7 And the chief priest said, `Are then these things so?'

² and he said, `Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken: The God of the glory did appear to our father Abraham, being in Mesopotamia, before his dwelling in Haran,

³ and He said to him, Go forth out of thy land, and out of thy kindred, and come to a land that I shall shew thee.

⁴ `Then having come forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, he dwelt in Haran, and from thence, after the death of his father, He did remove him to this land wherein ye now dwell,

⁵ and He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a footstep, and did promise to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him -- he having no child.

⁶ `And God spake thus, That his seed shall be sojourning in a strange land, and they shall cause it to serve, and shall do it evil four hundred years,

⁷ and the nation whom they shall serve I will judge, said God; and after these things they shall come forth and shall do Me service in this place.

⁸ `And He gave to him a covenant of circumcision, and so he begat Isaac, and did circumcise him on the eighth day, and Isaac [begat] Jacob, and Jacob -- the twelve patriarchs;

⁹ and the patriarchs, having been moved with jealousy, sold Joseph to Egypt, and God was with him,

¹⁰ and did deliver him out of all his tribulations, and gave him favour and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he did set him -- governor over Egypt and all his house.

¹¹ `And there came a dearth upon all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great tribulation, and our fathers were not finding sustenance,

¹² and Jacob having heard that there was corn in Egypt, sent forth our fathers a first time;

¹³ and at the second time was Joseph made known to his brethren, and Joseph's kindred became manifest to Pharaoh,

¹⁴ and Joseph having sent, did call for his father Jacob, and all his kindred -- with seventy and five souls --

¹⁵ and Jacob went down to Egypt, and died, himself and our fathers,

¹⁶ and they were carried over into Sychem, and were laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in money from the sons of Emmor, of Sychem.

¹⁷ `And according as the time of the promise was drawing nigh, which God did swear to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,

¹⁸ till another king rose, who had not known Joseph;

¹⁹ this one, having dealt subtilely with our kindred, did evil to our fathers, causing to expose their babes, that they might not live;

²⁰ in which time Moses was born, and he was fair to God, and he was brought up three months in the house of his father;

²¹ and he having been exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up, and did rear him to herself for a son;

²² and Moses was taught in all wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in words and in works.

²³ `And when forty years were fulfilled to him, it came upon his heart to look after his brethren, the sons of Israel;

²⁴ and having seen a certain one suffering injustice, he did defend, and did justice to the oppressed, having smitten the Egyptian;

²⁵ and he was supposing his brethren to understand that God through his hand doth give salvation; and they did not understand.

²⁶ `On the succeeding day, also, he shewed himself to them as they are striving, and urged them to peace, saying, Men, brethren are ye, wherefore do ye injustice to one another?

²⁷ and he who is doing injustice to the neighbour, did thrust him away, saying, Who set thee a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸ to kill me dost thou wish, as thou didst kill yesterday the Egyptian?

²⁹ `And Moses fled at this word, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons,

³⁰ and forty years having been fulfilled, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai a messenger of the Lord, in a flame of fire of a bush,

³¹ and Moses having seen did wonder at the sight; and he drawing near to behold, there came a voice of the Lord unto him,

³² I [am] the God of thy fathers; the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. `And Moses having become terrified, durst not behold,

³³ and the Lord said to him, Loose the sandal of thy feet, for the place in which thou hast stood is holy ground;

³⁴ seeing I have seen the affliction of My people that [is] in Egypt, and their groaning I did hear, and came down to deliver them; and now come, I will send thee to Egypt.

³⁵ `This Moses, whom they did refuse, saying, Who did set thee a ruler and a judge? this one God a ruler and a redeemer did send, in the hand of a messenger who appeared to him in the bush;

³⁶ this one did bring them forth, having done wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years;

³⁷ this is the Moses who did say to the sons of Israel: A prophet to you shall the Lord your God raise up out of your brethren, like to me, him shall ye hear.

³⁸ `This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the messenger who is speaking to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers who did receive the living oracles to give to us;

³⁹ to whom our fathers did not wish to become obedient, but did thrust away, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt,

⁴⁰ saying to Aaron, Make to us gods who shall go on before us, for this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we have not known what hath happened to him.

⁴¹ `And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands,

⁴² and God did turn, and did give them up to do service to the host of the heaven, according as it hath been written in the scroll of the prophets: Slain beasts and sacrifices did ye offer to Me forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

⁴³ and ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan -- the figures that ye made to bow before them, and I will remove your dwelling beyond Babylon.

⁴⁴ `The tabernacle of the testimony was among our fathers in the wilderness, according as He did direct, who is speaking to Moses, to make it according to the figure that he had seen;

⁴⁵ which also our fathers having in succession received, did bring in with Joshua, into the possession of the nations whom God did drive out from the presence of our fathers, till the days of David,

⁴⁶ who found favour before God, and requested to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob;

⁴⁷ and Solomon built Him an house.

