^4:1And while they were talking to the people, the priests and the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees came up to them, ^4:2Being greatly troubled because they were teaching the people and preaching Jesus as an example of the coming back from the dead. ^4:3And they took them and put them in prison till the morning, for it was now evening. ^4:4But a number of those who gave hearing to the word had faith; and they were now about five thousand. ^4:5And on the day after, the rulers and those in authority and the scribes came together in Jerusalem; ^4:6And Annas, the high priest, was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all the relations of the high priest. ^4:7Then sending for Peter and John, they said, By what power and in whose name have you done this? ^4:8Then Peter, being full of the Holy Spirit, said to them, O you rulers of the people and men of authority, ^4:9If we are questioned today about a good work done to a man who was ill, as to how he has been made well, ^4:10Take note, all of you, and all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you put to death on the cross, whom God gave back from the dead, even through him is this man now before you completely well. ^4:11He is the stone which you builders had no use for, but which has been made the chief stone of the building. ^4:12And in no other is there salvation: for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, through which we may have salvation. ^4:13Now when they saw that Peter and John were without fear, though they were men of no education or learning, they were greatly surprised; and they took note of them that they had been with Jesus. ^4:14And, seeing that the man who had been made well was there with them, they were not able to say anything against it. ^4:15But when they had given them orders to go out of the Sanhedrin, they had a discussion among themselves, ^4:16Saying, What are we to do with these men? for certainly it is clear to all who are living in Jerusalem that a most important sign has been done by them, and it is not possible to say that it is not so. ^4:17But so that it may not go farther among the people, let us put them in fear of punishment if they say anything in future in this name. ^4:18And they sent for them, and gave them orders not to make statements or give teaching in the name of Jesus. ^4:19But Peter and John in answer said to them, It is for you to say if it is right in the eyes of God to give attention to you more than to God: ^4:20For it is not possible for us to keep from saying what we have seen and have knowledge of. ^4:21And when they had said more sharp words to them, they let them go, not seeing what punishment they might give them, because of the people; for all men were giving praise to God for what had taken place. ^4:22For the man on whom this act of power was done was more than forty years old. ^4:23And when they had been made free, they came back to their friends, and gave an account of all the things which the chief priests and the authorities had said to them. ^4:24And hearing it, they all, with one mind, made prayer to God and said, O Lord, maker of heaven and earth and the sea and all things in them: ^4:25Who has said, by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David your servant, Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish? ^4:26The kings of the earth were lifted up, the rulers came together, against the Lord, and against his Christ: ^4:27For, truly, in this town, against your holy servant, Jesus, who was marked out by you as Christ, Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, came together, ^4:28To do that which had been fixed before by your hand and your purpose. ^4:29And now, Lord, take note of their cruel words, and give your servants power to be preachers of your word without fear, ^4:30While your hand is stretched out to do works of mercy; so that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus. ^4:31And when their prayer was ended, the place where they were was violently moved, and they all became full of the Holy Spirit, preaching the word of God without fear. ^4:32And all those who were of the faith were one in heart and soul: and not one of them said that any of the things which he had was his property only; but they had all things in common. ^4:33And with great power the Apostles gave witness of the coming back of the Lord Jesus from the dead; and grace was on them all. ^4:34And no one among them was in need; for everyone who had land or houses, exchanging them for money, took the price of them, ^4:35And put it at the feet of the Apostles for distribution to everyone as he had need. ^4:36And Joseph, who was given by the Apostles the name of Barnabas (the sense of which is, Son of comfort), a Levite and a man of Cyprus by birth, ^4:37Having a field, got money for it and put the money at the feet of the Apostles.

^5:1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, got money for his property, ^5:2And kept back part of the price, his wife having knowledge of it, and took the rest and put it at the feet of the Apostles. ^5:3But Peter said, Ananias, why has the Evil One put it into your heart to be false to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? ^5:4While you had it, was it not your property? and after you had given it in exchange, was it not still in your power? how has this purpose come into your mind? you have been false, not to men, but to God. ^5:5And at these words, Ananias went down on the earth, and his life went from him: and great fear came on all who were present. ^5:6And the young men went and made ready his body, and took it out, and put it in the earth. ^5:7And about three hours after, his wife, having no knowledge of what had taken place, came in. ^5:8And Peter said to her, Give me an answer: was this amount of money the price of the land? And she said, Yes, it was. ^5:9But Peter said to her, Why have you made an agreement together to be false to the Spirit of the Lord? See, the feet of the young men who have put the body of your husband in the earth, are at the door, and they will take you out. ^5:10And straight away she went down at his feet, and her life went from her: and the young men came in and saw her dead, and they took her out and put her in the earth with her husband. ^5:11Then great fear came on all the church and on all who had knowledge of these things. ^5:12Now a number of signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the Apostles; and they were all together in Solomon's covered way. ^5:13The others, in fear, kept back from joining them: but the people made much of them; ^5:14And a great number of men and women had faith, and were joined to the Lord; ^5:15And they even took into the streets people who were ill, and put them on beds, so that when Peter went by, some of them might be in his shade. ^5:16And numbers of people came together from the towns round about Jerusalem, with those who were ill and those who were troubled with unclean spirits: and they were all made well. ^5:17But the high priest and those who were with him (the Sadducees) were full of envy, ^5:18And they took the Apostles and put them in the common prison. ^5:19But in the night an angel of the Lord, opening the doors of the prison, took them out and said, ^5:20Go, take your place in the Temple and give the people all the teaching about this Life. ^5:21And hearing this, they went into the Temple at dawn, and were teaching. But the high priest and those who were with him got together the Sanhedrin and the representatives of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to get them. ^5:22But the men who were sent saw that they were not in the prison, and came back with the news, ^5:23Saying, The doors of the prison were safely shut, and the keepers were at the doors, but when they were open, there was nobody inside. ^5:24Now, at these words, the captain of the Temple and the chief priests were greatly troubled about what might be the end of this business. ^5:25And someone came and said to them, The men, whom you put in prison, are in the Temple teaching the people. ^5:26Then the captain and some of the police went and took them, but not violently, for fear that they might be stoned by the people. ^5:27And they took them into the Sanhedrin, and the high priest said to them, ^5:28We gave you very clear orders not to give teaching in this name: and now Jerusalem is full of your teaching, and you are attempting to make us responsible for this man's death. ^5:29But Peter and the Apostles, answering, said, We have to do the orders of God, not of man. ^5:30The God of our fathers gave Jesus back to life, whom you had put to death, hanging him on a tree. ^5:31Him God has put on high at his right hand, as a Ruler and a Saviour, to give to Israel a change of heart and forgiveness of sins. ^5:32And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep his laws. ^5:33But when these words came to their ears, they were cut to the heart, and had a mind to put them to death. ^5:34But one of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a man of learning in the law, of whom all the people had a high opinion, got up and made a suggestion for the men to be put outside for a little time. ^5:35And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you do about these men. ^5:36For before this there was Theudas, who said he was someone important, to whom about four hundred men gave their support: he was put to death, and his band was broken up and came to nothing. ^5:37After this man, there was Judas of Galilee, at the time of the numbering, and some of the people went after him: he was put to death, and all his supporters were put to flight. ^5:38And now I say to you, Do nothing to these men, but let them be: for if this teaching or this work is of men, it will come to nothing: ^5:39But if it is of God, you will not be able to overcome them, and you are in danger of fighting against God. ^5:40And he seemed to them to be right: and they sent for the Apostles, and, after having them whipped and giving them orders to give no teaching in the name of Jesus, they let them go. ^5:41So they went away from the Sanhedrin, happy to undergo shame for the Name. ^5:42And every day, in the Temple and privately, they went on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

^6:1Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was increasing, protests were made by the Greek Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were not taken care of in the distribution of food every day. ^6:2And the Apostles sent for all the disciples and said, It is not right for us to give up preaching the word of God in order to make distribution of food. ^6:3Take then from among you seven men of good name, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, to whom we may give control of this business. ^6:4Then we will give all our time to prayer and the teaching of the word. ^6:5And this saying was pleasing to all of them: and they made selection of Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas of Antioch, who had become a Jew: ^6:6These they took to the Apostles, who, after prayer, put their hands on them. ^6:7And the word of God was increasing in power; and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem became very great, and a great number of priests were in agreement with the faith. ^6:8And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. ^6:9But some of those who were of the Synagogue named that of the Libertines, and some of the men of Cyrene and of Alexandria and those from Cilicia and Asia, had arguments with Stephen. ^6:10But they were not able to get the better of him, for his words were full of wisdom and of the Spirit. ^6:11Then they got men to say, He has said evil against Moses and against God, in our hearing. ^6:12And the people, with the rulers and the scribes, were moved against him, and they came and took him before the Sanhedrin, ^6:13And they got false witnesses who said, This man is for ever saying things against this holy place and against the law: ^6:14For he has said in our hearing that this Jesus of Nazareth will put this place to destruction and make changes in the rules which were handed down to us by Moses. ^6:15And all those who were in the Sanhedrin, looking at him, saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

