?
29 And Moses fled at thissaying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where hebegat two sons.
30 And when forty years were fulfilled, anangel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in aflame of fire in a bush.
31 And when Moses saw it, hewondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold, there camea voice of the Lord,
32 I am the God of thy fathers, the Godof Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. And Moses trembled, anddurst not behold.
33 And the Lord said unto him, Loose theshoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holyground.
34 I have surely seen the affliction of my peoplethat is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I am comedown to deliver them: and now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
35 This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee aruler and a judge? him hath God sent [to be] both a ruler and adeliverer with the hand of the angel that appeared to him in thebush.
36 This man led them forth, having wrought wonders andsigns in Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness fortyyears.
37 This is that Moses, who said unto the children ofIsrael, A prophet shall God raise up unto you from among yourbrethren, like unto me.
38 This is he that was in the churchin the wilderness with the angel that spake to him in the MountSinai, and with our fathers: who received living oracles to giveunto us:
39 to whom our fathers would not be obedient, butthrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts untoEgypt,
40 saying unto Aaron, Make us gods that shall gobefore us: for as for this Moses, who led us forth out of theland of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.
41 Andthey made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice unto theidol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands.
42 But Godturned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven; as it iswritten in the book of the prophets,Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrificesForty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch,And the star of the god Rephan,The figures which ye made to worship them:And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
44 Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in thewilderness, even as he appointed who spake unto Moses, that heshould make it according to the figure that he had seen.
45 Which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshuawhen they entered on the possession of the nations, that Godthrust out before the face of our fathers, unto the days ofDavid;
46 who found favor in the sight of God, and asked tofind a habitation for the God of Jacob.
47 But Solomon builthim a house.
48 Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in[houses] made with hands; as saith the prophet,
49 The heaven is my throne,And the earth the footstool of my feet:What manner of house will ye build me? saith the Lord:Or what is the place of my rest?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?
51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, yedo always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.
52 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? andthey killed them that showed before of the coming of theRighteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers andmurderers;
53 ye who received the law as it was ordained byangels, and kept it not.
54 Now when they heard thesethings, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him withtheir teeth.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit,looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, andJesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 and said,Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing onthe right hand of God.
57 But they cried out with a loudvoice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with oneaccord;
58 and they cast him out of the city, and stonedhim: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of ayoung man named Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen, callingupon [the Lord], and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord,lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, hefell asleep.
1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And there aroseon that day a great persecution against the church which was inJerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout theregions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
2 Anddevout men buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over him.
3 But Saul laid waste the church, entering into every house,and dragging men and women committed them to prison.
4 Theytherefore that were scattered abroad, went about preaching theword.
5 And Philip went down to the city of Samaria, andproclaimed unto them the Christ.
6 And the multitudes gaveheed with one accord unto the things that were spoken by Philip,when they heard, and saw the signs which he did.
7 For[from] many of those that had unclean spirits, they came out,crying with a loud voice: and many that were palsied, and thatwere lame, were healed.
8 And there was much joy in thatcity.
9 But there was a certain man, Simon by name, whobeforetime in the city used sorcery, and amazed the people ofSamaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
10 towhom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying,This man is that power of God which is called Great.
11 Andthey gave heed to him, because that of long time he had amazedthem with his sorceries.
12 But when they believed Philippreaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and thename of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 And Simon also himself believed: and being baptized, hecontinued with Philip; and beholding signs and great miracleswrought, he was amazed.
14 Now when the apostles that wereat Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God,they sent unto them Peter and John:
15 who, when they werecome down, prayed for them, that they might receive the HolySpirit:
16 for as yet it was fallen upon none of them: onlythey had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the HolySpirit.
18 Now when Simon saw that through the laying on ofthe apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered themmoney,
19 saying, Give me also this power, that onwhomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.
20 But Peter said unto him, Thy silver perish with thee,because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money.
21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thyheart is not right before God.
22 Repent therefore of thisthy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thyheart shall be forgiven thee.
23 For I see that thou art inthe gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.
24 AndSimon answered and said, Pray ye for me to the Lord, that noneof the things which ye have spoken come upon me.
25 Theytherefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of theLord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel to manyvillages of the Samaritans.
26 But an angel of the Lordspake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south untothe way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same isdesert.
27 And he arose and went: and behold, a man ofEthiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen ofthe Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come toJerusalem to worship;
28 and he was returning and sitting inhis chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 And theSpirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to thischariot.
30 And Philip ran to him, and heard him readingIsaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thoureadest?
31 And he said, How can I, except some one shallguide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading wasthis,He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb,So he openeth not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away:His generation who shall declare?For his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee,of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other?
35 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from thisScripture, preached unto him Jesus.
36 And as they went onthe way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith,Behold, [here is] water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 [And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart,thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that JesusChrist is the Son of God.]
38 And he commanded the chariotto stand still: and they both went down into the water, bothPhilip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
39 And when theycame up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught awayPhilip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his wayrejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passingthrough he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he cameto Caesarea.
1 But Saul, yet breathing threatening and slaughteragainst the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
2 and asked of him letters to Damascus unto the synagogues,that if he found any that were of the Way, whether men or women,he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3 And as hejourneyed, it came to pass that he drew nigh unto Damascus: andsuddenly there shone round about him a light out of heaven:
4 and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying untohim, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Whoart thou, Lord? And he [said], I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:
6 but rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be toldthee what thou must do.
7 And the men that journeyed withhim stood speechless, hearing the voice, but beholding no man.
8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes wereopened, he saw nothing; and they led him by the hand, andbrought him into Damascus.
9 And he was three days withoutsight, and did neither eat nor drink.
10 Now there was acertain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord saidunto him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I [am here],Lord.
11 And the Lord [said] unto him, Arise, and go to thestreet which is called Straight, and inquire in the house ofJudas for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus: for behold, heprayeth;
12 and he hath seen a man named Ananias coming in,and laying his hands on him, that he might receive his sight.
13 But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many ofthis man, how much evil he did to thy saints at Jerusalem:
14 and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bindall that call upon thy name.
15 But the Lord said unto him,Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my namebefore the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel:
16 for I will show him how many things he must suffer for myname's sake.
17 And Ananias departed, and entered into thehouse; and laying his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord,[even] Jesus, who appeared unto thee in the way which thoucamest, hath sent me, that thou mayest receive thy sight, and befilled with the Holy Spirit.
18 And straightway there fellfrom his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight; andhe arose and was baptized;
19 and he took food and wasstrengthened. And he was certain days with the disciples thatwere at Damascus.
20 And straightway in the synagogues heproclaimed Jesus, that he is the Son of God.
21 And all thatheard him were amazed, and said, Is not this he that inJerusalem made havoc of them that called on this name? and hehad come hither for this intent, that he might bring them boundbefore the chief priests.
22 But Saul increased the more instrength, and confounded the Jews that dwelt at Damascus,proving that this is the Christ.
23 And when many days werefulfilled, the Jews took counsel together to kill him:
24 but their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gatesalso day and night that they might kill him:
25 but hisdisciples took him by night, and let him down through the wall,lowering him in a basket.
26 And when he was come toJerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: and theywere all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles,and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, andthat he had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preachedboldly in the name of Jesus.
28 And he was with them goingin and going out at Jerusalem,
29 preaching boldly in thename of the Lord: and he spake and disputed against the GrecianJews; but they were seeking to kill him.
30 And when thebrethren knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea, and senthim forth to Tarsus.
31 So the church throughout all Judaeaand Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified; and, walkingin the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit,was multiplied.
32 And it came to pass, as Peter wentthroughout all parts, he came down also to the saints that dweltat Lydda.
33 And there he found a certain man named Aeneas,who had kept his bed eight years; for he was palsied.
34 AndPeter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ healeth thee: ariseand make thy bed. And straightway he arose.
35 And all thatdwelt at Lydda and in Sharon saw him, and they turned to theLord.
36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple namedTabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this womanwas full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.
37 Andit came to pass in those days, that she fell sick, and died: andwhen they had washed her, they laid her in an upper chamber.
38 And as Lydda was nigh unto Joppa, the disciples, hearingthat Peter was there, sent two men unto him, entreating him,Delay not to come on unto us.
39 And Peter arose and wentwith them. And when he was come, they brought him into the upperchamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showingthe coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was withthem.
