Acts 11-13

New American Standard Bible

Peter Reports in Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and ^(A)the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, ^[a](B)the Jewish believers took issue with him, ³ saying, “^(C)You ^[b]went to ^[c]uncircumcised men and ate with them.” ⁴ But Peter began and explained at length to them ^(D)in an orderly sequence, saying, ⁵ “^(E)I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw ^(F)a vision, an ^[d]object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came to where I was, ⁶ and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the ^[e]crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky. ⁷ I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; ^[f]kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing ^[g]unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘^(G)What God has cleansed, no longer ^[h]consider unholy.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. ¹¹ And behold, at that moment three men who had been sent to me from ^(H)Caesarea came up to the house where we were staying. ^12 (I)And the Spirit told me to go with them ^(J)without ^[i]misgivings. ^(K)These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ And he reported to us how he had seen the angel ^[j]standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; ¹⁴ and he will speak ^(L)words to you by which you will be saved, you and ^(M)all your household.’ ¹⁵ And as I began to speak, ^(N)the Holy Spirit fell upon them just ^(O)as He did upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘^(P)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized ^[k]with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, if ^(Q)God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, ^(R)who was I that I could ^[l]stand in God’s way?” ¹⁸ When they heard this, they ^[m]quieted down and ^(S)glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the ^(T)repentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

^19 (U)So then those who were scattered because of the ^[n]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way ^[o]to ^(V)Phoenicia, ^(W)Cyprus, and ^(X)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of ^(Y)Cyprus and ^(Z)Cyrene, who came to ^(AA)Antioch and began speaking to the ^[p](AB)Greeks as well, ^(AC)preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^(AD)the hand of the Lord was with them, and ^(AE)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. ²² The ^[q]news about them ^[r]reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent ^(AF)Barnabas off ^[s]to ^(AG)Antioch. ²³ Then when he arrived and ^[t]witnessed ^(AH)the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with ^[u]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; ²⁴ for he was a good man, and ^(AI)full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And ^[v](AJ)considerable numbers were added to the Lord. ²⁵ And he left for ^(AK)Tarsus to look for Saul; ²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him to ^(AL)Antioch. And for an entire year they ^[w]met with the church and taught ^[x]considerable numbers of people; and ^(AM)the disciples were first called ^(AN)Christians in ^(AO)Antioch.

²⁷ Now ^[y]at this time some ^(AP)prophets came down from Jerusalem to ^(AQ)Antioch. ²⁸ One of them, named ^(AR)Agabus, stood up and ^[z]indicated ^[aa]by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine ^(AS)all over the ^[ab]world. ^[ac]And this took place in the reign of ^(AT)Claudius. ²⁹ And to the extent that any of ^(AU)the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the ^[ad]relief of ^(AV)the brothers and sisters living in Judea. ^30 (AW)And they did this, sending it ^[ae]with ^(AX)Barnabas and Saul to the ^(AY)elders.

Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance

12 Now about that time ^[af]Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to do them harm. ² And he ^(AZ)had James the brother of John ^(BA)executed with a sword. ³ When he saw that it ^(BB)pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well. (Now these were ^[ag](BC)the days of Unleavened Bread.) ⁴ When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, turning him over to four ^[ah](BD)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending only after ^(BE)the Passover to bring him before the people. ⁵ So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made to God ^[ai]intensely by the church.

⁶ On ^[aj]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, ^(BF)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. ⁷ And behold, ^(BG)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(BH)stood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And ^(BI)his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Put on your belt and ^[ak]strap on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” ⁹ And he went out and continued to follow, and yet he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing ^(BJ)a vision. ¹⁰ Now when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which ^(BK)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹ When Peter ^(BL)came ^[al]to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that ^(BM)the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all ^[am]that the Jewish people were expecting.” ¹² And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of ^(BN)John, who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and ^(BO)were praying. ¹³ When he knocked at the door of the gate, ^(BP)a slave woman named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, ^(BQ)because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. ¹⁵ They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is ^(BR)his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷ But ^(BS)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to ^[an](BT)James and ^(BU)the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.

¹⁸ Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to ^[ao]what could have become of Peter. ¹⁹ When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they ^(BV)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to ^(BW)Caesarea and was spending time there.

Death of Herod

²⁰ Now he was very angry with the people of ^(BX)Tyre and Sidon; and with one mind they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because ^(BY)their country was supported with grain from the king’s country. ²¹ On an appointed day, after putting on his royal apparel, Herod took his seat on the ^[ap]rostrum and began delivering an address to them. ²² The people repeatedly cried out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ And immediately ^(BZ)an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and ^[aq]died.

²⁴ But ^(CA)the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

²⁵ And ^(CB)Barnabas and ^(CC)Saul returned ^(CD)when they had fulfilled their ^[ar]mission to Jerusalem, taking along with them ^(CE)John, who was also called Mark.