^7:1Then the high priest said, Are these things true? ^7:2And he said, My brothers and fathers, give hearing. The God of glory came to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was living in Haran, ^7:3And said to him, Go out of your land, and away from your family, and come into the land to which I will be your guide. ^7:4Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and went into Haran; and from there, when his father was dead, he was guided by God into this land, where you are living now: ^7:5And God gave him no heritage in it, not even enough to put his foot on: but he gave him an undertaking that he would give it to him and to his children after him, though he had no child at that time. ^7:6And God said that his seed would be living in a strange land, and that they would make them servants, and be cruel to them for four hundred years. ^7:7And I will be the judge, said God, of that nation which made them servants: and after that, they will come out and give me worship in this place. ^7:8And he made with him the agreement of which circumcision was the sign. And so Abraham had a son, Isaac, and gave him circumcision on the eighth day; and Isaac had a son, Jacob, and Jacob was the father of the twelve heads of the families of Israel. ^7:9And the brothers, moved with envy against Joseph, gave him to the Egyptians for money: but God was with him, ^7:10And made him free from all his troubles, and gave him wisdom and the approval of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and all his house. ^7:11Now there was no food to be had in all Egypt and Canaan, and there was great trouble: and our fathers were not able to get food. ^7:12But Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent out our fathers the first time. ^7:13And the second time his brothers had a meeting with Joseph, and Pharaoh had knowledge of Joseph's family. ^7:14Then Joseph sent for Jacob his father and all his family, seventy-five persons. ^7:15And Jacob went down to Egypt, and came to his end there, and so did our fathers; ^7:16And they were taken over to Shechem, and put to rest in the place which Abraham got for a price in silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. ^7:17But when the time was near for putting into effect the undertaking which God had given to Abraham, the people were increasing in Egypt, ^7:18Till another king came to power, who had no knowledge of Joseph. ^7:19He, having evil designs against our nation, was cruel to our fathers, and they were forced to put out their young children, so that they might not go on living. ^7:20At which time Moses came to birth, and he was very beautiful; and he was kept for three months in his father's house: ^7:21And when he was put out, Pharaoh's daughter took him and kept him as her son. ^7:22And Moses was trained in all the wisdom of Egypt, and was great in his words and works. ^7:23But when he was almost forty years old, it came into his heart to go and see his brothers, the children of Israel. ^7:24And seeing one of them being attacked, he went to his help and gave the Egyptian a death-blow: ^7:25And he was hoping that his brothers would see that God had sent him to be their saviour; but they did not see. ^7:26And the day after, he came to them, while they were having a fight, and would have made peace between them, saying, Sirs, you are brothers; why do you do wrong to one another? ^7:27But the man who was doing wrong to his neighbour, pushing him away, said, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? ^7:28Will you put me to death as you did the Egyptian yesterday? ^7:29And at these words, Moses went in flight to the land of Midian, and was living there for a time, and had two sons. ^7:30At the end of forty years, an angel came to him in the waste land of Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn-tree. ^7:31And Moses, seeing it, was full of wonder, and when he came up to have a nearer view of it, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying, ^7:32I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses, shaking with fear, kept his eyes from looking at it. ^7:33And the Lord said, Take off the shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy. ^7:34Truly, I have seen the sorrows of my people in Egypt, and their cries have come to my ears, and I have come down to make them free: and now, come, I will send you to Egypt. ^7:35This Moses, whom they would not have, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? him God sent to be a ruler and a saviour, by the hand of the angel whom he saw in the thorn-tree. ^7:36This man took them out, having done wonders and signs in Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the waste land, for forty years. ^7:37This is the same Moses, who said to the children of Israel, God will give you a prophet from among your brothers, like me. ^7:38This is the man who was in the church in the waste land with the angel who was talking to him in Sinai, and with our fathers; and to him were given the living words of God, so that he might give them to you. ^7:39By whom our fathers would not be controlled; but they put him on one side, turning back in their hearts to Egypt, ^7:40And saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: as for this Moses, who took us out of the land of Egypt, we have no idea what has become of him. ^7:41And they made the image of a young ox in those days, and made an offering to it, and had joy in the work of their hands. ^7:42But God was turned from them and let them give worship to the stars of heaven, as it says in the book of the prophets, Did you make offerings to me of sheep and oxen for forty years in the waste land, O house of Israel? ^7:43And you took up the tent of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, images which you made to give worship to them: and I will take you away, farther than Babylon. ^7:44Our fathers had the Tent of witness in the waste land, as God gave orders to Moses to make it after the design which he had seen. ^7:45Which our fathers, in their turn, took with them when, with Joshua, they came into the heritage of the nations whom God was driving out before the face of our fathers, till the time of David, ^7:46Who was pleasing to God; and he had a desire to make a holy tent for the God of Jacob. ^7:47But Solomon was the builder of his house. ^7:48But still, the Most High has not his resting-place in houses made with hands, as the prophet says, ^7:49Heaven is the seat of my power, and earth is a resting-place for my feet: what sort of house will you make for me, says the Lord, or what is my place of rest? ^7:50Did not my hand make all these things? ^7:51You whose hearts are hard and whose ears are shut to me; you are ever working against the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. ^7:52Which of the prophets was not cruelly attacked by your fathers? and they put to death those who gave them the news of the coming of the Upright One; whom you have now given up and put to death; ^7:53You, to whom the law was given as it was ordered by angels, and who have not kept it. ^7:54Hearing these things, they were cut to the heart and moved with wrath against him. ^7:55But he was full of the Holy Spirit, and looking up to heaven, he saw the glory of God and Jesus at the right hand of God. ^7:56And he said, Now I see heaven open, and the Son of man at the right hand of God. ^7:57But with loud cries, and stopping their ears, they made an attack on him all together, ^7:58Driving him out of the town and stoning him: and the witnesses put their clothing at the feet of a young man named Saul. ^7:59And Stephen, while he was being stoned, made prayer to God, saying, Lord Jesus, take my spirit. ^7:60And going down on his knees, he said in a loud voice, Lord, do not make them responsible for this sin. And when he had said this, he went to his rest.

^8:1And Saul gave approval to his death. Now at that time a violent attack was started against the church in Jerusalem; and all but the Apostles went away into all parts of Judaea and Samaria. ^8:2And God-fearing men put Stephen's body in its last resting-place, making great weeping over him. ^8:3But Saul was burning with hate against the church, going into every house and taking men and women and putting them in prison. ^8:4But those who had gone in flight went everywhere preaching the word. ^8:5And Philip went down to Samaria and was teaching them about Christ. ^8:6And all the people gave attention to the words which Philip said, when they saw the signs which he did. ^8:7For unclean spirits came out from those who had them, crying with a loud voice; and a number of those who were ill and broken in body were made well. ^8:8And there was much joy in that town. ^8:9But there was a certain man named Simon, who in the past had been a wonder-worker and a cause of surprise to the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was a great man: ^8:10To whom they all gave attention, from the smallest to the greatest, saying, This man is that power of God which is named Great. ^8:11And they gave attention to him, because for a long time his wonder-working powers had kept them under his control. ^8:12But when they had faith in the good news given by Philip about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, a number of men and women had baptism. ^8:13And Simon himself had faith and, having had baptism, he went with Philip and, seeing the signs and the great wonders which he did, he was full of surprise. ^8:14Now when the Apostles at Jerusalem had news that the people of Samaria had taken the word of God into their hearts, they sent to them Peter and John; ^8:15Who, when they came there, made prayer for them, that the Holy Spirit might be given to them: ^8:16For up to that time he had not come on any of them; only baptism had been given to them in the name of the Lord Jesus. ^8:17Then they put their hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came on them. ^8:18Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the touch of the Apostles' hands, he made them an offering of money, saying, ^8:19Give me this power, so that when I put my hands on anyone he may get the Holy Spirit. ^8:20But Peter said, May your money come to destruction with you, because you had the idea that what is freely given by God may be got for a price. ^8:21You have no part in this business, because your heart is not right before God. ^8:22Let your heart be changed, and make prayer to God that you may have forgiveness for your evil thoughts. ^8:23For I see that you are prisoned in bitter envy and the chains of sin. ^8:24And Simon, answering, said, Make prayer for me to the Lord, so that these things which you have said may not come on me. ^8:25So they, having given their witness and made clear the word of the Lord, went back to Jerusalem, giving the good news on their way in a number of the small towns of Samaria. ^8:26But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, Get up, and go to the south, to the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, through the waste land. ^8:27And he went and there was a man of Ethiopia, a servant of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, and controller of all her property, who had come up to Jerusalem for worship; ^8:28He was going back, seated in his carriage, and was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. ^8:29And the Spirit said to Philip, Go near, and get on his carriage. ^8:30And Philip, running up to him, saw that he was reading Isaiah the prophet, and said to him, Is the sense of what you are reading clear to you? ^8:31And he said, How is that possible when I have no guide? And he made Philip get up by his side. ^8:32Now the place in the book where he was reading was this: He was taken, like a sheep, to be put to death; and as a lamb is quiet when its wool is being cut, so he made no sound: ^8:33Being of low degree, his cause was not given a hearing: who has knowledge of his family? for his life is cut off from the earth. ^8:34And the Ethiopian said to Philip, About whom are these words said by the prophet? about himself, or some other? ^8:35So Philip, starting from this writing, gave him the good news about Jesus. ^8:36And while they were going on their way, they came to some water, and the Ethiopian said, See, here is water; why may I not have baptism? ^8:37[] ^8:38And he gave orders for the carriage to be stopped, and the two of them went down into the water, and Philip gave him baptism. ^8:39And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; and the Ethiopian saw him no more, for he went on his way full of joy. ^8:40But Philip came to Azotus, and went through all the towns, preaching the good news, till he came to Caesarea.

