⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore^(A) the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.^{(B) 8} But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;^(C) and you will be my witnesses^(D) in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,^(E) and to the ends of the earth.”^(F)

²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:^(A) Everything must be fulfilled^(B) that is written about me in the Law of Moses,^(C) the Prophets^(D) and the Psalms.”^(E)

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer^(F) and rise from the dead on the third day,^{(G) 47} and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name^(H) to all nations,^(I) beginning at Jerusalem.^{(J) 48} You are witnesses^(K) of these things.

Witnesses

¹⁵ One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.^(A)

⁹ After he said this, he was taken up^(A) before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white^(B) stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,”^(C) they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back^(D) in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem^(E) from the hill called the Mount of Olives,^(F) a Sabbath day’s walk^[a] from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room^(G) where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.^{(H) 14} They all joined together constantly in prayer,^(I) along with the women^(J) and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.^(K)

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶ and said, “Brothers and sisters,^[b](L) the Scripture had to be fulfilled^(M) in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas,^(N) who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ He was one of our number^(O) and shared in our ministry.”^(P)

¹⁸ (With the payment^(Q) he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field;^(R) there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹ Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language^(S) Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰ “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

and,

²¹ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²² beginning from John’s baptism^(V) to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness^(W) with us of his resurrection.”

²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴ Then they prayed,^(X) “Lord, you know everyone’s heart.^(Y) Show us^(Z) which of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.^(AA)