Bible in 90 Days

Stephen Accused of Blasphemy

⁸ And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great ^(A)wonders and ^[a]signs among the people. ⁹ But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both ^(B)Cyrenians and ^(C)Alexandrians, and some from ^(D)Cilicia and ^[b](E)Asia, rose up and were arguing with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they were unable to oppose the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. ¹¹ Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹² And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they ^(F)came up to him, dragged him away, and brought him to ^(G)the Sanhedrin. ¹³ And they put forward ^(H)false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases speaking words against this ^(I)holy place and the Law; ¹⁴ for we have heard him say that ^(J)this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and alter ^(K)the customs which Moses handed down to us.” ¹⁵ And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the ^(L)Sanhedrin saw his face like the face of an angel.

Stephen’s Defense

7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

² And he said, “Hear me, ^(M)brothers and fathers! ^(N)The God of glory ^(O)appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in ^[c]Haran, ³ and said to him, ‘^(P)Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ ^4 (Q)Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in ^[d]Haran. ^(R)From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. ⁵ But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and ^(S)He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his seed after him, even when he had no child. ⁶ But ^(T)God spoke in this way, that his seed would be sojourners in a foreign land, and that they would ^[e]be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. ⁷ ‘And I Myself will judge the nation to which they will be enslaved,’ said God, ‘and ^(U)after that they will come out and ^[f]serve Me in this place.’ ⁸ And He ^(V)gave him ^[g]the covenant of circumcision; and so ^(W)Abraham was the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and ^(X)Isaac was the father of Jacob, and ^(Y)Jacob of the twelve ^(Z)patriarchs.

⁹ “And the patriarchs, ^(AA)becoming jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, ¹⁰ and rescued him from all his afflictions, and ^(AB)granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he appointed him governor over Egypt and all his household.

¹¹ “Now ^(AC)a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers ^[h]could find no food. ¹² But ^(AD)when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. ¹³ And on the second visit ^(AE)Joseph ^[i]made himself known to his brothers, and ^(AF)Joseph’s family was disclosed to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ Then ^(AG)Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, ^(AH)seventy-five ^[j](AI)persons in all. ¹⁵ And ^(AJ)Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers died. ¹⁶ And from there they were removed to ^[k](AK)Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of ^[l]Hamor in ^[m]Shechem.

¹⁷ “But as the ^(AL)time of the promise was drawing near which God had assured to Abraham, ^(AM)the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, ¹⁸ until ^(AN)another king arose over Egypt who did not know about Joseph. ¹⁹ It was he who ^(AO)deceitfully took advantage of our family and mistreated our fathers to ^[n](AP)set their infants outside so that they would not survive. ²⁰ It was at this time that ^(AQ)Moses was born, and he was lovely ^[o]in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home. ²¹ And after he had been set outside, ^(AR)Pharaoh’s daughter ^[p]took him away and nurtured him as her own son. ²² And Moses was educated in all ^(AS)the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in words and deeds. ²³ But when he was approaching the age of forty, ^(AT)it entered his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. ²⁴ And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took justice for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. ²⁵ And he supposed that his brothers understood that God was granting them salvation ^[q]through him, but they did not understand. ^26 (AU)On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why are you treating one another unjustly?’ ²⁷ But the one who was treating his neighbor unjustly pushed him away, saying, ‘^(AV)Who made you a ruler and judge over us? ^28 (AW)Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ ²⁹ At this remark, ^(AX)Moses fled and became a sojourner in the land of ^[r]Midian, where he ^(AY)was the father of two sons.