^9:1But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ^9:2And made a request for letters from him to the Synagogues of Damascus, so that if there were any of the Way there, men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ^9:3And while he was journeying, he came near Damascus; and suddenly he saw a light from heaven shining round him; ^9:4And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? ^9:5And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking: ^9:6But get up, and go into the town, and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. ^9:7And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one. ^9:8And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus. ^9:9And for three days he was not able to see, and he took no food or drink. ^9:10Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! and he said, Here I am, Lord. ^9:11And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer; ^9:12And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see. ^9:13But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem: ^9:14And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name. ^9:15But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name: ^9:16For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me. ^9:17And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the Holy Spirit. ^9:18And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism; ^9:19And when he had taken food his strength came back. And for some days he kept with the disciples who were in Damascus. ^9:20And straight away, in the Synagogues, he was preaching Jesus as the Son of God. ^9:21And all those hearing him were full of wonder and said, Is not this the man who in Jerusalem was attacking all the worshippers of this name? and he had come here so that he might take them as prisoners before the chief priests. ^9:22But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ. ^9:23Then, after some days, the Jews made an agreement together to put him to death: ^9:24But Saul got knowledge of their design. And they kept watch day and night on the roads out of the town, so that they might put him to death: ^9:25But his disciples took him by night and let him down from the wall in a basket. ^9:26And when he came to Jerusalem, he made an attempt to be joined to the disciples, but they were all in fear of him, not taking him for a disciple. ^9:27But Barnabas took him to the Apostles and gave them an account of how he had seen the Lord on the road, and had given hearing to his words, and how at Damascus he had been preaching in the name of Jesus without fear. ^9:28And he was with them, going in and out at Jerusalem, ^9:29Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death. ^9:30And when the brothers had knowledge of it, they took him to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus. ^9:31And so the church through all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was made strong; and, living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was increased greatly. ^9:32And it came about that while Peter was going through all parts of the country he came to the saints who were living at Lydda. ^9:33And there was a certain man there, named Aeneas, who for eight years had been in bed, without power of moving. ^9:34And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you well: get up and make your bed. And straight away he got up. ^9:35And all those living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and were turned to the Lord. ^9:36Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, that is, Dorcas: this woman was given to good works and acts of mercy at all times. ^9:37And it came about, in those days, that she got ill and came to her death: and when she had been washed, they put her in a room which was high up. ^9:38And because Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having knowledge that Peter was there, sent two men to him, requesting him to come to them straight away. ^9:39And Peter went with them. And when he had come, they took him into the room: and all the widows were there, weeping and putting before him the coats and clothing which Dorcas had made while she was with them. ^9:40But Peter made them all go outside, and went down on his knees in prayer; and turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, get up. And, opening her eyes, she saw Peter and got up. ^9:41And he took her hand, lifting her up; and, sending for the saints and widows, he gave her to them, living. ^9:42And news of it went all through Joppa, and a number of people had faith in the Lord. ^9:43And he was living in Joppa for some time with Simon, a leather-worker.

^10:1Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, named Cornelius, the captain of the Italian band of the army; ^10:2A serious-minded man, fearing God with all his family; he gave much money to the poor, and made prayer to God at all times. ^10:3He saw in a vision, clearly, at about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of the Lord coming to him and saying to him, Cornelius! ^10:4And he, looking on him in fear, said, What is it, Lord? And he said to him, Your prayers and your offerings have come up to God, and he has kept them in mind. ^10:5Now send men to Joppa, and get one Simon, named Peter, ^10:6Who is living with Simon, a leather-worker, whose house is by the sea. ^10:7And when the angel who said these words to him had gone away, he sent for two of his house-servants, and a God-fearing man of the army, one of those who were waiting on him at all times; ^10:8And having given them an account of everything, he sent them to Joppa. ^10:9Now the day after, when they were on their journey and were near the town, Peter went up to the top of the house for prayer, about the sixth hour: ^10:10And he was in need of food: but while they were getting it ready, a deep sleep came on him; ^10:11And he saw the heavens opening, and a vessel coming down, like a great cloth let down on the earth, ^10:12In which were all sorts of beasts and birds. ^10:13And a voice came to him, saying, Come, Peter; take them for food. ^10:14But Peter said, No, Lord; for I have never taken food which is common or unclean. ^10:15And the voice came to him a second time, What God has made clean, do not you make common. ^10:16And this was done three times: and then the vessel was taken back into heaven. ^10:17Now while Peter was in doubt as to the purpose of this vision, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made search for Simon's house, came to the door, ^10:18To see if Simon, named Peter, was living there. ^10:19And, while Peter was turning the vision over in his mind, the Spirit said to him, See, three men are looking for you. ^10:20Go down, then, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. ^10:21And Peter went down to the men, and said, I am the man you are looking for: why have you come? ^10:22And they said, Cornelius, a captain, an upright and God-fearing man, respected by all the nation of the Jews, had word from God by an angel to send for you to his house, and to give hearing to your words. ^10:23So he took them in for the night. And the day after, he went with them, taking some of the brothers from Joppa with him. ^10:24And the day after that, they came to Caesarea. And Cornelius was waiting for them, having got together his relations and his near friends. ^10:25And when Peter came in, Cornelius came to him and, falling down at his feet, gave him worship. ^10:26But Peter, lifting him up, said, Get up, for I am a man as you are. ^10:27And saying these words, he went in, and saw that a great number of people had come together; ^10:28And he said to them, You yourselves have knowledge that it is against the law for a man who is a Jew to be in the company of one who is of another nation; but God has made it clear to me that no man may be named common or unclean: ^10:29And so I came without question, when I was sent for. What then is your purpose in sending for me? ^10:30And Cornelius said, Four days from now I was in my house in prayer at the ninth hour; and I saw before me a man in shining clothing, ^10:31Who said, Cornelius, your prayer has come to the ears of God, and your offerings are kept in his memory. ^10:32Send, then, to Joppa, and get Simon, named Peter, to come to you; he is living in the house of Simon, a leather-worker, by the sea. ^10:33So, straight away, I sent for you; and you have done well to come. And now, we are all present before God, ready to give attention to all the things which the Lord has given you to say. ^10:34Then Peter said, Truly, I see clearly that God is no respecter of persons: ^10:35But in every nation, the man who has fear of him and does righteousness is pleasing to him. ^10:36The word which he sent to the children of Israel, giving the good news of peace through Jesus Christ (who is Lord of all)-- ^10:37That word you yourselves have knowledge of, which was made public through all Judaea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism of which John was the preacher, ^10:38About Jesus of Nazareth, how God gave the Holy Spirit to him, with power: and how he went about doing good and making well all who were troubled by evil spirits, for God was with him. ^10:39And we are witnesses of all the things which he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem; whom they put to death, hanging him on a tree. ^10:40On the third day God gave him back to life, and let him be seen, ^10:41Not by all the people, but by witnesses marked out before by God, even by us, who took food and drink with him after he came back from the dead. ^10:42And he gave us orders to give news of this to the people, and to give public witness that this is he whom God has made judge of the living and the dead. ^10:43To him all the prophets give witness, that through his name everyone who has faith in him will have forgiveness of sins. ^10:44While Peter was saying these words, the Holy Spirit came on all those who were hearing the word. ^10:45And the Jews of the faith, who had come with Peter, were full of wonder, because the Holy Spirit was given to the Gentiles, ^10:46And they were talking in tongues, and giving glory to God. Then Peter said, ^10:47Will any man say that these may not have baptism who have been given the Holy Spirit as we have? ^10:48And he gave orders for them to have baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they kept him with them for some days.