40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down andprayed; and turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise. Andshe opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
41 And he gave her his hand, and raised her up; and calling thesaints and widows, he presented her alive.
42 And it becameknown throughout all Joppa: and many believed on the Lord.
43 And it came to pass, that he abode many days in Joppawith one Simon a tanner.
1 Now [there was] a certain man in Caesarea, Corneliusby name, a centurion of the band called the Italian [band],
2 a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house,who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.
3 He saw in a vision openly, as it were about the ninthhour of the day, an angel of God coming in unto him, and sayingto him, Cornelius.
4 And he, fastening his eyes upon him,and being affrighted, said, What is it, Lord? And he said untohim, Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up for a memorialbefore God.
5 And now send men to Joppa, and fetch oneSimon, who is surnamed Peter:
6 he lodgeth with one Simon atanner, whose house is by the sea side.
7 And when theangel that spake unto him was departed, he called two of hishousehold-servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited onhim continually;
8 and having rehearsed all things untothem, he sent them to Joppa.
9 Now on the morrow, as theywere on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter wentup upon the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour:
10 andhe became hungry, and desired to eat: but while they made ready,he fell into a trance;
11 and he beholdeth the heavenopened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a greatsheet, let down by four corners upon the earth:
12 whereinwere all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things of theearth and birds of the heaven.
13 And there came a voice tohim, Rise, Peter; kill and eat.
14 But Peter said, Not so,Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common andunclean.
15 And a voice [came] unto him again the secondtime, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.
16 Andthis was done thrice: and straightway the vessel was received upinto heaven.
17 Now while Peter was much perplexed inhimself what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold,the men that were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry forSimon's house, stood before the gate,
18 and called andasked whether Simon, who was surnamed Peter, were lodging there.
19 And while Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit saidunto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
20 But arise, andget thee down, and go with them, nothing doubting: for I havesent them.
21 And Peter went down to the men, and said,Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye arecome?
22 And they said, Cornelius a centurion, a righteousman and one that feareth God, and well reported of by all thenation of the Jews, was warned [of God] by a holy angel to sendfor thee into his house, and to hear words from thee.
23 Sohe called them in and lodged them. And on the morrow he aroseand went forth with them, and certain of the brethren from Joppaaccompanied him.
24 And on the morrow they entered intoCaesarea. And Cornelius was waiting for them, having calledtogether his kinsmen and his near friends.
25 And when itcame to pass that Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and felldown at his feet, and worshipped him.
26 But Peter raisedhim up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
27 And ashe talked with him, he went in, and findeth many come together:
28 and he said unto them, Ye yourselves know how it is anunlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to join himself or comeunto one of another nation; and [yet] unto me hath God showedthat I should not call any man common or unclean:
29 wherefore also I came without gainsaying, when I was sent for. Iask therefore with what intent ye sent for me.
30 AndCornelius said, Four days ago, until this hour, I was keepingthe ninth hour of prayer in my house; and behold, a man stoodbefore me in bright apparel,
31 and saith, Cornelius, thyprayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in thesight of God.
32 Send therefore to Joppa, and call untothee Simon, who is surnamed Peter; he lodgeth in the house ofSimon a tanner, by the sea side.
33 Forthwith therefore Isent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Nowtherefore we are all here present in the sight of God, to hearall things that have been commanded thee of the Lord.
34 And Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive thatGod is no respecter of persons:
35 but in every nation hethat feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable tohim.
36 The word which he sent unto the children of Israel,preaching good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ (He is Lord ofall.) --
37 that saying ye yourselves know, which waspublished throughout all Judaea, beginning from Galilee, afterthe baptism which John preached;
38 [even] Jesus ofNazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and withpower: who went about doing good, and healing all that wereoppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
39 And we arewitnesses of all things which he did both in the country of theJews, and in Jerusalem; whom also they slew, hanging him on atree.
40 Him God raised up the third day, and gave him tobe made manifest,
41 not to all the people, but untowitnesses that were chosen before of God, [even] to us, who ateand drank with him after he rose from the dead.
42 And hecharged us to preach unto the people, and to testify that thisis he who is ordained of God [to be] the Judge of the living andthe dead.
43 To him bear all the prophets witness, thatthrough his name every one that believeth on him shall receiveremission of sins.
44 While Peter yet spake these words,the Holy Spirit fell on all them that heard the word.
45 And they of the circumcision that believed were amazed, as manyas came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was pouredout the gift of the Holy Spirit.
46 For they heard themspeak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
47 Can any man forbid the water, that these should not bebaptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name ofJesus Christ. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
1 Now the apostles and the brethren that were in Judaeaheard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that wereof the circumcision contended with him,
3 saying, Thouwentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
4 But Peter began, and expounded [the matter] unto them in order,saying,
5 I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in atrance I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending, as it were agreat sheet let down from heaven by four corners; and it cameeven unto me:
6 upon which when I had fastened mine eyes, Iconsidered, and saw the fourfooted beasts of the earth and wildbeasts and creeping things and birds of the heaven.
7 And Iheard also a voice saying unto me, Rise, Peter; kill and eat.
8 But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or uncleanhath ever entered into my mouth.
9 But a voice answered thesecond time out of heaven, What God hath cleansed, make not thoucommon.
10 And this was done thrice: and all were drawn upagain into heaven.
11 And behold, forthwith three men stoodbefore the house in which we were, having been sent fromCaesarea unto me.
12 And the Spirit bade me go with them,making no distinction. And these six brethren also accompaniedme; and we entered into the man's house:
13 and he told ushow he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying,Send to Joppa, and fetch Simon, whose surname is Peter;
14 who shall speak unto thee words, whereby thou shalt be saved,thou and all thy house.
15 And as I began to speak, theHoly Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning.
16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, Johnindeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the HolySpirit.
17 If then God gave unto them the like gift as [hedid] also unto us, when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ,who was I, that I could withstand God?
18 And when theyheard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God,saying, Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentanceunto life.
19 They therefore that were scattered abroadupon the tribulation that arose about Stephen travelled as faras Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to nonesave only to Jews.
20 But there were some of them, men ofCyprus and Cyrene, who, when they were come to Antioch, spakeunto the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 And thehand of the Lord was with them: and a great number that believedturned unto the Lord.
22 And the report concerning themcame to the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and theysent forth Barnabas as far as Antioch:
23 who, when he wascome, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and he exhortedthem all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto theLord:
24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spiritand of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
25 And he went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul;
26 and whenhe had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came topass, that even for a whole year they were gathered togetherwith the church, and taught much people, and that the discipleswere called Christians first in Antioch.
27 Now in thesedays there came down prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, andsignified by the Spirit that there should be a great famine overall the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius.
29 And the disciples, every man according to his ability,determined to send relief unto the brethren that dwelt in Judea:
30 which also they did, sending it to the elders by thehand of Barnabas and Saul.
1 Now about that time Herod the king put forth his handsto afflict certain of the church.
2 And he killed James thebrother of John with the sword.
3 And when he saw that itpleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And [those]were the days of unleavened bread.
4 And when he had takenhim, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternionsof soldiers to guard him; intending after the Passover to bringhim forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in theprison: but prayer was made earnestly of the church unto God forhim.
6 And when Herod was about to bring him forth, thesame night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound withtwo chains: and guards before the door kept the prison.
7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a lightshined in the cell: and he smote Peter on the side, and awokehim, saying, Rise up quickly. And his chains fell off from hishands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, andbind on thy sandals. And he did so. And he saith unto him, Castthy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out,and followed; and he knew not that it was true which was done bythe angel, but thought he saw a vision.
10 And when theywere past the first and the second guard, they came unto theiron gate that leadeth into the city; which opened to them ofits own accord: and they went out, and passed on through onestreet; and straightway the angel departed from him.
11 Andwhen Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a truth,that the Lord hath sent forth his angel and delivered me out ofthe hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people ofthe Jews.
12 And when he had considered [the thing], hecame to the house of Mary the mother of John whose surname wasMark; where many were gathered together and were praying.
13 And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a maid cameto answer, named Rhoda.
14 And when she knew Peter's voice,she opened not the gate for joy, but ran in, and told that Peterstood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou artmad. But she confidently affirmed that it was even so. And theysaid, It is his angel.
16 But Peter continued knocking: andwhen they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed.
17 Buthe, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace,declared unto them how the Lord had brought him forth out of theprison. And he said, Tell these things unto James, and to thebrethren. And he departed, and went to another place.
