Acts 1:12-26
Amplified Bible
The Upper Room
12 Then the disciples returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet (Olive Grove), which is near Jerusalem, [only] a Sabbath day’s journey (less than one mile) away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went upstairs to the upper room where they were staying [indefinitely]; that is, Peter, and John and [his brother] James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew (Nathanael) and Matthew, [a]James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas (Thaddaeus) the son of James. 14 All these with one mind and one purpose were continually devoting themselves to prayer, [waiting together] along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
15 Now on one of these days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty believers was there) and he said, 16 “Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the Scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the lips of David [king of Israel] about Judas [Iscariot], who acted as guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he (Judas) was counted among us and received his share [by divine allotment] in this ministry.” 18 (Now Judas Iscariot [b]acquired a piece of land [indirectly] with the [money paid him as a] reward for his treachery, and falling headlong, his body burst open in the middle and all his intestines poured out. 19 All the people in Jerusalem learned about this, so in their own dialect—Aramaic—they called the piece of land Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For in the book of Psalms it is written,
‘Let his place of residence become desolate,
And let there be no one to live in it’;
and [again],
‘Let another take his position as overseer.’(A)
21 So of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus spent with us, 22 beginning with the baptism by John [at the outset of Jesus’ ministry] until the day when He was taken up from us—one of these men must become a witness with us [to testify] of His resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two men, Joseph, the one called Barsabbas (who was surnamed Justus), and Matthias. 24 They prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know all hearts [their thoughts, motives, desires], show us which one of these two You have chosen 25 to occupy this ministry and apostleship which Judas left to go to his own place [of evil].” 26 And they [c]cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 1:13 Also known as James the Less or James the Younger. His mother, Mary (Gr Maria), may have been either a sister or sister-in-law of Mary (Gr Mariam), the mother of Jesus.
- Acts 1:18 Peter means that the chief priests purchased the field in Judas’ name. He had returned to them with the money, and when they refused to accept it, he threw it into the temple sanctuary (Matt 27:3 ff). Afterwards they decided to buy the field for use as a burial ground for strangers. Peter goes on to say that Judas was disemboweled in a fall, while Matthew reports that Judas hanged himself (Matt 27:5). One explanation for the apparent discrepancy is that the rope or line that Judas was using broke, and the body fell in such a way as to be disemboweled (Matt 27:3 ff).
- Acts 1:26 The custom of the Jews was to write the names on stones, place them in a container and shake it until one stone fell out.
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