^11:1Now the Apostles and the brothers who were in Judaea had news that the word of God had been given to the Gentiles. ^11:2And when Peter came to Jerusalem, those who kept the rule of circumcision had an argument with him, ^11:3Saying, You went to men without circumcision, and took food with them. ^11:4But Peter gave them an account of it all in order, saying to them, ^11:5I was in the town of Joppa, at prayer: and falling into a deep sleep, I saw in a vision a vessel like a great cloth let down from heaven, and it came down to me: ^11:6And looking on it with attention I saw in it all sorts of beasts and birds. ^11:7And a voice came to my ears saying, Come, Peter; take them for food. ^11:8But I said, No, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever come into my mouth. ^11:9But the voice, coming a second time from heaven, said, What God has made clean, do not you make common. ^11:10And this was done three times, and they were all taken up again into heaven. ^11:11And at that minute, three men, sent from Caesarea, came to the house where we were. ^11:12And the Spirit gave me orders to go with them, doubting nothing. And these six brothers came with me; and we went into that man's house: ^11:13And he gave us an account of how he had seen the angel in his house, saying, Send to Joppa, and get Simon, named Peter, to come to you; ^11:14Who will say words to you through which you and all your family may get salvation. ^11:15And, while I was talking to them, the Holy Spirit came on them, as on us at first. ^11:16And the words of the Lord came into my mind, how he said, The baptism of John was with water, but you will have baptism with the Holy Spirit. ^11:17If then God gave them, when they had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the same as he gave to us, who was I to go against God? ^11:18And hearing these things they said nothing more, but gave glory to God, saying, Then to the Gentiles as to us has God given a change of heart, so that they may have life. ^11:19Then those who had gone away at the time of the trouble about Stephen, went as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus, preaching to the Jews only. ^11:20But some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, when they came to Antioch, gave the good news about the Lord Jesus to the Greeks. ^11:21And the power of the Lord was with them, and a great number had faith and were turned to the Lord. ^11:22And news of them came to the ears of the church at Jerusalem: and they sent Barnabas as far as Antioch: ^11:23Who, when he came and saw the grace of God, was glad; and he made clear to them the need of keeping near the Lord with all the strength of their hearts: ^11:24For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and a great number were joined to the Lord. ^11:25Then he went on to Tarsus, looking for Saul; ^11:26And when he had come across him, he took him to Antioch. And they were with the church there for a year, teaching the people; and the disciples were first given the name of Christians in Antioch. ^11:27Now in those days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. ^11:28And one of them, named Agabus, said publicly through the Spirit that there would be serious need of food all over the earth: which came about in the time of Claudius. ^11:29And the disciples, everyone as he was able, made a decision to send help to the brothers living in Judaea: ^11:30Which they did, sending it to the rulers of the church by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

^12:1Now, about that time, Herod the king made cruel attacks on the Christians. ^12:2And he put James, the brother of John, to death with the sword. ^12:3And when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he went on to take Peter in addition. This was at the time of the feast of unleavened bread. ^12:4And having taken him, he put him in prison, with four bands of armed men to keep watch over him; his purpose being to take him out to the people after the Passover. ^12:5So Peter was kept in prison: but the church made strong prayer to God for him. ^12:6And when Herod was about to take him out, the same night Peter was sleeping in chains between two armed men, and the watchmen were keeping watch before the door of the prison. ^12:7And a great light was seen shining in the room, and an angel of the Lord came to Peter and, touching him on his side so that he came out of his sleep, said, Get up quickly. And his chains came off his hands. ^12:8Then the angel said, Put on your shoes and get ready to go. And he did so. And he said, Put your coat round you and come with me. ^12:9And he went out after him; and he was not certain if what was done by the angel was a fact, for it seemed to him that he was seeing a vision. ^12:10And when they had gone past the first and second watchmen they came to the iron door into the town, which came open by itself: and they went out and down one street; and then the angel went away. ^12:11And when Peter came to his senses he said, Now, truly, I am certain that the Lord has sent his angel and taken me out of the hands of Herod, against all the hopes of the Jews. ^12:12And when he became clear about this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John named Mark, where a number of them had come together for prayer. ^12:13And he gave a blow on the door, and a young girl came to it, named Rhoda. ^12:14And hearing the voice of Peter, in her joy she went running, without opening the door, to say that Peter was outside. ^12:15And they said to her, You are off your head. But still she said, with decision, that it was so. And they said, It is his angel. ^12:16But Peter went on giving blows on the door: and when it was open and they saw him, they were full of wonder. ^12:17But he made a sign to them with his hand to be quiet, and gave them an account of how the Lord had taken him out of prison. And he said, Give the news to James and the brothers. And then he went away. ^12:18Now when it was day, the armed men were greatly troubled about what had become of Peter. ^12:19And Herod, when he sent for him, and he was not there, after questioning the watchmen, gave orders that they were to be put to death. Then he went down from Judaea to Caesarea for a time. ^12:20Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon: and they came to him, all together, and having made friends with Blastus, the controller of the king's house, they made a request for peace, because their country was dependent on the king's country for its food. ^12:21And on the day which had been fixed, Herod, dressed in his robes and seated in his place, made a public statement to them. ^12:22And the people, with loud cries, said, It is the voice of a god, not of a man. ^12:23And straight away the angel of the Lord sent a disease on him, because he did not give the glory to God: and his flesh was wasted away by worms, and so he came to his end. ^12:24But the word of the Lord went on increasing. ^12:25And Barnabas and Saul came back from Jerusalem, when their work was ended, taking with them John named Mark.

^13:1Now there were at Antioch, in the church there, prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon who was named Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, a relation of Herod the king, and Saul. ^13:2And while they were doing the Lord's work, and going without food, the Holy Spirit said, Let Barnabas and Saul be given to me for the special work for which they have been marked out by me. ^13:3Then, after prayer and going without food they put their hands on them, and sent them away. ^13:4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they went by ship to Cyprus. ^13:5And at Salamis they were preaching the word of God in the Synagogues of the Jews: and John was with them, helping them. ^13:6And when they had gone through all the island to Paphos, they came across a certain wonder-worker and false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus; ^13:7Who was with the ruler, Sergius Paulus, an able man. This man sent for Barnabas and Saul, desiring to have knowledge of the word of God. ^13:8But Elymas, the wonder-worker (for that is the sense of his name), put himself against them, with the purpose of turning the ruler from the faith. ^13:9But Saul, whose other name is Paul, being full of the Holy Spirit, looking hard at him, said, ^13:10O you, who are full of false tricks and evil ways, a son of the Evil One, hating all righteousness, will you for ever be turning people from the right ways of the Lord? ^13:11And now, see, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind and not able to see the sun for a time. And straight away a dark mist came down on him; and he went about looking for a guide. ^13:12Then the ruler, when he saw what was done, had faith, being full of wonder at the teaching of the Lord. ^13:13Then Paul and those who were with him went by ship from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia: and there John went away from them and came back to Jerusalem. ^13:14But they, going through from Perga, came to Antioch in Pisidia; and they went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath and were seated. ^13:15And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the Synagogue sent to them, saying, Brothers, if you have a word of comfort for the people, say on. ^13:16And Paul, getting up and making a sign with his hand, said, Men of Israel, and you who have the fear of God, give ear. ^13:17The God of this people Israel made selection of our fathers, lifting the people up from their low condition when they were living in the land of Egypt, and with a strong arm took them out of it. ^13:18And for about forty years he put up with their ways in the waste land. ^13:19And having put to destruction seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them the land for their heritage for about four hundred and fifty years. ^13:20And after these things he gave them judges, till the time of Samuel the prophet. ^13:21Then at their request for a king, God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the family of Benjamin, who was their king for forty years. ^13:22And having put him on one side, he made David their king, to whom he gave witness, saying, I have taken David, the son of Jesse, a man dear to my heart, who will do all my pleasure. ^13:23From this man's seed has God given to Israel a Saviour, even Jesus, as he gave his word; ^13:24For whose coming John made ready the way by preaching to all the people of Israel the baptism which goes with a change of heart. ^13:25And when John was completing his work, he said, What do I seem to you to be? I am not he; but one is coming after me, whose shoes I am not good enough to undo. ^13:26My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those among you who have the fear of God, to us the word of this salvation is sent. ^13:27For the men of Jerusalem and their rulers, having no knowledge of him, or of the sayings of the prophets which come to their ears every Sabbath day, gave effect to them by judging him. ^13:28And though no cause of death was seen in him, they made a request to Pilate that he might be put to death. ^13:29And when they had done all the things said in the Writings about him, they took him down from the tree, and put him in the place of the dead. ^13:30But God gave him back from the dead: ^13:31And for a number of days he was seen by those who came with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses before the people. ^13:32And we are giving you the good news of the undertaking made to the fathers, ^13:33Which God has now put into effect for our children, by sending Jesus; as it says in the second Psalm, You are my Son; this day I have given you being. ^13:34And about his coming back from the dead, never again to go to destruction, he has said these words, I will give you the holy and certain mercies of David. ^13:35Because he says in another Psalm, You will not let your Holy One see destruction. ^13:36Now David, having done God's work for his generation, went to sleep, and was put with his fathers, and his body came to destruction: ^13:37But he, who was lifted up by God, did not see destruction. ^13:38And so, let it be clear to you, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is offered to you: ^13:39And through him everyone who has faith is made free from all those things, from which the law of Moses was not able to make you free. ^13:40So take care that these words of the prophets do not come true for you; ^13:41See, you doubters, have wonder and come to your end; for I will do a thing in your days to which you will not give belief, even if it is made clear to you. ^13:42And when they went out, they made a request that these words might be said to them again on the Sabbath after. ^13:43Now when the meeting was ended, a number of the Jews and of the God-fearing Gentiles who had become Jews, went after Paul and Barnabas: who put before them how important it was to keep on in the grace of God. ^13:44And on the Sabbath after, almost all the town came together to give hearing to the word of God. ^13:45But when the Jews saw such a great number of people, they were full of envy and said evil words against Paul's preaching. ^13:46Then Paul and Barnabas without fear said, It was necessary for the word of God to be given to you first; but because you will have nothing to do with it, and have no desire for eternal life, it will now be offered to the Gentiles. ^13:47For so the Lord has given us orders, saying, I have given you for a light to the Gentiles so that you may be for salvation to the ends of the earth. ^13:48And the Gentiles, hearing this, were glad and gave glory to the word of God: and those marked out by God for eternal life had faith. ^13:49And the word of the Lord went through all the country. ^13:50But the Jews, working up the feelings of the God-fearing women of high position and of the chief men of the town, got an attack started against Paul and Barnabas, driving them out of those parts. ^13:51But they, shaking off the dust of that place from their feet, came to Iconium. ^13:52And the disciples were full of joy and of the Holy Spirit.