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among thesoldiers, what was become of Peter.
19 And when Herod hadsought for him, and found him not, he examined the guards, andcommanded that they should be put to death. And he went downfrom Judaea to Caesarea, and tarried there.
20 Now he washighly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: and they camewith one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king'schamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because theircountry was fed from the king's country.
21 And upon a setday Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel, and sat on thethrone, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the peopleshouted, [saying], The voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gavenot God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up theghost.
24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they hadfulfilled their ministration, taking with them John whosesurname was Mark.
1 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was[there], prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon that wascalled Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen thefoster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 And asthey ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said,Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I havecalled them.
3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed andlaid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4 So they,being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia; andfrom thence they sailed to Cyprus.
5 And when they were atSalamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues ofthe Jews: and they had also John as their attendant.
6 Andwhen they had gone through the whole island unto Paphos, theyfound a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name wasBar-jesus;
7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, aman of understanding. The same called unto him Barnabas andSaul, and sought to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas thesorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them,seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith.
9 ButSaul, who is also [called] Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,fastened his eyes on him,
10 and said, O full of all guileand all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of allrighteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways ofthe Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is uponthee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and hewent about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12 Thenthe proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, beingastonished at the teaching of the Lord.
13 Now Paul and hiscompany set sail from Paphos, and came to Perga in Pamphylia:and John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.
14 But they, passing through from Perga, came to Antioch ofPisidia; and they went into the synagogue on the sabbath day,and sat down.
15 And after the reading of the law and theprophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying,Brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, sayon.
16 And Paul stood up, and beckoning with the hand said,Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, hearken:
17 The God ofthis people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the peoplewhen they sojourned in the land of Egypt, and with a high armled he them forth out of it.
18 And for about the time offorty years as a nursing-father bare he them in the wilderness.
19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land ofCanaan, he gave [them] their land for an inheritance, for aboutfour hundred and fifty years:
20 and after these things hegave [them] judges until Samuel the prophet.
21 Andafterward they asked for a king: and God gave unto them Saul theson of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for the space offorty years.
22 And when he had removed him, he raised upDavid to be their king; to whom also he bare witness and said, Ihave found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, whoshall do all My will.
23 Of this man's seed hath Godaccording to promise brought unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus;
24 when John had first preached before his coming thebaptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25 Andas John was fulfilling his course, he said, What suppose ye thatI am? I am not [he]. But behold, there cometh one after me theshoes of whose feet I am not worthy to unloose.
26 Brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among youthat fear God, to us is the word of this salvation sent forth.
27 For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers,because they knew him not, nor the voices of the prophets whichare read every sabbath, fulfilled [them] by condemning [him].
28 And though they found no cause of death [in him], yetasked they of Pilate that he should be slain.
29 And whenthey had fulfilled all things that were written of him, theytook him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb.
30 ButGod raised him from the dead:
31 and he was seen for manydays of them that came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem,who are now his witnesses unto the people.
32 And we bringyou good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers,
33 that God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in that heraised up Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, Thouart my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
34 And asconcerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more toreturn to corruption, he hath spoken on this wise, I will giveyou the holy and sure [blessings] of David.
35 Because hesaith also in another [psalm], Thou wilt not give Thy Holy Oneto see corruption.
36 For David, after he had in his owngeneration served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laidunto his fathers, and saw corruption:
37 but he whom Godraised up saw no corruption.
38 Be it known unto youtherefore, brethren, that through this man is proclaimed untoyou remission of sins:
39 and by him every one thatbelieveth is justified from all things, from which ye could notbe justified by the law of Moses.
40 Beware therefore, lestthat come upon [you] which is spoken in the prophets:
41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish;For I work a work in your days,A work which ye shall in no wise believe, if one declare it untoyou.
42 And as they went out, they besought that these wordsmight be spoken to them the next sabbath.
43 Now when thesynagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devoutproselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them,urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44 And the nextsabbath almost the whole city was gathered together to hear theword of God.
45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, theywere filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things whichwere spoken by Paul, and blasphemed.
46 And Paul andBarnabas spake out boldly, and said, It was necessary that theword of God should first be spoken to you. Seeing ye thrust itfrom you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, weturn to the Gentiles.
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us,[saying],I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles,That thou shouldest be for salvation unto the uttermost part ofthe earth.
48 And as the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, andglorified the word of God: and as many as were ordained toeternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord wasspread abroad throughout all the region.
50 But the Jewsurged on the devout women of honorable estate, and the chief menof the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul andBarnabas, and cast them out of their borders.
51 But theyshook off the dust of their feet against them, and came untoIconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy with theHoly Spirit.
1 And it came to pass in Iconium that they enteredtogether into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake that agreat multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed.
2 Butthe Jews that were disobedient stirred up the souls of theGentiles, and made them evil affected against the brethren.
3 Long time therefore they tarried [there] speaking boldlyin the Lord, who bare witness unto the word of his grace,granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
4 Butthe multitude of the city was divided; and part held with theJews, and part with the apostles.
5 And when there was madean onset both of the Gentiles and of the Jews with their rulers,to treat them shamefully and to stone them,
6 they becameaware of it, and fled unto the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra andDerbe, and the region round about:
7 and there theypreached the gospel.
8 And at Lystra there sat a certainman, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother's womb, whonever had walked.
9 The same heard Paul speaking, who,fastening eyes upon him, and seeing that he had faith to be madewhole,
10 said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thyfeet. And he leaped up and walked.
11 And when themultitude saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice,saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to usin the likeness of men.
12 And they called Barnabas,Jupiter; and Paul, Mercury, because he was the chief speaker.
13 And the priest of Jupiter whose [temple] was before thecity, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would havedone sacrifice with the multitudes.
14 But when theapostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent theirgarments, and sprang forth among the multitude, crying out
15 and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also aremen of like passions with you, and bring you good tidings, thatye should turn from these vain things unto a living God, whomade the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in themis:
16 who in the generations gone by suffered all thenations to walk in their own ways.
17 And yet He left nothimself without witness, in that he did good and gave you fromheaven rains and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with foodand gladness.
18 And with these sayings scarce restrainedthey the multitudes from doing sacrifice unto them.
19 Butthere came Jews thither from Antioch and Iconium: and havingpersuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him outof the city, supposing that he was dead.
20 But as thedisciples stood round about him, he rose up, and entered intothe city: and on the morrow he went forth with Barnabas toDerbe.
21 And when they had preached the gospel to thatcity, and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, andto Iconium, and to Antioch,
22 confirming the souls of thedisciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and thatthrough many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.
23 And when they had appointed for them elders in everychurch, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to theLord, on whom they had believed.
24 And they passed throughPisidia, and came to Pamphylia.
25 And when they had spokenthe word in Perga, they went down to Attalia;
26 and thencethey sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been committed tothe grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.
27 And when they were come, and had gathered the church together,they rehearsed all things that God had done with them, and thathe had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles.
28 Andthey tarried no little time with the disciples.
1 And certain men came down from Judaea and taught thebrethren, [saying], Except ye be circumcised after the custom ofMoses, ye cannot be saved.
2 And when Paul and Barnabas hadno small dissension and questioning with them, [the brethren]appointed that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them,should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders aboutthis question.
3 They therefore, being brought on their wayby the church, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria,declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused greatjoy unto all the brethren.
4 And when they were come toJerusalem, they were received of the church and the apostles andthe elders, and they rehearsed all things that God had done withthem.
5 But there rose up certain of the sect of thePharisees who believed, saying, It is needful to circumcisethem, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.
6 Andthe apostles and the elders were gathered together to considerof this matter.
7 And when there had been much questioning,Peter rose up, and said unto them, Brethren, ye know that a goodwhile ago God made choice among you, that by my mouth theGentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8 And God, who knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving themthe Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us;
9 and he made nodistinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts byfaith.
10 Now therefore why make ye trial of God, that yeshould put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neitherour fathers nor we were able to bear?
11 But we believethat we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, inlike manner as they.
12 And all the multitude kept silence;and they hearkened unto Barnabas and Paul rehearsing what signsand wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles through them.
13 And after they had held their peace, James answered,saying, Brethren, hearken unto me:
14 Symeon hath rehearsedhow first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a peoplefor his name.
15 And to this agree the words of theprophets; as it is written,
16 After these things I will return,And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen;And I will build again the ruins thereof,And I will set it up:
17 That the residue of men may seek after the Lord,And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called,
18 Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from ofold.