⁴⁸ `But the Most High in sanctuaries made with hands doth not dwell, according as the prophet saith:

⁴⁹ The heaven [is] My throne, and the earth My footstool; what house will ye build to Me? saith the Lord, or what [is] the place of My rest?

⁵⁰ hath not My hand made all these things?

⁵¹ `Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and in ears! ye do always the Holy Spirit resist; as your fathers -- also ye;

⁵² which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed those who declared before about the coming of the Righteous One, of whom now ye betrayers and murderers have become,

⁵³ who received the law by arrangement of messengers, and did not keep [it].'

⁵⁴ And hearing these things, they were cut to the hearts, and did gnash the teeth at him;

⁵⁵ and being full of the Holy Spirit, having looked stedfastly to the heaven, he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

⁵⁶ and he said, `Lo, I see the heavens having been opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.'

⁵⁷ And they, having cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and did rush with one accord upon him,

⁵⁸ and having cast him forth outside of the city, they were stoning [him] -- and the witnesses did put down their garments at the feet of a young man called Saul --

⁵⁹ and they were stoning Stephen, calling and saying, `Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;'

⁶⁰ and having bowed the knees, he cried with a loud voice, `Lord, mayest thou not lay to them this sin;' and this having said, he fell asleep.

8 And Saul was assenting to his death, and there came in that day a great persecution upon the assembly in Jerusalem, all also were scattered abroad in the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles;

² and devout men carried away Stephen, and made great lamentation over him;

³ and Saul was making havoc of the assembly, into every house entering, and haling men and women, was giving them up to prison;

⁴ they then indeed, having been scattered, went abroad proclaiming good news -- the word.

⁵ And Philip having gone down to a city of Samaria, was preaching to them the Christ,

⁶ the multitudes also were giving heed to the things spoken by Philip, with one accord, in their hearing and seeing the signs that he was doing,

⁷ for unclean spirits came forth from many who were possessed, crying with a loud voice, and many who have been paralytic and lame were healed,

⁸ and there was great joy in that city.

⁹ And a certain man, by name Simon, was before in the city using magic, and amazing the nation of Samaria, saying himself to be a certain great one,

¹⁰ to whom they were all giving heed, from small unto great, saying, `This one is the great power of God;'

¹¹ and they were giving heed to him, because of his having for a long time amazed them with deeds of magic.

¹² And when they believed Philip, proclaiming good news, the things concerning the reign of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women;

¹³ and Simon also himself did believe, and, having been baptized, he was continuing with Philip, beholding also signs and mighty acts being done, he was amazed.

¹⁴ And the apostles in Jerusalem having heard that Samaria hath received the word of God, did send unto them Peter and John,

¹⁵ who having come down did pray concerning them, that they may receive the Holy Spirit, --

¹⁶ for as yet he was fallen upon none of them, and only they have been baptized -- to the name of the Lord Jesus;

¹⁷ then were they laying hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ And Simon, having beheld that through the laying on of the hands of the apostles, the Holy Spirit is given, brought before them money,

¹⁹ saying, `Give also to me this authority, that on whomsoever I may lay the hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.'

²⁰ And Peter said unto him, `Thy silver with thee -- may it be to destruction! because the gift of God thou didst think to possess through money;

²¹ thou hast neither part nor lot in this thing, for thy heart is not right before God;

²² reform, therefore, from this thy wickedness, and beseech God, if then the purpose of thy heart may be forgiven thee,

²³ for in the gall of bitterness, and bond of unrighteousness, I perceive thee being.'

²⁴ And Simon answering, said, `Beseech ye for me unto the Lord, that nothing may come upon me of the things ye have spoken.'

²⁵ They indeed, therefore, having testified fully, and spoken the word of the Lord, did turn back to Jerusalem; in many villages also of the Samaritans they did proclaim good news.

²⁶ And a messenger of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, `Arise, and go on toward the south, on the way that is going down from Jerusalem to Gaza,' -- this is desert.

²⁷ And having arisen, he went on, and lo, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch, a man of rank, of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to worship to Jerusalem;

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

²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, `Go near, and be joined to this chariot;'

³⁰ and Philip having run near, heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, `Dost thou then know what thou dost read?'

³¹ and he said, `Why, how am I able, if some one may not guide me?' he called Philip also, having come up, to sit with him.

³² And the contents of the Writing that he was reading was this: `As a sheep unto slaughter he was led, and as a lamb before his shearer dumb, so he doth not open his mouth;

³³ in his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and his generation -- who shall declare? because taken from the earth is his life.'

³⁴ And the eunuch answering Philip said, `I pray thee, about whom doth the prophet say this? about himself, or about some other one?'

³⁵ and Philip having opened his mouth, and having begun from this Writing, proclaimed good news to him -- Jesus.

³⁶ And as they were going on the way, they came upon a certain water, and the eunuch said, `Lo, water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?'

³⁷ [And Philip said, `If thou dost believe out of all the heart, it is lawful;' and he answering said, `I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God;']

³⁸ and he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down to the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him;

³⁹ and when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more, for he was going on his way rejoicing;

⁴⁰ and Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through, he was proclaiming good news to all the cities, till his coming to Cesarea.