^14:1Now in Iconium they went together to the Synagogue of the Jews and gave such teaching that a great number of Jews and Greeks had faith. ^14:2But those Jews who had not the faith, made the minds of the Gentiles bitter against the brothers. ^14:3So they kept there for a long time, taking heart in the Lord, who gave witness to the word of his grace by causing signs and wonders to be done by their hands. ^14:4But there was a division among the people of the town; some were on the side of the Jews and some on the side of the Apostles. ^14:5And when a violent attempt was made by the Gentiles and the Jews, with their rulers, to make an attack on them and have them stoned, ^14:6Having got news of it, they went in flight to the towns of Lycaonia, Lystra, and Derbe, and the country round about: ^14:7And went on preaching the good news there. ^14:8And at Lystra there was a certain man, who from birth had been without the use of his feet, never having had the power of walking. ^14:9This man was giving ear to the preaching of Paul, who, looking at him, and seeing that he had faith to be made well, ^14:10Said in a loud voice, Get up on your feet. And, jumping up, he went walking about. ^14:11And when the people saw what Paul had done, they said in a loud voice, in the language of Lycaonia, The gods have come down to us in the form of men. ^14:12And they gave the name of Jupiter to Barnabas, and to Paul that of Mercury, because he was the chief talker. ^14:13And the priest of the image of Jupiter, which was before the town, took oxen and flowers to the doors of the town, and was about to make an offering with the people. ^14:14But when this came to the ears of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas, they went running out among the people, parting their clothing, and crying out, ^14:15Good people, why are you doing these things? We are men with the same feelings as you, and we give you the good news so that you may be turned away from these foolish things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them: ^14:16Who in the past let all nations go in the ways which seemed good to them. ^14:17But he was not without witness, because he did good, and gave you rain from heaven and times of fruit, making your hearts full of food and joy. ^14:18And even with these words, it was hard for them to keep the people from making an offering to them. ^14:19But some Jews came to that place from Antioch and Iconium, and got control over the people; and after stoning Paul, they had him pulled out of the town, taking him for dead. ^14:20But when the disciples came round him, he got up and went into the town: and the day after he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. ^14:21And having made a number of disciples through the preaching of the good news in that town, they went back to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, ^14:22Making strong the souls of the disciples, saying to them that they were to keep the faith, and that we have to go through troubles of all sorts to come into the kingdom of God. ^14:23And when they had made selection of some to be rulers in every church, and had given themselves to prayer and kept themselves from food, they put them into the care of the Lord in whom they had faith. ^14:24And they went through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. ^14:25And, after preaching the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia; ^14:26And from there they went by ship to Antioch, where they had been handed over to the grace of God for the work which they had not done. ^14:27And when they came there, and had got the church together, they gave them an account of all the things which God had done through them, and how he had made open a door of faith to the Gentiles. ^14:28And they were with the disciples there for a long time.

^15:1Now certain men came down from Judaea, teaching the brothers and saying that without circumcision, after the rule of Moses, there is no salvation. ^15:2And after Paul and Barnabas had had no little argument and discussion with them, the brothers made a decision to send Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them to the Apostles and the rulers of the church at Jerusalem about this question. ^15:3So they, being sent on their way by the church, went through Phoenicia and Samaria, giving news of the salvation of the Gentiles, to the great joy of all the brothers. ^15:4And when they came to Jerusalem, they had a meeting with the church and the Apostles and the rulers, and they gave an account of all the things which God had done through them. ^15:5But some of the Pharisees, who were of the faith, got up and said, It is necessary for these to have circumcision and to keep the law of Moses. ^15:6And the Apostles and the rulers of the church came together and gave thought to the question. ^15:7And when there had been much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, My brothers, you have knowledge that some time back it was God's pleasure that by my mouth the good news might be given to the Gentiles so that they might have faith. ^15:8And God, the searcher of hearts, was a witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit even as he did to us; ^15:9Making no division between them and us, but making clean their hearts by faith. ^15:10Why then are you testing God, by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke so hard that not even our fathers or we were strong enough for it? ^15:11But we have faith that we will get salvation through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they. ^15:12And all the people were quiet while Barnabas and Paul gave an account of the signs and wonders which God had done among the Gentiles by them. ^15:13And when they had come to an end, James, answering, said, My brothers, give ear to me: ^15:14Symeon has given an account of how God was first pleased to take from among the Gentiles a people for himself. ^15:15And this is in agreement with the words of the prophets, as it is said, ^15:16After these things I will come back, and will put up the tent of David which has been broken down, building up again its broken parts and making it complete: ^15:17So that the rest of men may make search for the Lord, and all the Gentiles on whom my name is named, ^15:18Says the Lord, who has made these things clear from the earliest times. ^15:19For this reason my decision is, that we do not put trouble in the way of those who from among the Gentiles are turned to God; ^15:20But that we give them orders to keep themselves from things offered to false gods, and from the evil desires of the body, and from the flesh of animals put to death in ways against the law, and from blood. ^15:21For Moses, from times long past, has his preachers in every town, reading his law in the Synagogues every Sabbath. ^15:22Then it seemed good to the Apostles and the rulers and all the church, to send men from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; Judas, named Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brothers: ^15:23And they sent a letter by them, saying, The Apostles and the older brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, may joy be with you: ^15:24Because we have knowledge that some who went from us have been troubling you with their words, putting your souls in doubt; to whom we gave no such order; ^15:25It seemed good to us, having come to an agreement together, to send these men to you, with our well loved Barnabas and Paul, ^15:26Men who have given up their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^15:27And so we have sent Judas and Silas, who will say the same things to you themselves, by word of mouth. ^15:28For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, to put on you nothing more than these necessary things; ^15:29To keep from things offered to false gods, and from blood, and from things put to death in ways which are against the law, and from the evil desires of the body; if you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. May you be happy. ^15:30So they, being sent away, came down to Antioch, and having got the people together, they gave them the letter. ^15:31And after reading it, they were glad of its comfort. ^15:32And Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, gave teaching to the brothers and made them strong in the faith. ^15:33And when they had been there for some time, they were sent back in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. ^15:34[] ^15:35But Paul and Barnabas kept on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of God, with a number of others. ^15:36And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go back and see the brothers in every town where we have given the word of God, and see how they are. ^15:37And Barnabas had a desire to take with them John, named Mark. ^15:38But Paul was of the opinion that it was not right to take with them one who had gone away from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone on with the work. ^15:39And there was a sharp argument between them, so that they were parted from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and went by ship to Cyprus; ^15:40But Paul took Silas and went away with the blessing of the brothers. ^15:41And he went through Syria and Cilicia, making the churches stronger in the faith.

^16:1And he came to Derbe and Lystra: and there was a certain disciple there named Timothy, whose mother was one of the Jews of the faith, but his father was a Greek; ^16:2Of whom the brothers at Lystra and Iconium had a high opinion. ^16:3Paul had a desire for him to go with him, and he gave him circumcision because of the Jews who were in those parts: for they all had knowledge that his father was a Greek. ^16:4And on their way through the towns, they gave them the rules which had been made by the Apostles and the rulers of the church at Jerusalem, so that they might keep them. ^16:5So the churches were made strong in the faith and were increased in number every day. ^16:6And after they had gone through the land of Phrygia and Galatia, the Holy Spirit did not let them take the word into Asia; ^16:7And having come to Mysia, they made an attempt to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them; ^16:8And going past Mysia, they came down to Troas. ^16:9And Paul had a vision in the night; a man of Macedonia came, requesting him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia and give us help. ^16:10And when he had seen the vision, straight away we made the decision to go into Macedonia, for it seemed certain to us that God had sent us to give the good news to them. ^16:11So, from Troas we went straight by ship to Samothrace and the day after to Neapolis; ^16:12And from there to Philippi, which is the most important town of Macedonia and a Roman colony: and we were there for some days. ^16:13And on the Sabbath we went outside the town, by the river, where we had an idea that there would be a place of prayer; and, being seated, we had talk with the women who had come together. ^16:14And a certain woman named Lydia, a trader in purple cloth of the town of Thyatira, and a God-fearing woman, gave ear to us: whose heart the Lord made open to give attention to the things which Paul was saying. ^16:15And when she and her family had had baptism, she made a request to us, saying, If it seems to you that I am true to the Lord, come into my house and be my guests. And she made us come. ^16:16And when we were going to the place of prayer, we came across a girl with a spirit which gave knowledge of the future, whose masters made great profit from her power. ^16:17She came after Paul and us, crying out and saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, who are giving you news of the way of salvation. ^16:18And this she did on a number of days. But Paul was greatly troubled and, turning, said to the spirit, I give you orders in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And it came out that very hour. ^16:19But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they took Paul and Silas, pulling them into the market-place before the rulers; ^16:20And when they had taken them before the authorities, they said, These men, who are Jews, are greatly troubling our town; ^16:21Teaching rules of living which it is not right for us to have or to keep, being Romans. ^16:22And the people made an attack on them all together: and the authorities took their clothing off them, and gave orders for them to be whipped. ^16:23And when they had given them a great number of blows, they put them in prison, giving orders to the keeper of the prison to keep them safely: ^16:24And he, having such orders, put them into the inner prison with chains on their feet. ^16:25But about the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were making prayers and songs to God in the hearing of the prisoners; ^16:26And suddenly there was an earth-shock, so that the base of the prison was moved: and all the doors came open, and everyone's chains came off. ^16:27And the keeper, coming out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, took his sword and was about to put himself to death, fearing that the prisoners had got away. ^16:28But Paul said in a loud voice, Do yourself no damage, for we are all here. ^16:29And he sent for lights and came rushing in and, shaking with fear, went down on his face before Paul and Silas, ^16:30And took them out and said, Sirs, what have I to do to get salvation? ^16:31And they said, Have faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will have salvation. ^16:32And they gave the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ^16:33And that same hour of the night, he took them, and when he had given attention to their wounds, he and all his family had baptism straight away. ^16:34And he took them into his house and gave them food, and he was full of joy, having faith in God with all his family. ^16:35But when it was day, the authorities sent the police, saying, Let these men go. ^16:36And the keeper said to Paul, The authorities have given orders to let you go: come out now, and go in peace. ^16:37But Paul said to them, They have given us who are Romans a public whipping without judging us, and have put us in prison. Will they now send us out secretly? no, truly, let them come themselves and take us out. ^16:38And the police gave an account of these words to the authorities, and they were full of fear on hearing that they were Romans; ^16:39Then they came and made prayers to them, requesting them, when they had taken them out, to go away from the town. ^16:40And they came out of the prison and went to the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brothers they gave them comfort and went away.