19 Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not themthat from among the Gentiles turn to God;
20 but that wewrite unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols,and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and fromblood.
21 For Moses from generations of old hath in everycity them that preach him, being read in the synagogues everysabbath.
22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and theelders, with the whole church, to choose men out of theircompany, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas;[namely], Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among thebrethren:
23 and they wrote [thus] by them, The apostlesand the elders, brethren, unto the brethren who are of theGentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting:
24 Forasmuch as we have heard that certain who went out from ushave troubled you with words, subverting your souls; to whom wegave no commandment;
25 it seemed good unto us, having cometo one accord, to choose out men and send them unto you with ourbeloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 men that have hazarded theirlives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 We havesent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves also shall tellyou the same things by word of mouth.
28 For it seemed goodto the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burdenthan these necessary things:
29 that ye abstain from thingssacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled,and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shallbe well with you. Fare ye well.
30 So they, when they weredismissed, came down to Antioch; and having gathered themultitude together, they delivered the epistle.
31 And whenthey had read it, they rejoiced for the consolation.
32 AndJudas and Silas, being themselves also prophets, exhorted thebrethren with many words, and confirmed them.
33 And afterthey had spent some time [there], they were dismissed in peacefrom the brethren unto those that had sent them forth.
34 [But it seemed good unto Silas to abide there.]
35 But Pauland Barnabas tarried in Antioch, teaching and preaching the wordof the Lord, with many others also.
36 And after some daysPaul said unto Barnabas, Let us return now and visit thebrethren in every city wherein we proclaimed the word of theLord, [and see] how they fare.
37 And Barnabas was mindedto take with them John also, who was called Mark.
38 ButPaul thought not good to take with them him who withdrew fromthem from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
39 And there arose a sharp contention, so that they parted asunderone from the other, and Barnabas took Mark with him, and sailedaway unto Cyprus;
40 but Paul choose Silas, and went forth,being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.
41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming thechurches.
1 And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra: and behold, acertain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewessthat believed; but his father was a Greek.
2 The same waswell reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra andIconium.
3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and hetook and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in thoseparts: for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
4 Andas they went on their way through the cities, they deliveredthem the decrees to keep which had been ordained of the apostlesand elders that were at Jerusalem.
5 So the churches werestrengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, havingbeen forbidden of the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;
7 and when they were come over against Mysia, they assayedto go into Bithynia; and the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not;
8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
9 Anda vision appeared to Paul in the night: There was a man ofMacedonia standing, beseeching him, and saying, Come over intoMacedonia, and help us.
10 And when he had seen the vision,straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia, concludingthat God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course toSamothrace, and the day following to Neapolis;
12 and fromthence to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the first ofthe district, a [Roman] colony: and we were in this citytarrying certain days.
13 And on the sabbath day we wentforth without the gate by a river side, where we supposed therewas a place of prayer; and we sat down, and spake unto the womenthat were come together.
14 And a certain woman namedLydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, one thatworshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened to giveheed unto the things which were spoken by Paul.
15 And whenshe was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, Ifye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into myhouse, and abide [there]. And she constrained us.
16 And itcame to pass, as we were going to the place of prayer, that acertain maid having a spirit of divination met us, who broughther masters much gain by soothsaying.
17 The same followingafter Paul and us cried out, saying, These men are servants ofthe Most High God, who proclaim unto you the way of salvation.
18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, being soretroubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in thename of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out thatvery hour.
19 But when her masters saw that the hope oftheir gain was gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas, anddragged them into the marketplace before the rulers,
20 andwhen they had brought them unto the magistrates, they said,These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
21 and set forth customs which it is not lawful for us to receive,or to observe, being Romans.
22 And the multitude rose uptogether against them: and the magistrates rent their garmentsoff them, and commanded to beat them with rods.
23 And whenthey had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them intoprison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
24 who,having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison,and made their feet fast in the stocks.
25 But aboutmidnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God,and the prisoners were listening to them;
26 and suddenlythere was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of theprison-house were shaken: and immediately all the doors wereopened, and every one's bands were loosed.
27 And thejailor, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doorsopen, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposingthat the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul cried with aloud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 And he called for lights and sprang in, and, tremblingfor fear, fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 and broughtthem out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 Andthey said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved,thou and thy house.
32 And they spake the word of the Lordunto him, with all that were in his house.
33 And he tookthem the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; andwas baptized, he and all his, immediately.
34 And hebrought them up into his house, and set food before them, andrejoiced greatly, with all his house, having believed in God.
35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants,saying, Let those men go.
36 And the jailor reported thewords to Paul, [saying], The magistrates have sent to let yougo: now therefore come forth, and go in peace.
37 But Paulsaid unto them, They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, menthat are Romans, and have cast us into prison; and do they nowcast us out privily? Nay verily; but let them come themselvesand bring us out.
38 And the sergeants reported these wordsunto the magistrates: and they feared when they heard that theywere Romans;
39 and they came and besought them; and whenthey had brought them out, they asked them to go away from thecity.
40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into[the house] of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, theycomforted them, and departed.
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis andApollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue ofthe Jews:
2 and Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them,and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from theScriptures,
3 opening and alleging that it behooved theChrist to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that thisJesus, whom, [said he,] I proclaim unto you, is the Christ.
4 And some of them were persuaded, and consorted with Pauland Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and ofthe chief women not a few.
5 But the Jews, being moved withjealousy, took unto them certain vile fellows of the rabble, andgathering a crowd, set the city on an uproar; and assaulting thehouse of Jason, they sought to bring them forth to the people.
6 And when they found them not, they dragged Jason andcertain brethren before the rulers of the city, crying, Thesethat have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
7 whom Jason hath received: and these all act contrary tothe decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, [one]Jesus.
8 And they troubled the multitude and the rulers ofthe city, when they heard these things.
9 And when they hadtaken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas bynight unto Beroea: who when they were come thither went into thesynagogue of the Jews.
11 Now these were more noble thanthose in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with allreadiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whetherthese things were so.
12 Many of them therefore believed;also of the Greek women of honorable estate, and of men, not afew.
13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledgethat the word of God was proclaimed of Paul at Beroea also, theycame thither likewise, stirring up and troubling the multitudes.
14 And then immediately the brethren sent forth Paul to goas far as to the sea: and Silas and Timothy abode there still.
15 But they that conducted Paul brought him as far asAthens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timothy thatthey should come to him with all speed, they departed.
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit wasprovoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols.
17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with Jews and the devoutpersons, and in the marketplace every day with them that methim.
18 And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoicphilosophers encountered him. And some said, What would thisbabbler say? others, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strangegods: because he preached Jesus and the resurrection.
19 And they took hold of him, and brought him unto the Areopagus,saying, May we know what this new teaching is, which is spokenby thee?
20 For thou bringest certain strange things to ourears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers sojourning there spenttheir time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear somenew thing.)
22 And Paul stood in the midst of theAreopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceivethat ye are very religious.
23 For as I passed along, andobserved the objects of your worship, I found also an altar withthis inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore ye worshipin ignorance, this I set forth unto you.
24 The God thatmade the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heavenand earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25 neither is he served by men's hands, as though he neededanything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, andall things;
26 and he made of one every nation of men todwell on all the face of the earth, having determined [their]appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after himand find him, though he is not far from each one of us:
28 for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certaineven of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to thinkthat the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, gravenby art and device of man.
30 The times of ignorancetherefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that theyshould all everywhere repent:
31 inasmuch as he hathappointed a day in which he will judge the world inrighteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hathgiven assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him fromthe dead.
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of thedead, some mocked; but others said, We will hear thee concerningthis yet again.
33 Thus Paul went out from among them.
34 But certain men clave unto him, and believed: among whomalso was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris,and others with them.
1 After these things he departed from Athens, and cameto Corinth.
2 And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, aman of Pontus by race, lately come from Italy, with his wifePriscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to departfrom Rome: and he came unto them;
3 and because he was ofthe same trade, he abode with them, and they wrought, for bytheir trade they were tentmakers.
4 And he reasoned in thesynagogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks.
5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul wasconstrained by the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus wasthe Christ.
6 And when they opposed themselves andblasphemed, he shook out his raiment and said unto them, Yourblood [be] upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth Iwill go unto the Gentiles.