9 And Saul, yet breathing of threatening and slaughter to the disciples of the Lord, having gone to the chief priest,

² did ask from him letters to Damascus, unto the synagogues, that if he may find any being of the way, both men and women, he may bring them bound to Jerusalem.

³ And in the going, he came nigh to Damascus, and suddenly there shone round about him a light from the heaven,

⁴ and having fallen upon the earth, he heard a voice saying to him, `Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?'

⁵ And he said, `Who art thou, Lord?' and the Lord said, `I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute; hard for thee at the pricks to kick;'

⁶ trembling also, and astonished, he said, `Lord, what dost thou wish me to do?' and the Lord [said] unto him, `Arise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what it behoveth thee to do.'

⁷ And the men who are journeying with him stood speechless, hearing indeed the voice but seeing no one,

⁸ and Saul arose from the earth, and his eyes having been opened, he beheld no one, and leading him by the hand they brought him to Damascus,

⁹ and he was three days without seeing, and he did neither eat nor drink.

¹⁰ And there was a certain disciple in Damascus, by name Ananias, and the Lord said unto him in a vision, `Ananias;' and he said, `Behold me, Lord;'

¹¹ and the Lord [saith] unto him, `Having risen, go on unto the street that is called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas, [one] by name Saul of Tarsus, for, lo, he doth pray,

¹² and he saw in a vision a man, by name Ananias, coming in, and putting a hand on him, that he may see again.'

¹³ And Ananias answered, `Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how many evils he did to Thy saints in Jerusalem,

¹⁴ and here he hath authority from the chief priests, to bind all those calling on Thy name.'

¹⁵ And the Lord said unto him, `Be going on, because a choice vessel to Me is this one, to bear My name before nations and kings -- the sons also of Israel;

¹⁶ for I will shew him how many things it behoveth him for My name to suffer.'

¹⁷ And Ananias went away, and did enter into the house, and having put upon him [his] hands, said, `Saul, brother, the Lord hath sent me -- Jesus who did appear to thee in the way in which thou wast coming -- that thou mayest see again, and mayest be filled with the Holy Spirit.'

¹⁸ And immediately there fell from his eyes as it were scales, he saw again also presently, and having risen, was baptized,

¹⁹ and having received nourishment, was strengthened, and Saul was with the disciples in Damascus certain days,

²⁰ and immediately in the synagogues he was preaching the Christ, that he is the Son of God.

²¹ And all those hearing were amazed, and said, `Is not this he who laid waist in Jerusalem those calling on this name, and hither to this intent had come, that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?'

²² And Saul was still more strengthened, and he was confounding the Jews dwelling in Damascus, proving that this is the Christ.

²³ And when many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel together to kill him,

²⁴ and their counsel against [him] was known to Saul; they were also watching the gates both day and night, that they may kill him,

²⁵ and the disciples having taken him, by night did let him down by the wall, letting down in a basket.

²⁶ And Saul, having come to Jerusalem, did try to join himself to the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, not believing that he is a disciple,

²⁷ and Barnabas having taken him, brought [him] unto the apostles, and did declare to them how in the way he saw the Lord, and that he spake to him, and how in Damascus he was speaking boldly in the name of Jesus.

²⁸ And he was with them, coming in and going out in Jerusalem,

²⁹ and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, he was both speaking and disputing with the Hellenists, and they were taking in hand to kill him,

³⁰ and the brethren having known, brought him down to Cesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.

³¹ Then, indeed, the assemblies throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, had peace, being built up, and, going on in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

³² And it came to pass that Peter passing throughout all [quarters], came down also unto the saints who were dwelling at Lydda,

³³ and he found there a certain man, Aeneas by name -- for eight years laid upon a couch -- who was paralytic,

³⁴ and Peter said to him, `Aeneas, heal thee doth Jesus the Christ; arise and spread for thyself;' and immediately he rose,

³⁵ and all those dwelling at Lydda, and Saron saw him, and did turn to the Lord.

³⁶ And in Joppa there was a certain female disciple, by name Tabitha, (which interpreted, is called Dorcas,) this woman was full of good works and kind acts that she was doing;

³⁷ and it came to pass in those days she, having ailed, died, and having bathed her, they laid her in an upper chamber,

³⁸ and Lydda being nigh to Joppa, the disciples having heard that Peter is in that [place], sent two men unto him, calling on him not to delay to come through unto them.

³⁹ And Peter having risen, went with them, whom having come, they brought into the upper chamber, and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing coats and garments, as many as Dorcas was making while she was with them.

⁴⁰ And Peter having put them all forth without, having bowed the knees, did pray, and having turned unto the body said, `Tabitha, arise;' and she opened her eyes, and having seen Peter, she sat up,

⁴¹ and having given her [his] hand, he lifted her up, and having called the saints and the widows, he presented her alive,

⁴² and it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord;

⁴³ and it came to pass, that he remained many days in Joppa, with a certain one, Simon a tanner.