^17:1Now when they had gone through Amphipolis and Apollonia they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Synagogue of the Jews: ^17:2And Paul, as he generally did, went in to them, and on three Sabbath days had discussions with them from the holy Writings, ^17:3Saying to them clearly and openly that Christ had to be put to death and come back to life again; and that this Jesus, whom, he said, I am preaching to you, is the Christ. ^17:4And some of them had faith, and were joined to Paul and Silas; and a number of the God-fearing Greeks, and some of the chief women. ^17:5But the Jews, being moved with envy, took with them certain low persons from among the common people, and getting together a great number of people, made an outcry in the town, attacking the house of Jason with the purpose of taking them out to the people. ^17:6And when they were not able to get them, they took Jason and some of the brothers by force before the rulers of the town, crying, These men, who have made trouble all over the world have now come here; ^17:7Whom Jason has taken into his house: and they are acting against the orders of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus. ^17:8And hearing these things the people and the rulers of the town were troubled. ^17:9And having made Jason and the others give an undertaking to keep the peace, they let them go. ^17:10And the brothers straight away sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea: and they, when they came there, went to the Synagogue of the Jews. ^17:11Now these were more noble than the Jews of Thessalonica, for they gave serious attention to the word, searching in the holy Writings every day, to see if these things were so. ^17:12And a number of them had faith, and no small number of the Greek women of high position and of the men. ^17:13But when the Jews of Thessalonica had news that Paul was preaching the word at Beroea, they came there, troubling the people and working them up. ^17:14So the brothers sent Paul straight away to the sea: but Silas and Timothy kept there still. ^17:15But those who went with Paul took him as far as Athens, and then went away, with orders from him to Silas and Timothy to come to him quickly. ^17:16Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was troubled, for he saw all the town full of images of the gods. ^17:17So he had discussions in the Synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and every day in the market-place with those who were there. ^17:18And some of those who were supporters of the theories of the Epicureans and the Stoics, had a meeting with him. And some said, What is this talker of foolish words saying? And others, He seems to be a preacher of strange gods: because he was preaching of Jesus and his coming back from the dead. ^17:19And they took him to Mars' Hill, saying, Will you make clear to us what is this new teaching of yours? ^17:20For you seem to us to say strange things, and we have a desire to get the sense of them. ^17:21(Now all the Athenians and the men from other lands who come there were giving all their time to talking or hearing of anything new.) ^17:22And Paul got to his feet on Mars' Hill and said, O men of Athens, I see that you are overmuch given to fear of the gods. ^17:23For when I came by, I was looking at the things to which you give worship, and I saw an altar with this writing on it, TO THE GOD OF WHOM THERE IS NO KNOWLEDGE. Now, what you, without knowledge, give worship to, I make clear to you. ^17:24The God who made the earth and everything in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, is not housed in buildings made with hands; ^17:25And he is not dependent on the work of men's hands, as if he had need of anything, for he himself gives to all life and breath and all things; ^17:26And he has made of one blood all the nations of men living on all the face of the earth, ordering their times and the limits of their lands, ^17:27So that they might make search for God, in order, if possible, to get knowledge of him and make discovery of him, though he is not far from every one of us: ^17:28For in him we have life and motion and existence; as certain of your verse writers have said, For we are his offspring. ^17:29If then we are the offspring of God, it is not right for us to have the idea that God is like gold or silver or stone, formed by the art or design of man. ^17:30Those times when men had no knowledge were overlooked by God; but now he gives orders to all men in every place to undergo a change of heart: ^17:31Because a day has been fixed in which all the world will be judged in righteousness by the man who has been marked out by him for this work; of which he has given a sign to all men by giving him back from the dead. ^17:32Now on hearing about the coming back from death, some of them made sport of it, but others said, Let us go more fully into this another time. ^17:33And so Paul went away from among them. ^17:34But some men gave him their support: among whom was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

^18:1After these things, he went away from Athens, and came to Corinth. ^18:2And there he came across a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by birth, who not long before had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had given orders that all Jews were to go away from Rome: and he came to them; ^18:3And because he was of the same trade, he was living with them, and they did their work together; for by trade they were tent-makers. ^18:4And every Sabbath he had discussions in the Synagogue, turning Jews and Greeks to the faith. ^18:5And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was completely given up to the word, preaching to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. ^18:6And when they put themselves against him, and said evil words, he said, shaking his clothing, Your blood be on your heads, I am clean: from now I will go to the Gentiles. ^18:7And moving from there, he went into the house of a man named Titus Justus, a God-fearing man, whose house was very near the Synagogue. ^18:8And Crispus, the ruler of the Synagogue, with all his family, had faith in the Lord; and a great number of the people of Corinth, hearing the word, had faith and were given baptism. ^18:9And the Lord said to Paul in the night, in a vision, Have no fear and go on preaching: ^18:10For I am with you, and no one will make an attack on you to do you damage: for I have a number of people in this town. ^18:11And he was there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. ^18:12But when Gallio was ruler of Achaia, all the Jews together made an attack on Paul, and took him to the judge's seat, ^18:13Saying, This man is teaching the people to give worship to God in a way which is against the law. ^18:14But when Paul was about to say something, Gallio said to the Jews, If this was anything to do with wrongdoing or crime, there would be a reason for me to give you a hearing: ^18:15But if it is a question of words or names or of your law, see to it yourselves; I will not be a judge of such things. ^18:16And he sent them away from the judge's seat. ^18:17And they all made an attack on Sosthenes, the ruler of the Synagogue, and gave him blows before the judge's seat; but Gallio gave no attention to these things. ^18:18And Paul, after waiting some days, went away from the brothers and went by ship to Syria, Priscilla and Aquila being with him; and he had had his hair cut off in Cenchrea, for he had taken an oath. ^18:19And they came down to Ephesus and he left them there: and he himself went into the Synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. ^18:20And being requested by them to be there for a longer time, he said, No; ^18:21And went from them, saying, I will come back to you if God lets me; and he took ship from Ephesus. ^18:22And when he had come to land at Caesarea, he went to see the church, and then went down to Antioch. ^18:23And having been there for some time, he went through the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, making the disciples strong in the faith. ^18:24Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, and a man of learning, came to Ephesus; and he had great knowledge of the holy Writings. ^18:25This man had been trained in the way of the Lord; and burning in spirit, he gave himself up to teaching the facts about Jesus, though he had knowledge only of John's baptism: ^18:26And he was preaching in the Synagogue without fear. But Priscilla and Aquila, hearing his words, took him in, and gave him fuller teaching about the way of God. ^18:27And when he had a desire to go over into Achaia, the brothers gave him help, and sent letters to the disciples requesting them to take him in among them: and when he had come, he gave much help to those who had faith through grace: ^18:28For he overcame the Jews in public discussion, making clear from the holy Writings that the Christ was Jesus.