7 And he departed thence, andwent into the house of a certain man named Titus Justus, onethat worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.
8 And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in theLord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearingbelieved, and were baptized.
9 And the Lord said unto Paulin the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak and hold notthy peace:
10 for I am with thee, and no man shall set onthee to harm thee: for I have much people in this city.
11 And he dwelt [there] a year and six months, teaching the word ofGod among them.
12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia,the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought himbefore the judgment-seat,
13 saying, This man persuadethmen to worship God contrary to the law.
14 But when Paulwas about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, Ifindeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked villany, O yeJews, reason would that I should bear with you:
15 but ifthey are questions about words and names and your own law, lookto it yourselves; I am not minded to be a judge of thesematters.
16 And he drove them from the judgment-seat.
17 And they all laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of thesynagogue, and beat him before the judgment-seat. And Galliocared for none of these things.
18 And Paul, having tarriedafter this yet many days, took his leave of the brethren, andsailed thence for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila:having shorn his head in Cenchreae; for he had a vow.
19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there: but he himselfentered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.
20 And when they asked him to abide a longer time, he consentednot;
21 but taking his leave of them, and saying, I willreturn again unto you if God will, he set sail from Ephesus.
22 And when he had landed at Caesarea, he went up andsaluted the church, and went down to Antioch.
23 And havingspent some time [there], he departed, and went through theregion of Galatia, and Phrygia, in order, establishing all thedisciples.
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, anAlexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and hewas mighty in the scriptures.
25 This man had beeninstructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit,he spake and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus,knowing only the baptism of John:
26 and he began to speakboldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heardhim, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way ofGod more accurately.
27 And when he was minded to pass overinto Achaia, the brethren encouraged him, and wrote to thedisciples to receive him: and when he was come, he helped themmuch that had believed through grace;
28 for he powerfullyconfuted the Jews, [and that] publicly, showing by thescriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was atCorinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came toEphesus, and found certain disciples:
2 and he said untothem, Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they[said] unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether theHoly Spirit was [given].
3 And he said, Into what then wereye baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism.
4 And Paulsaid, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying untothe people that they should believe on him that should comeafter him, that is, on Jesus.
5 And when they heard this,they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 Andwhen Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came onthem; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
7 Andthey were in all about twelve men.
8 And he entered intothe synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months,reasoning and persuading [as to] the things concerning thekingdom of God.
9 But when some were hardened anddisobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, hedeparted from them, and separated the disciples, reasoning dailyin the school of Tyrannus.
10 And this continued for thespace of two years; so that all they that dwelt in Asia heardthe word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
11 And Godwrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 insomuchthat unto the sick were carried away from his body handkerchiefsor aprons, and the evil spirits went out.
13 But certainalso of the strolling Jews, exorcists, took upon them to nameover them that had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus,saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 Andthere were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, whodid this.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said untothem, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?
16 Andthe man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and masteredboth of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled outof that house naked and wounded.
17 And this became knownto all, both Jews and Greeks, that dwelt at Ephesus; and fearfell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus wasmagnified.
18 Many also of them that had believed came,confessing, and declaring their deeds.
19 And not a few ofthem that practised magical arts brought their books togetherand burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the priceof them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed.
21 Nowafter these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, whenhe had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem,saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
22 And having sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered untohim, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
23 And about that time there arose no small stir concerningthe Way.
24 For a certain man named Demetrius, asilversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no littlebusiness unto the craftsmen;
25 whom he gathered together,with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye knowthat by this business we have our wealth.
26 And ye see andhear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia,this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, sayingthat they are no gods, that are made with hands:
27 and notonly is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute;but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana be made ofno account, and that she should even be deposed from hermagnificence whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
28 And when they heard this they were filled with wrath, and criedout, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesus.
29 And the citywas filled with the confusion: and they rushed with one accordinto the theatre, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men ofMacedonia, Paul's companions in travel.
30 And when Paulwas minded to enter in unto the people, the disciples sufferedhim not.
31 And certain also of the Asiarchs, being hisfriends, sent unto him and besought him not to adventure himselfinto the theatre.
32 Some therefore cried one thing, andsome another: for the assembly was in confusion; and the morepart knew not wherefore they were come together.
33 Andthey brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews puttinghim forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and wouldhave made a defense unto the people.
34 But when theyperceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the spaceof two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
35 And when the townclerk had quieted the multitude, he saith, Yemen of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not that the cityof the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the[image] which fell down from Jupiter?
36 Seeing then thatthese things cannot be gainsaid, ye ought to be quiet, and to donothing rash.
37 For ye have brought [hither] these men,who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of ourgoddess.
38 If therefore Demetrius, and the craftsmen thatare with him, have a matter against any man, the courts areopen, and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another.
39 But if ye seek anything about other matters, it shall besettled in the regular assembly.
40 For indeed we are indanger to be accused concerning this day's riot, there being nocause [for it]: and as touching it we shall not be able to giveaccount of this concourse.
41 And when he had thus spoken,he dismissed the assembly.
1 And after the uproar ceased, Paul having sent for thedisciples and exhorted them, took leave of them, and departed togo into Macedonia.
2 And when he had gone through thoseparts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece.
3 And when he had spent three months [there,] and a plotwas laid against him by Jews as he was about to set sail forSyria, he determined to return through Macedonia.
4 Andthere accompanied him as far as Asia, Sopater of Beroea, [theson] of Pyrrhus; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus andSecundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicusand Trophimus.
5 But these had gone before, and werewaiting for us at Troas.
6 And we sailed away from Philippiafter the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troasin five days, where we tarried seven days.
7 And upon thefirst day of the week, when we were gathered together to breakbread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on themorrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight.
8 Andthere were many lights in the upper chamber where we weregathered together.
9 And there sat in the window a certainyoung man named Eutychus, borne down with deep sleep; and asPaul discoursed yet longer, being borne down by his sleep hefell down from the third story, and was taken up dead.
10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said,Make ye no ado; for his life is in him.
11 And when he wasgone up, and had broken the bread, and eaten, and had talkedwith them a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.
12 And they brought the lad alive, and were not a littlecomforted.
13 But we going before to the ship set sail forAssos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed,intending himself to go by land.
14 And when he met us atAssos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene.
15 And sailingfrom thence, we came the following day over against Chios; andthe next day we touched at Samos; and the day after we came toMiletus.
16 For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus,that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he washastening, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem theday of Pentecost.
17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus,and called to him the elders of the church.
18 And whenthey were come to him, he said unto them, Ye yourselves know,from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what manner Iwas with you all the time,
19 serving the Lord with alllowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befellme by the plots of the Jews;
20 how I shrank not fromdeclaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teachingyou publicly, and from house to house,
21 testifying bothto Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith towardour Lord Jesus Christ.
22 And now, behold, I go bound inthe spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shallbefall me there:
23 save that the Holy Spirit testifiethunto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abideme.
24 But I hold not my life of any account as dear untomyself, so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministrywhich I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel ofthe grace of God.
25 And now, behold, I know that ye all,among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, shall see my faceno more.
26 Wherefore I testify unto you this day, that Iam pure from the blood of all men.
27 For I shrank not fromdeclaring unto you the whole counsel of God.
28 Take heedunto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirithath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which hepurchased with his own blood.
29 I know that after mydeparting grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparingthe flock;
30 and from among your own selves shall menarise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciplesafter them.
31 Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by thespace of three years I ceased not to admonish every one nightand day with tears.
32 And now I commend you to God, and tothe word of his grace, which is able to build [you] up, and togive [you] the inheritance among all them that are sanctified.
33 I coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
34 Ye yourselves know that these hands ministered unto mynecessities, and to them that were with me.
35 In allthings I gave you an example, that so laboring ye ought to helpthe weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that hehimself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
36 And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayedwith them all.
37 And they all wept sore, and fell onPaul's neck and kissed him,
38 sorrowing most of all forthe word which he had spoken, that they should behold his faceno more. And they brought him on his way unto the ship.
1 And when it came to pass that were parted from themand had set sail, we came with a straight course unto Cos, andthe next day unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara:
2 and having found a ship crossing over unto Phoenicia, we wentaboard, and set sail.
3 And when we had come in sight ofCyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed unto Syria, andlanded at Tyre; for there the ship was to unlade her burden.