First Missionary Journey

13 Now there were ^(CF)prophets and ^(CG)teachers at ^(CH)Antioch, in the ^(CI)church that was there: ^(CJ)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of ^(CK)Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with ^(CL)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were ^[as]serving the Lord and fasting, ^(CM)the Holy Spirit said, “Set ^(CN)Barnabas and Saul apart for Me for ^(CO)the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, when they had fasted, ^(CP)prayed, and ^(CQ)laid their hands on them, ^(CR)they sent them away.

⁴ So, being ^(CS)sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to ^(CT)Cyprus. ⁵ When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in ^(CU)the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had ^(CV)John as their helper. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a ^(CW)magician, a Jewish ^(CX)false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the ^(CY)proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(CZ)magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the ^(DA)proconsul away from ^(DB)the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also known as Paul, ^[at](DC)filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him, ¹⁰ and said, “^[au]You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you ^(DD)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked ^(DE)the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now, behold, ^(DF)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the ^(DG)proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at ^(DH)the teaching of the Lord.

¹³ Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from ^(DI)Paphos and came to ^(DJ)Perga in ^(DK)Pamphylia; but ^(DL)John left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But going on from Perga, they arrived at ^(DM)Pisidian ^(DN)Antioch, and on ^(DO)the Sabbath day they went into ^(DP)the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After ^(DQ)the reading of the Law and ^(DR)the Prophets, ^(DS)the synagogue officials sent word to them, saying, “^[av]Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ Paul stood up, and ^(DT)motioning with his hand said,

“Men of Israel, and ^(DU)you who fear God, listen: ¹⁷ The God of this people Israel ^(DV)chose our fathers and ^[aw](DW)made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm ^(DX)He led them out from it. ¹⁸ For ^(DY)a period of about forty years ^(DZ)He put up with them in the wilderness. ^19 (EA)When He had destroyed ^(EB)seven nations in the land of Canaan, He ^(EC)distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took ^(ED)about 450 years. ²⁰ After these things He ^(EE)gave them judges until ^(EF)Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then they ^(EG)asked for a king, and God gave them ^(EH)Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² After He had ^(EI)removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘^(EJ)I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My ^[ax]will.’ ^23 (EK)From the descendants of this man, ^(EL)according to promise, God has brought to Israel ^(EM)a Savior, Jesus, ²⁴ after ^(EN)John had proclaimed, before ^[ay]His coming, a ^(EO)baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And while John ^(EP)was completing his course, ^(EQ)he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶ “^[az]Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of ^(ER)this salvation has been sent. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem, and their ^(ES)rulers, ^(ET)recognizing neither Him nor the ^[ba]declarations of ^(EU)the prophets which are ^(EV)read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. ²⁸ And though they found no grounds for putting Him to death, they ^(EW)asked Pilate that He be executed. ²⁹ When they had ^(EX)carried out everything that was written concerning Him, ^(EY)they took Him down from the ^[bb](EZ)cross and ^(FA)laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God ^(FB)raised Him from the dead; ³¹ and for many days ^(FC)He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now ^(FD)His witnesses to the people. ³² And we ^(FE)preach to you the good news of ^(FF)the promise made to the fathers, ³³ that God has fulfilled this promise to those of us who are the descendants by ^(FG)raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘^(FH)You are My Son; today I have fathered You.’ ³⁴ As for the fact that He ^(FI)raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘^(FJ)I will give you the holy and faithful mercies of David.’ ³⁵ Therefore, He also says in another Psalm: ‘^(FK)You will not ^[bc]allow Your ^[bd]Holy One to ^[be]undergo decay.’ ³⁶ For ^(FL)David, after he had ^[bf]served God’s ^(FM)purpose in his own generation, ^(FN)fell asleep, and was ^[bg]buried among his fathers and ^[bh]underwent decay; ³⁷ but He whom God ^(FO)raised did not ^[bi]undergo decay. ³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, ^[bj]brothers, that ^(FP)through ^[bk]Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and ^[bl]through Him ^(FQ)everyone who believes is ^[bm]freed ^[bn]from all things, from which you could not be ^[bo]freed ^[bp]through the Law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Therefore, see that the thing spoken of ^(FR)in the Prophets does not come upon you:

⁴² As ^[br]Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people repeatedly begged to have these ^[bs]things spoken to them the next ^(FT)Sabbath. ⁴³ Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and the ^(FU)God-fearing ^[bt](FV)proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them and urging them to continue in ^(FW)the grace of God.

Paul Turns to the Gentiles

⁴⁴ The next ^(FX)Sabbath nearly all the city assembled to hear the word of ^[bu]the Lord. ⁴⁵ But when ^(FY)the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were ^[bv]blaspheming. ⁴⁶ Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you ^(FZ)first. Since you repudiate it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, ^(GA)we are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us,

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying ^(GD)the word of ^[by]the Lord; and all who ^(GE)had been appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And ^(GF)the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But ^(GG)the Jews incited the ^[bz](GH)devout women ^(GI)of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their ^[ca]region. ⁵¹ But ^(GJ)they shook off the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to ^(GK)Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were continually ^(GL)filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.