^19:1And it came about that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having gone through the higher country, came to Ephesus, where there were certain disciples: ^19:2And he said to them, Did you get the Holy Spirit when you had faith? And they said to him, No, we have had no knowledge of the Holy Spirit. ^19:3And he said, What sort of baptism did you have? And they said, The baptism of John. ^19:4And Paul said, John gave a baptism which goes with a change of heart, saying to the people that they were to have faith in him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus. ^19:5And hearing this, they had baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. ^19:6And when Paul had put his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they had the power of talking in tongues, and acting like prophets. ^19:7And there were about twelve of these men. ^19:8And he went into the Synagogue, and for three months he was preaching there without fear, reasoning and teaching about the kingdom of God. ^19:9But because some of the people were hard-hearted and would not give hearing, saying evil words about the Way before the people, he went away from them, and kept the disciples separate, reasoning every day in the school of Tyrannus. ^19:10And this went on for two years, so that all those who were living in Asia had knowledge of the word of the Lord, Greeks as well as Jews. ^19:11And God did special works of power by the hands of Paul: ^19:12So that bits of linen and clothing from his body were taken to people who were ill, and their diseases went away from them and the evil spirits went out. ^19:13But some of the Jews who went from place to place driving out evil spirits, took it on themselves to make use of the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I give you orders, by Jesus, whom Paul is preaching. ^19:14And there were seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jew and a chief priest, who did this. ^19:15And the evil spirit, answering, said to them, I have knowledge of Jesus, and of Paul, but who are you? ^19:16And the man in whom the evil spirit was, jumping on them, was stronger than the two of them, and overcame them, so that they went running from that house, wounded and without their clothing. ^19:17And this came to the ears of all those, Jews and Greeks, who were living at Ephesus; and fear came on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was made great. ^19:18And a number of those who had faith came and made a public statement of their sins and all their acts. ^19:19And a great number of those who were experts in strange arts took their books and put them on the fire in front of everyone: and when the books were valued they came to fifty thousand bits of silver. ^19:20So the word of the Lord was increased very greatly and was full of power. ^19:21Now after these things were ended, Paul came to a decision that when he had gone through Macedonia and Achaia he would go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I have a desire to see Rome. ^19:22And having sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, into Macedonia, he himself went on living in Asia for a time. ^19:23And about that time a great outcry took place about the Way. ^19:24For there was a certain man named Demetrius, a silver-worker, who made silver boxes for the images of Diana, and gave no small profit to the workmen; ^19:25Whom he got together, with other workmen of the same trade, and said to them, Men, it is clear that from this business we get our wealth. ^19:26And you see, for it has come to your ears, that not only at Ephesus, but almost all through Asia, this Paul has been teaching numbers of people and turning them away, saying that those are not gods who are made by men's hands: ^19:27And there is danger, not only that our trade may be damaged in the opinion of men, but that the holy place of the great goddess Diana may be no longer honoured, and that she to whom all Asia and the world give worship, will be put down from her high position. ^19:28And hearing this, they were very angry, crying out and saying, Great is Diana of Ephesus. ^19:29And the town was full of noise and trouble, and they all came running into the theatre, having taken by force Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia who were journeying in company with Paul. ^19:30And when Paul was about to go in to the people, the disciples did not let him. ^19:31And some of the rulers of Asia, being his friends, sent to him, requesting him seriously not to put himself in danger by going into the theatre. ^19:32And some said one thing, and some another: for there was no order in the meeting; and most of them had no idea why they had come together. ^19:33Then they took Alexander out from among the people, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander, making a sign with his hand, was about to make a statement to the people in answer: ^19:34But when they saw that he was a Jew, all of them with one voice went on crying out for about two hours, Great is Diana of Ephesus. ^19:35And when the chief secretary had got the people quiet, he said, Men of Ephesus, is any man without knowledge that the town of Ephesus is the keeper of the holy place of the great Diana, who was sent down from Jupiter? ^19:36So then, because these things may not be doubted, it would be better for you to be quiet, and do nothing unwise. ^19:37For you have taken these men, who are not doing damage to the holy place or talking against our goddess. ^19:38If, then, Demetrius and the workmen who are with him have a protest to make against any man, the law is open to them, and there are judges; let them put up a cause at law against one another. ^19:39But if any other business is in question, let it be taken up in the regular meeting. ^19:40For, truly, we are in danger of being made responsible for this day's trouble, there being no cause for it: and we are not able to give any reason for this coming together. ^19:41And when he had said this, he sent the meeting away.

^20:1And after the noise had come to an end, Paul, having sent for the disciples and given them comfort, went away from them to Macedonia. ^20:2And when he had gone through those parts and given them much teaching, he came into Greece. ^20:3And when he had been there three months, because the Jews had made a secret design against him when he was about to take ship for Syria, he made a decision to go back through Macedonia. ^20:4And Sopater of Beroea, the son of Pyrrhus, and Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia, went with him as far as Asia. ^20:5But these had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas. ^20:6And we went away from Philippi by ship after the days of unleavened bread, and came to them at Troas in five days; and we were there for seven days. ^20:7And on the first day of the week, when we had come together for the holy meal, Paul gave them a talk, for it was his purpose to go away on the day after; and he went on talking till after the middle of the night. ^20:8And there were a number of lights in the room where we had come together. ^20:9And a certain young man named Eutychus, who was seated in the window, went into a deep sleep; and while Paul went on talking, being overcome by sleep, he had a fall from the third floor, and was taken up dead. ^20:10And Paul went down and, falling on him, took him in his arms and said, Do not be troubled, for his life is in him. ^20:11And when he had gone up, and had taken the broken bread, he went on talking to them for a long time, even till dawn, and then he went away. ^20:12And they took the boy in, living, and were greatly comforted. ^20:13But we, going before him by ship, went to Assos with the purpose of taking Paul in there: for so he had given orders, because he himself was coming by land. ^20:14And when he came up with us at Assos, we took him in the ship and went on to Mitylene. ^20:15And going from there by sea, we came on the day after opposite Chios, and touching at Samos on the day after that, we came on the third day to Miletus. ^20:16For Paul's purpose was to go past Ephesus, so that he might not be kept in Asia; for he was going quickly, in order, if possible, to be at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. ^20:17And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the rulers of the church. ^20:18And when they had come, he said to them, You yourselves have seen what my life has been like all the time from the day when I first came into Asia, ^20:19Doing the Lord's work without pride, through all the sorrow and troubles which came on me because of the evil designs of the Jews: ^20:20And how I kept back nothing which might be of profit to you, teaching you publicly and privately, ^20:21Preaching to Jews and to Greeks the need for a turning of the heart to God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. ^20:22And now, as you see, I am going to Jerusalem, a prisoner in spirit, having no knowledge of what will come to me there: ^20:23Only that the Holy Spirit makes clear to me in every town that prison and pains are waiting for me. ^20:24But I put no value on my life, if only at the end of it I may see the work complete which was given to me by the Lord Jesus, to be a witness of the good news of the grace of God. ^20:25And now I am conscious that you, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom, will not see my face again. ^20:26And so I say to you this day that I am clean from the blood of all men. ^20:27For I have not kept back from you anything of the purpose of God. ^20:28Give attention to yourselves, and to all the flock which the Holy Spirit has given into your care, to give food to the church of God, for which he gave his blood. ^20:29I am conscious that after I am gone, evil wolves will come in among you, doing damage to the flock; ^20:30And from among yourselves will come men who will give wrong teaching, turning away the disciples after them. ^20:31So keep watch, having in mind that for three years without resting I was teaching every one of you, day and night, with weeping. ^20:32And now, I give you into the care of God and the word of his grace, which is able to make you strong and to give you your heritage among all the saints. ^20:33I have had no desire for any man's silver or gold or clothing. ^20:34You yourselves have seen that with these hands I got what was necessary for me and those who were with me. ^20:35In all things I was an example to you of how, in your lives, you are to give help to the feeble, and keep in memory the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, There is a greater blessing in giving than in getting. ^20:36And having said these words, he went down on his knees in prayer with them all. ^20:37And they were all weeping, falling on Paul's neck and kissing him, ^20:38Being sad most of all because he had said that they would not see his face again. And so they went with him to the ship.