4 And having found the disciples, we tarried there sevendays: and these said to Paul through the Spirit, that he shouldnot set foot in Jerusalem.
5 And when it came to pass thatwe had accomplished the days, we departed and went on ourjourney; and they all, with wives and children, brought us onour way till we were out of the city: and kneeling down on thebeach, we prayed, and bade each other farewell;
6 and wewent on board the ship, but they returned home again.
7 Andwhen we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived atPtolemais; and we saluted the brethren, and abode with them oneday.
8 And on the morrow we departed, and came untoCaesarea: and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist,who was one of the seven, we abode with him.
9 Now this manhad four virgin daughters, who prophesied.
10 And as wetarried there some days, there came down from Judaea a certainprophet, named Agabus.
11 And coming to us, and takingPaul's girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thussaith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind theman that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into thehands of the Gentiles.
12 And when we heard these things,both we and they of that place besought him not to go up toJerusalem.
13 Then Paul answered, What do ye, weeping andbreaking my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but alsoto die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
14 Andwhen he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will ofthe Lord be done.
15 And after these days we took up ourbaggage and went up to Jerusalem.
16 And there went with usalso [certain] of the disciples from Caesarea, bringing [withthem] one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom weshould lodge.
17 And when we were come to Jerusalem, thebrethren received us gladly.
18 And the day following Paulwent in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
19 And when he had saluted them, he rehearsed one by onethe things which God had wrought among the Gentiles through hisministry.
20 And they, when they heard it, glorified God;and they said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousandsthere are among the Jews of them that have believed; and theyare all zealous for the law:
21 and they have been informedconcerning thee, that thou teachest all the Jews who are amongthe Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcisetheir children neither to walk after the customs.
22 Whatis it therefore? They will certainly hear that thou art come.
23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four menthat have a vow on them;
24 these take, and purify thyselfwith them, and be at charges for them, that they may shave theirheads: and all shall know that there is no truth in the thingswhereof they have been informed concerning thee; but that thouthyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law.
25 But astouching the Gentiles that have believed, we wrote, givingjudgment that they should keep themselves from things sacrificedto idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and fromfornication.
26 Then Paul took the men, and the next daypurifying himself with them went into the temple, declaring thefulfilment of the days of purification, until the offering wasoffered for every one of them.
27 And when the seven dayswere almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him inthe temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him,
28 crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man thatteacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, andthis place; and moreover he brought Greeks also into the temple,and hath defiled this holy place.
29 For they had beforeseen with him in the city Trophimus the Ephesian, whom theysupposed that Paul had brought into the temple.
30 And allthe city was moved, and the people ran together; and they laidhold on Paul, and dragged him out of the temple: and straightwaythe doors were shut.
31 And as they were seeking to killhim, tidings came up to the chief captain of the band, that allJerusalem was in confusion.
32 And forthwith he tooksoldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them: and they, whenthey saw the chief captain and the soldiers, left off beatingPaul.
33 Then the chief captain came near, and laid hold onhim, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquiredwho he was, and what he had done.
34 And some shouted onething, some another, among the crowd: and when he could not knowthe certainty for the uproar, he commanded him to be broughtinto the castle.
35 And when he came upon the stairs, so itwas that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of thecrowd;
36 for the multitude of the people followed after,crying out, Away with him.
37 And as Paul was about to bebrought into the castle, he saith unto the chief captain, May Isay something unto thee? And he said, Dost thou know Greek?
38 Art thou not then the Egyptian, who before these daysstirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the fourthousand men of the Assassins?
39 But Paul said, I am aJew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and Ibeseech thee, give me leave to speak unto the people.
40 And when he had given him leave, Paul, standing on the stairs,beckoned with the hand unto the people; and when there was madea great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew language,saying,
1 Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which I nowmake unto you.
2 And when they heard that he spake untothem in the Hebrew language, they were the more quiet: and hesaith,
3 I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but broughtup in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed accordingto the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealousfor God, even as ye all are this day:
4 and I persecutedthis Way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisonsboth men and women.
5 As also the high priest doth bear mewitness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also Ireceived letters unto the brethren, and journeyed to Damascus tobring them also that were there unto Jerusalem in bonds to bepunished.
6 And it came to pass, that, as I made myjourney, and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly thereshone from heaven a great light round about me.
7 And Ifell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul,Saul, why persecutest thou me?
8 And I answered, Who artthou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whomthou persecutest.
9 And they that were with me beheldindeed the light, but they heard not the voice of him that spaketo me.
10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lordsaid unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall betold thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
11 And when I could not see for the glory of that light,being led by the hand of them that were with me I came intoDamascus.
12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to thelaw, well reported of by all the Jews that dwelt there,
13 came unto me, and standing by me said unto me, Brother Saul,receive thy sight. And in that very hour I looked up on him.
14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath appointed theeto know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear avoice from his mouth.
15 For thou shalt be a witness forhim unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
16 Andnow why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thysins, calling on his name.
17 And it came to pass, that,when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in thetemple, I fell into a trance,
18 and saw him saying untome, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem; becausethey will not receive of thee testimony concerning me.
19 And I said, Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned andbeat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
20 andwhen the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also wasstanding by, and consenting, and keeping the garments of themthat slew him.
21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I willsend thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles.
22 And theygave him audience unto this word; and they lifted up theirvoice, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for itis not fit that he should live.
23 And as they cried out,and threw off their garments, and cast dust into the air,
24 the chief captain commanded him be brought into thecastle, bidding that he should be examined by scourging, that hemight know for what cause they so shouted against him.
25 And when they had tied him up with the thongs, Paul said untothe centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge aman that is a Roman, and uncondemned?
26 And when thecenturion heard it, he went to the chief captain and told him,saying, What art thou about to do? for this man is a Roman.
27 And the chief captain came and said unto him, Tell me,art thou a Roman? And he said, Yea.
28 And the chiefcaptain answered, With a great sum obtained I this citizenship.And Paul said, But I am [a Roman] born.
29 They then thatwere about to examine him straightway departed from him: and thechief captain also was afraid when he knew that he was a Roman,and because he had bound him.
30 But on the morrow,desiring to know the certainty wherefore he was accused of theJews, he loosed him, and commanded the chief priests and all thecouncil to come together, and brought Paul down and set himbefore them.
1 And Paul, looking stedfastly on the council, said,Brethren, I have lived before God in all good conscience untilthis day.
2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them thatstood by him to smite him on the mouth.
3 Then said Paulunto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: and sittestthou to judge me according to the law, and commandest me to besmitten contrary to the law?
4 And they that stood by said,Revilest thou God's high priest?
5 And Paul said, I knewnot, brethren, that he was high priest: for it is written, Thoushalt not speak evil of a ruler of thy people.
6 But whenPaul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the otherPharisees, he cried out in the council, Brethren, I am aPharisee, a son of Pharisees: touching the hope and resurrectionof the dead I am called in question.
7 And when he had sosaid, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees andSadducees; and the assembly was divided.
8 For theSadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, norspirit; but the Pharisees confess both.
9 And there arose agreat clamor: and some of the scribes of the Pharisees partstood up, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: andwhat if a spirit hath spoken to him, or an angel?
10 Andwhen there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearinglest Paul should be torn in pieces by them, commanded thesoldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, andbring him into the castle.
11 And the night following theLord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer: for as thou hasttestified concerning me at Jerusalem, so must thou bear witnessalso at Rome.
12 And when it was day, the Jews bandedtogether, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that theywould neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
13 And they were more than forty that made this conspiracy.
14 And they came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, Wehave bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing untilwe have killed Paul.
15 Now therefore do ye with thecouncil signify to the chief captain that he bring him down untoyou, as though ye would judge of his case more exactly: and we,before he comes near, are ready to slay him.
16 But Paul'ssister's son heard of their lying in wait, and he came andentered into the castle and told Paul.
17 And Paul calledunto him one of the centurions, and said, Bring this young manunto the chief captain; for he hath something to tell him.
18 So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain,and saith, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and asked me tobring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say tothee.
19 And the chief captain took him by the hand, andgoing aside asked him privately, What is it that thou hast totell me?
20 And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask theeto bring down Paul tomorrow unto the council, as though thouwouldest inquire somewhat more exactly concerning him.
21 Do not thou therefore yield unto them: for there lie in wait forhim of them more than forty men, who have bound themselves undera curse, neither to eat nor to drink till they have slain him:and now are they ready, looking for the promise from thee.
22 So the chief captain let the young man go, charging him,Tell no man that thou hast signified these things to me.
23 And he called unto him two of the centurions, and said, Makeready two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea, andhorsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at thethird hour of the night:
24 and [he bade them] providebeasts, that they might set Paul thereon, and bring him safeunto Felix the governor.
25 And he wrote a letter afterthis form:
26 Claudius Lysias unto the most excellentgovernor Felix, greeting.
27 This man was seized by theJews, and was about to be slain of them, when I came upon themwith the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was aRoman.
28 And desiring to know the cause wherefore theyaccused him, I brought him down unto their council:
29 whomI found to be accused about questions of their law, but to havenothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
30 And when it was shown to me that there would be a plot againstthe man, I sent him to thee forthwith, charging his accusersalso to speak against him before thee.
31 So the soldiers,as it was commanded them, took Paul and brought him by night toAntipatris.
32 But on the morrow they left the horsemen togo with him, and returned to the castle:
33 and they, whenthey came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor,presented Paul also before him.
34 And when he had read it,he asked of what province he was; and when he understood that hewas of Cilicia,
35 I will hear thee fully, said he, whenthine accusers also are come: and he commanded him to be kept inHerod's palace.
1 And after five days the high priest Ananias came downwith certain elders, and [with] an orator, one Tertullus; andthey informed the governor against Paul.
2 And when he wascalled, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, Seeing that bythee we enjoy much peace, and that by the providence evils arecorrected for this nation,
3 we accept it in all ways andin all places, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.
4 But, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I entreatthee to hear us of thy clemency a few words.
5 For we havefound this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrectionsamong all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of thesect of the Nazarenes:
6 who moreover assayed to profanethe temple: on whom also we laid hold: [and we would have judgedhim according to our law.]
7 [But the chief captain Lysiascame, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,]
8 [commanding his accusers to come before thee.] from whomthou wilt be able, by examining him thyself, to take knowledgeof all these things whereof we accuse him.
9 And the Jewsalso joined in the charge, affirming that these things were so.
10 And when the governor had beckoned unto him to speak,Paul answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of manyyears a judge unto this nation, I cheerfully make my defense:
11 Seeing that thou canst take knowledge that it is notmore than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem:
12 and neither in the temple did they find me disputingwith any man or stirring up a crowd, nor in the synagogues, norin the city.
13 Neither can they prove to thee the thingswhereof they now accuse me.
14 But this I confess untothee, that after the Way which they call a sect, so serve I theGod of our fathers, believing all things which are according tothe law, and which are written in the prophets;
15 havinghope toward God, which these also themselves look for, thatthere shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust.
16 Herein I also exercise myself to have a conscience voidof offence toward God and men always.
17 Now after someyears I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings:
18 amidst which they found me purified in the temple, with nocrowd, nor yet with tumult: but [there were] certain Jews fromAsia--
19 who ought to have been here before thee, and tomake accusation, if they had aught against me.
20 Or elselet these men themselves say what wrong-doing they found when Istood before the council,
21 except it be for this onevoice, that I cried standing among them, Touching theresurrection of the dead I am called in question before you thisday.
22 But Felix, having more exact knowledge concerningthe Way, deferred them, saying, When Lysias the chief captainshall come down, I will determine your matter.
23 And hegave order to the centurion that he should be kept in charge,and should have indulgence; and not to forbid any of his friendsto minister unto him.
24 But after certain days, Felix camewith Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul,and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus.
25 Andas he reasoned of righteousness, and self-control, and thejudgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, Go thy wayfor this time; and when I have a convenient season, I will callthee unto me.
26 He hoped withal that money would be givenhim of Paul: wherefore also he sent for him the oftener, andcommuned with him.
27 But when two years were fulfilled,Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and desiring to gainfavor with the Jews, Felix left Paul in bonds.
1 Festus therefore, having come into the province, afterthree days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.
2 And thechief priests and the principal men of the Jews informed himagainst Paul; and they besought him,
3 asking a favoragainst him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem; laying aplot to kill him on the way.
4 Howbeit Festus answered,that Paul was kept in charge at Caesarea, and that he himselfwas about to depart [thither] shortly.
5 Let themtherefore, saith he, that are of power among you go down withme, and if there is anything amiss in the man, let them accusehim.
6 And when he had tarried among them not more thaneight or ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and on the morrowhe sat on the judgment-seat, and commanded Paul to be brought.
7 And when he was come, the Jews that had come down fromJerusalem stood round about him, bringing against him many andgrievous charges which they could not prove;
8 while Paulsaid in his defense, Neither against the law of the Jews, noragainst the temple, nor against Caesar, have I sinned at all.
9 But Festus, desiring to gain favor with the Jews,answered Paul and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and therebe judged of these things before me?
10 But Paul said, I amstanding before Caesar's judgment-seat, where I ought to bejudged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou also very wellknowest.
11 If then I am a wrong-doer, and have committedanything worthy of death, I refuse not to die; but if none ofthose things is [true] whereof these accuse me, no man can giveme up unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.
12 Then Festus, whenhe had conferred with the council, answered, Thou hast appealedunto Caesar: unto Caesar shalt thou go.
13 Now when certaindays were passed, Agrippa the King and Bernice arrived atCaesarea, and saluted Festus.
14 And as they tarried theremany days, Festus laid Paul's case before the King, saying,There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix;
15 aboutwhom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the eldersof the Jews informed [me], asking for sentence against him.
16 To whom I answered, that it is not the custom of theRomans to give up any man, before that the accused have theaccusers face to face, and have had opportunity to make hisdefense concerning the matter laid against him.
17 Whentherefore they were come together here, I made no delay, but onthe next day sat on the judgment-seat, and commanded the man tobe brought.
18 Concerning whom, when the accusers stood up,they brought no charge of such evil things as I supposed;
19 but had certain questions against him of their ownreligion, and of one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed tobe alive.
20 And I, being perplexed how to inquireconcerning these things, asked whether he would go to Jerusalemand there be judged of these matters.
21 But when Paul hadappealed to be kept for the decision of the emperor, I commandedhim to be kept till I should send him to Caesar.
22 AndAgrippa [said] unto Festus, I also could wish to hear the manmyself. To-morrow, saith he, thou shalt hear him.
23 So onthe morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp,and they were entered into the place of hearing with the chiefcaptains and principal men of the city, at the command of FestusPaul was brought in.
24 And Festus saith, King Agrippa, andall men who are here present with us, ye behold this man, aboutwhom all the multitude of the Jews made suit to me, both atJerusalem and here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.
25 But I found that he had committed nothing worthy ofdeath: and as he himself appealed to the emperor I determined tosend him.
26 Of whom I have no certain thing to write untomy lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, andspecially before thee, king Agrippa, that, after examinationhad, I may have somewhat to write.
27 For it seemeth to meunreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not withal to signify thecharges against him.
1 And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted tospeak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand, and madehis defence:
2 I think myself happy, king Agrippa, that Iam to make my defense before thee this day touching all thethings whereof I am accused by the Jews:
3 especiallybecause thou art expert in all customs and questions which areamong the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.
4 My manner of life then from my youth up, which was fromthe beginning among mine own nation and at Jerusalem, know allthe Jews;
5 having knowledge of me from the first, if theybe willing to testify, that after the straitest sect of ourreligion I lived a Pharisee.
6 And now I stand [here] to bejudged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers;
7 unto which [promise] our twelve tribes, earnestly serving[God] night and day, hope to attain. And concerning this hope Iam accused by the Jews, O king!
8 Why is it judgedincredible with you, if God doth raise the dead?
9 I verilythought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary tothe name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 And this I also did inJerusalem: and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons,having received authority from the chief priests, and when theywere put to death I gave my vote against them.
11 Andpunishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, I strove tomake them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, Ipersecuted them even unto foreign cities.
12 Whereupon as Ijourneyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of thechief priests,
13 at midday, O king, I saw on the way alight from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shininground about me and them that journeyed with me.
14 And whenwe were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto mein the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? itis hard for thee to kick against the goad.
15 And I said,Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thoupersecutest.
16 But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for tothis end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a ministerand a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, andof the things wherein I will appear unto thee;
17 delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, untowhom I send thee,
18 to open their eyes, that they may turnfrom darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God,that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance amongthem that are sanctified by faith in me.