^21:1And after parting from them, we put out to sea and came straight to Cos, and the day after to Rhodes, and from there to Patara: ^21:2And as there was a ship going to Phoenicia, we went in it. ^21:3And when we had come in view of Cyprus, going past it on our left, we went on to Syria, and came to land at Tyre: for there the goods which were in the ship had to be taken out. ^21:4And meeting the disciples we were there for seven days: and they gave Paul orders through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. ^21:5And when these days came to an end, we went on our journey; and they all, with their wives and children, came with us on our way till we were out of the town: and after going on our knees in prayer by the sea, ^21:6We said our last words to one another, and got into the ship, and they went back to their houses. ^21:7And journeying by ship from Tyre we came to Ptolemais; and there we had talk with the brothers and were with them for one day. ^21:8And on the day after, we went away and came to Caesarea, where we were guests in the house of Philip, the preacher, who was one of the seven. ^21:9And he had four daughters, virgins, who were prophets. ^21:10And while we were waiting there for some days, a certain prophet, named Agabus, came down from Judaea. ^21:11And he came to us, and took the band of Paul's clothing, and putting it round his feet and hands, said, The Holy Spirit says these words, So will the Jews do to the man who is the owner of this band, and they will give him up into the hands of the Gentiles. ^21:12And hearing these things, we and those who were living in that place made request to him not to go to Jerusalem. ^21:13Then Paul said, What are you doing, weeping and wounding my heart? for I am ready, not only to be a prisoner, but to be put to death at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. ^21:14And as he might not be moved we did no more, saying, Let the purpose of God be done. ^21:15And after these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ^21:16And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, taking a certain Mnason of Cyprus, one of the early disciples, in whose house we were to be living. ^21:17And when we came to Jerusalem, the brothers were pleased to see us. ^21:18And on the day after, Paul went with us to James, and all the rulers of the church were present. ^21:19And when he had said how glad he was to see them, he gave them a detailed account of the things which God had done through his work among the Gentiles. ^21:20And hearing it, they gave praise to God; and they said to him, You see, brother, what thousands there are among the Jews, who have the faith; and they all have a great respect for the law: ^21:21And they have had news of you, how you have been teaching all the Jews among the Gentiles to give up the law of Moses, and not to give circumcision to their children, and not to keep the old rules. ^21:22What then is the position? They will certainly get news that you have come. ^21:23Do this, then, which we say to you: We have four men who have taken an oath; ^21:24Go with these, and make yourself clean with them, and make the necessary payments for them, so that they may be free from their oath: and everyone will see that the statements made about you are not true, but that you put yourself under rule, and keep the law. ^21:25But as to the Gentiles who have the faith, we sent a letter, giving our decision that they were to keep themselves from offerings made to false gods, and from blood, and from the flesh of animals put to death in ways against the law, and from the evil desires of the body. ^21:26Then Paul took the men, and on the day after, making himself clean with them, he went into the Temple, giving out the statement that the days necessary for making them clean were complete, till the offering was made for every one of them. ^21:27And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the Temple, got the people together and put their hands on him, ^21:28Crying out, Men of Israel, come to our help: this is the man who is teaching all men everywhere against the people and the law and this place: and in addition, he has taken Greeks into the Temple, and made this holy place unclean. ^21:29For they had seen him before in the town with Trophimus of Ephesus, and had the idea that Paul had taken him with him into the Temple. ^21:30And all the town was moved, and the people came running together and put their hands on Paul, pulling him out of the Temple: and then the doors were shut. ^21:31And while they were attempting to put him to death, news came to the chief captain of the band that all Jerusalem was out of control. ^21:32And straight away he took some armed men and went quickly down to them: and the Jews, seeing them, gave no more blows to Paul. ^21:33Then the chief captain came near and took him, and gave orders for him to be put in chains, questioning them as to who he was and what he had done. ^21:34And some said one thing and some another, among the people: and as he was not able to get a knowledge of the facts because of the noise, he gave orders for Paul to be taken into the army building. ^21:35And when he came on to the steps, he was lifted up by the armed men, because of the force of the people; ^21:36For a great mass of people came after them, crying out, Away with him! ^21:37And when Paul was about to be taken into the building, he said to the chief captain, May I say something to you? And he said, Have you a knowledge of Greek? ^21:38Are you by chance the Egyptian who, before this, got the people worked up against the government and took four thousand men of the Assassins out into the waste land? ^21:39But Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is not an unimportant town: I make a request to you to let me say a word to the people. ^21:40And when he let him do so, Paul, from the steps, made a sign with his hand to the people, and when they were all quiet, he said to them in the Hebrew language,

^22:1My brothers and fathers, give ear to the story of my life which I now put before you. ^22:2And, hearing him talking in the Hebrew language, they became the more quiet, and he said, ^22:3I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia by birth, but I had my education in this town at the feet of Gamaliel, being trained in the keeping of every detail of the law of our fathers; given up to the cause of God with all my heart, as you are today. ^22:4And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison. ^22:5Of which the high priest will be a witness, and all the rulers, from whom I had letters to the brothers; and I went into Damascus, to take those who were there as prisoners to Jerusalem for punishment. ^22:6And it came about that while I was on my journey, coming near to Damascus, about the middle of the day, suddenly I saw a great light from heaven shining round me. ^22:7And when I went down on the earth, a voice came to my ears saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? ^22:8And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking. ^22:9And those who were with me saw the light, but the voice of him who was talking to me came not to their ears. ^22:10And I said, What have I to do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Get up, and go into Damascus; and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. ^22:11And because I was unable to see because of the glory of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand, and so I came to Damascus. ^22:12And one Ananias, a God-fearing man, who kept the law, and of whom all the Jews in that place had a high opinion, ^22:13Came to my side and said, Brother Saul, let your eyes be open. And in that very hour I was able to see him. ^22:14And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth. ^22:15For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears. ^22:16And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name. ^22:17And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear, ^22:18And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me. ^22:19And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you: ^22:20And when Stephen your witness was put to death, I was there, giving approval, and looking after the clothing of those who put him to death. ^22:21And he said to me, Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles. ^22:22And they gave him a hearing as far as this word; then with loud voices they said, Away with this man from the earth; it is not right for him to be living. ^22:23And while they were crying out, and pulling off their clothing, and sending dust into the air, ^22:24The chief captain gave orders for him to be taken into the army building, saying that he would put him to the test by whipping, so that he might have knowledge of the reason why they were crying out so violently against him. ^22:25And when they had put leather bands round him, Paul said to the captain who was present, Is it the law for you to give blows to a man who is a Roman and has not been judged? ^22:26And hearing this, the man went to the chief captain and gave him an account of it, saying, What are you about to do? for this man is a Roman. ^22:27And the chief captain came to him and said, Give me an answer, are you a Roman? And he said, Yes. ^22:28And the chief captain said, I got Roman rights for myself at a great price. And Paul said, But I had them by birth. ^22:29Then those who were about to put him to the test went away: and the chief captain was in fear, seeing that he was a Roman, and that he had put chains on him. ^22:30But on the day after, desiring to have certain knowledge of what the Jews had to say against him, he made him free, and gave orders for the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to come together, and he took Paul and put him before them.

^23:1And Paul, looking fixedly at the Sanhedrin, said, My brothers, my life has been upright before God till this day. ^23:2And the high priest, Ananias, gave orders to those who were near him to give him a blow on the mouth. ^23:3Then Paul said to him, God will give blows to you, you whitewashed wall: are you here to be my judge by law, and by your orders am I given blows against the law? ^23:4And those who were near said, Do you say such words against God's high priest? ^23:5And Paul said, Brother, I had no idea that he was the high priest: for it has been said, You may not say evil about the ruler of your people. ^23:6But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead. ^23:7And when he had said this, there was an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and a division in the meeting. ^23:8For the Sadducees say that there is no coming back from the dead, and no angels or spirits: but the Pharisees have belief in all these. ^23:9And there was a great outcry: and some of the scribes on the side of the Pharisees got up and took part in the discussion, saying, We see no evil in this man: what if he has had a revelation from an angel or a spirit? ^23:10And when the argument became very violent, the chief captain, fearing that Paul would be pulled in two by them, gave orders to the armed men to take him by force from among them, and take him into the army building. ^23:11And the night after, the Lord came to his side and said, Be of good heart, for as you have been witnessing for me in Jerusalem, so will you be my witness in Rome. ^23:12And when it was day, the Jews came together and put themselves under an oath that they would take no food or drink till they had put Paul to death. ^23:13And more than forty of them took this oath. ^23:14And they came to the chief priests and the rulers and said, We have taken a great oath to take no food till we have put Paul to death ^23:15So now, will you and the Sanhedrin make a request to the military authorities to have him sent down to you, as if you were desiring to go into the business in greater detail; and we, before ever he gets to you, will be waiting to put him to death. ^23:16But Paul's sister's son had word of their design, and he came into the army building and gave news of it to Paul. ^23:17And Paul sent for a captain and said, Take this young man to your chief, for he has news for him. ^23:18So he took him to the chief captain and said, Paul, the prisoner, made a request to me to take this young man to you, for he has something to say to you. ^23:19And the chief took him by the hand and, going on one side, said to him privately, What is it you have to say to me? ^23:20And he said, The Jews are in agreement together to make a request to you for Paul to be taken, on the day after this, into the Sanhedrin, to be questioned in greater detail. ^23:21But do not give way to them, for more than forty of them are waiting for him, having taken an oath not to take food or drink till they have put him to death: and now they are ready, waiting for your order. ^23:22So the chief captain let the young man go, saying to him, Do not say to anyone that you have given me word of these things. ^23:23And he sent for two captains and said, Make ready two hundred men, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, to go to Caesarea, at the third hour of the night: ^23:24And get beasts so that they may put Paul on them, and take him safely to Felix, the ruler. ^23:25And he sent a letter in these words: ^23:26Claudius Lysias, to the most noble ruler, Felix, peace be with you. ^23:27This man was taken by the Jews, and was about to be put to death by them, when I came on them with the army and took him out of danger, having knowledge that he was a Roman. ^23:28And, desiring to get at the reason for their attack on him, I took him down to their Sanhedrin: ^23:29Then it became clear to me that it was a question of their law, and that nothing was said against him which might be a reason for prison or death. ^23:30And when news was given to me that a secret design was being made against the man, I sent him straight away to you, giving orders to those who are against him to make their statements before you. ^23:31So the armed men, as they were ordered, took Paul and came by night to Antipatris. ^23:32But on the day after, they sent the horsemen on with him, and went back to their place: ^23:33And they, when they came to Caesarea, gave the letter to the ruler, and took Paul before him. ^23:34And after reading it, he said, What part of the country do you come from? And, hearing that he was from Cilicia, ^23:35I will give hearing to your cause, he said, when those who are against you have come. And he gave orders for him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.