19 Wherefore, Oking Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
20 but declared both to them of Damascus first and atJerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judaea, and also tothe Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doingworks worthy of repentance.
21 For this cause the Jewsseized me in the temple, and assayed to kill me.
22 Havingtherefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto thisday testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but whatthe prophets and Moses did say should come;
23 how that theChrist must suffer, [and] how that he first by the resurrectionof the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to theGentiles.
24 And as he thus made his defense, Festus saithwith a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning isturning thee mad.
25 But Paul saith, I am not mad, mostexcellent Festus; but speak forth words of truth and soberness.
26 For the king knoweth of these things, unto whom also Ispeak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things ishidden from him; for this hath not been done in a corner.
27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know thatthou believest.
28 And Agrippa [said] unto Paul, With butlittle persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian.
29 And Paul [said], I would to God, that whether withlittle or with much, not thou only, but also all that hear methis day, might become such as I am, except these bonds.
30 And the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and theythat sat with them:
31 and when they had withdrawn, theyspake one to another, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy ofdeath or of bonds.
32 And Agrippa said unto Festus, Thisman might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed untoCaesar.
1 And when it was determined that we should sail forItaly, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to acenturion named Julius, of the Augustan band.
2 Andembarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail untothe places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea, Aristarchus, aMacedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
3 And the nextday we touched at Sidon: and Julius treated Paul kindly, andgave him leave to go unto his friends and refresh himself.
4 And putting to sea from thence, we sailed under the leeof Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.
5 And when wehad sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, wecame to Myra, [a city] of Lycia.
6 And there the centurionfound a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy; and he put ustherein.
7 And when we had sailed slowly many days, andwere come with difficulty over against Cnidus, the wind notfurther suffering us, we sailed under the lee of Crete, overagainst Salmone;
8 and with difficulty coasting along it wecame unto a certain place called Fair Havens; nigh whereunto wasthe city of Lasea.
9 And when much time was spent, and thevoyage was now dangerous, because the Fast was now already goneby, Paul admonished them,
10 and said unto them, Sirs, Iperceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, notonly of the lading and the ship, but also of our lives.
11 But the centurion gave more heed to the master and to the ownerof the ship, than to those things which were spoken by Paul.
12 And because the haven was not commodious to winter in,the more part advised to put to sea from thence, if by any meansthey could reach Phoenix, and winter [there; which is] a havenof Crete, looking northeast and south-east.
13 And when thesouth wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained theirpurpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close inshore.
14 But after no long time there beat down from it atempestuous wind, which is called Euraquilo:
15 and whenthe ship was caught, and could not face the wind, we gave way[to it,] and were driven.
16 And running under the lee of asmall island called Cauda, we were able, with difficulty, tosecure the boat:
17 and when they had hoisted it up, theyused helps, under-girding the ship; and, fearing lest theyshould be cast upon the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and sowere driven.
18 And as we labored exceedingly with thestorm, the next day they began to throw the [the freight]overboard;
19 and the third day they cast out with theirown hands the tackling of the ship.
20 And when neither sunnor stars shone upon [us] for many days, and no small tempestlay on [us,] all hope that we should be saved was now takenaway.
21 And when they had been long without food, thenPaul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye shouldhave hearkened unto me, and not have set sail from Crete, andhave gotten this injury and loss.
22 And now I exhort youto be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of life amongyou, but [only] of the ship.
23 For there stood by me thisnight an angel of the God whose I am, whom also I serve,
24 saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must stand before Caesar: and lo,God hath granted thee all them that sail with thee.
25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that itshall be even so as it hath been spoken unto me.
26 But wemust be cast upon a certain island.
27 But when thefourteenth night was come, as we were driven to and fro in the[sea of] Adria, about midnight the sailors surmised that theywere drawing near to some country:
28 and they sounded, andfound twenty fathoms; and after a little space, they soundedagain, and found fifteen fathoms.
29 And fearing lest haplywe should be cast ashore on rocky ground, they let go fouranchors from the stern, and wished for the day.
30 And asthe sailors were seeking to flee out of the ship, and hadlowered the boat into the sea, under color as though they wouldlay out anchors from the foreship,
31 Paul said to thecenturion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship,ye cannot be saved.
32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropesof the boat, and let her fall off.
33 And while the day wascoming on, Paul besought them all to take some food, saying,This day is the fourteenth day that ye wait and continuefasting, having taken nothing.
34 Wherefore I beseech youto take some food: for this is for your safety: for there shallnot a hair perish from the head of any of you.
35 And whenhe had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God inthe presence of all; and he brake it, and began to eat.
36 Then were they all of good cheer, and themselves also took food.
37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescoreand sixteen souls.
38 And when they had eaten enough, theylightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
39 And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they perceiveda certain bay with a beach, and they took counsel whether theycould drive the ship upon it.
40 And casting off theanchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosing thebands of the rudders; and hoisting up the foresail to the wind,they made for the beach.
41 But lighting upon a place wheretwo seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the foreshipstruck and remained unmoveable, but the stern began to break upby the violence [of the waves].
42 And the soldiers'counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any [of them] shouldswim out, and escape.
43 But the centurion, desiring tosave Paul, stayed them from their purpose; and commanded thatthey who could swim should cast themselves overboard, and getfirst to the land;
44 and the rest, some on planks, andsome on [other] things from the ship. And so it came to pass,that they all escaped safe to the land.
1 And when we were escaped, then we knew that the islandwas called Melita.
2 And the barbarians showed us no commonkindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us all, becauseof the present rain, and because of the cold.
3 But whenPaul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire,a viper came out by reason of the heat, and fastened on hishand.
4 And when the barbarians saw the [venomous] creaturehanging from his hand, they said one to another, No doubt thisman is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped from the sea,yet Justice hath not suffered to live.
5 Howbeit he shookoff the creature into the fire, and took no harm.
6 Butthey expected that he would have swollen, or fallen down deadsuddenly: but when they were long in expectation and beheldnothing amiss came to him, they changed their minds, and saidthat he was a god.
7 Now in the neighborhood of that placewere lands belonging to the chief man of the island, namedPublius, who received us, and entertained us three dayscourteously.
8 And it was so, that the father of Publiuslay sick of fever and dysentery: unto whom Paul entered in, andprayed, and laying his hands on him healed him.
9 And whenthis was done, the rest also that had diseases in the islandcame, and were cured:
10 who also honored us with manyhonors; and when we sailed, they put on board such things as weneeded.
11 And after three months we set sail in a ship ofAlexandria which had wintered in the island, whose sign was TheTwin Brothers.
12 And touching at Syracuse, we tarriedthere three days.
13 And from thence we made a circuit, andarrived at Rhegium: and after one day a south wind sprang up,and on the second day we came to Puteoli;
14 where we foundbrethren, and were entreated to tarry with them seven days: andso we came to Rome.
15 And from thence the brethren, whenthey heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appiusand The Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, andtook courage.
16 And when we entered into Rome, Paul wassuffered to abide by himself with the soldier that guarded him.
17 And it came to pass, that after three days he calledtogether those that were the chief of the Jews: and when theywere come together, he said unto them, I, brethren, though I haddone nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers,yet was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of theRomans:
18 who, when they had examined me, desired to setme at liberty, because there was no cause of death in me.
19 But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained toappeal unto Caesar; not that I had aught whereof to accuse mynation.
20 For this cause therefore did I entreat you tosee and to speak with [me]: for because of the hope of Israel Iam bound with this chain.
21 And they said unto him, Weneither received letters from Judaea concerning thee, nor didany of the brethren come hither and report or speak any harm ofthee.
22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest:for as concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhereit is spoken against.
23 And when they had appointed him aday, they came to him into his lodging in great number; to whomhe expounded [the matter,] testifying the kingdom of God, andpersuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses andfrom the prophets, from morning till evening.
24 And somebelieved the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.
25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departedafter that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Spiritthrough Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers,
26 saying,Go thou unto this people, and say,By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand;And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:
27 For this people's heart is waxed gross,And their ears are dull of hearing,And their eyes they have closed;Lest, haply they should perceive with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart,And should turn again,And I should heal them.
28 Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvationof God is sent unto the Gentiles: they will also hear.
29 [And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, havingmuch disputing among themselves.]
30 And he abode two wholeyears in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went inunto him,
31 preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching thethings concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, noneforbidding him.
Old Testament
New Testament