³⁰ “And after forty years had passed, ^(AZ)an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was marveling at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the ^[s]Lord: ³² ‘^(BA)I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and would not dare to look. ^33 (BB)But the ^[t]Lord said to him, ‘^(BC)Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. ^34 (BD)I have surely seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have come down to deliver them; ^[u](BE)come now, and I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵ “This Moses whom they ^(BF)disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God ^[v]sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the ^[w]help of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ^36 (BG)This man led them out, doing ^(BH)wonders and ^[x]signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the ^(BI)wilderness for forty years. ³⁷ This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘^(BJ)God will raise up for you a prophet ^[y]like me from your brothers.’ ³⁸ This is the one who, in ^(BK)the ^[z]congregation in the wilderness, was with ^(BL)the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai and with our fathers; the one who received ^(BM)living ^(BN)oracles to pass on to you. ³⁹ Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but ^(BO)rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, ^40 (BP)saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what has become of him.’ ^41 [aa]At that time ^(BQ)they made a ^[ab]calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in ^(BR)the works of their hands. ⁴² But God ^(BS)turned away and delivered them up to ^[ac]serve the ^[ad]host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘^(BT)Did you present Me with slain beasts and sacrifices ^(BU)forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? ^43 (BV)You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god ^[ae]Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will remove you beyond Babylon.’

⁴⁴ “Our fathers had ^(BW)the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He, who spoke to Moses, directed him to make it ^(BX)according to the pattern which he had seen. ⁴⁵ And having received it in their turn, our fathers ^(BY)brought it in with ^[af]Joshua when they dispossessed the ^[ag]nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David. ^46 (BZ)David found favor in the sight of God, and ^(CA)asked that he might find a dwelling place for the ^[ah]God of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But ^(CB)Solomon built a house for Him. ⁴⁸ However, ^(CC)the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands, as the prophet says:

⁵¹ “You men—^(CF)stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears—are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. ^52 (CG)And which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of ^(CH)the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers ^(CI)you have now become; ⁵³ you who received the Law as ^(CJ)ordained by angels, and yet did not observe it.”

Stephen Is Stoned to Death

⁵⁴ Now when they heard this, they became ^(CK)furious in their hearts, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But being ^(CL)full of the Holy Spirit, he ^(CM)gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing ^(CN)at the right hand of God; ⁵⁶ and he said, “Behold, I see the ^(CO)heavens opened up and ^(CP)the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But crying out with a loud voice, they covered their ears and rushed at him with one accord. ⁵⁸ And when they had ^(CQ)driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and ^(CR)the witnesses ^(CS)laid aside their garments at the feet of ^(CT)a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ They went on stoning Stephen as he ^(CU)was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ⁶⁰ Then ^(CV)falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, ^(CW)do not hold this sin against them!” And having said this, he ^[ai](CX)fell asleep.

Saul Persecutes the Church

8 ^(CY)Now Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.

And on that day a great persecution ^[aj]began against ^(CZ)the church in Jerusalem, and they were all ^(DA)scattered throughout the regions of Judea and ^(DB)Samaria, except the apostles. ² And some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. ³ But ^(DC)Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and ^(DD)dragging off men and women, he was delivering them into prison.

Philip Preaches in Samaria

⁴ Therefore, those ^(DE)who had been scattered went about, ^(DF)proclaiming the good news of the word. ^5 (DG)Now Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching ^[ak]Christ to them. ⁶ And the crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the ^[al]signs which he was doing. ⁷ For in the case of many who had ^(DH)unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been ^(DI)paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ So there was ^(DJ)great joy in that city.

⁹ Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing ^(DK)magic in the city and astounding the people of Samaria, ^(DL)claiming to be someone great; ¹⁰ and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “^(DM)This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” ¹¹ And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astounded them with his ^(DN)magic arts. ¹² But when they believed Philip ^(DO)proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being ^(DP)baptized, both men and women. ¹³ Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed ^(DQ)signs and ^(DR)great miracles taking place, he was constantly astounded.

¹⁴ Now when ^(DS)the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them ^(DT)Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them ^(DU)that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ For He had ^(DV)not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been ^(DW)baptized ^[am]in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then they ^(DX)began laying their hands on them, and they were ^(DY)receiving the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit had been bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰ But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you supposed you could ^(DZ)obtain the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have ^(EA)no part or portion in this ^[an]matter, for your heart is not ^(EB)right before God. ²² Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray earnestly to the Lord that, ^(EC)if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in ^(ED)the ^[ao]bondage of unrighteousness.” ²⁴ But Simon answered and said, “^(EE)Pray earnestly to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

An Ethiopian Receives Christ

²⁵ So, when they had solemnly ^(EF)borne witness and spoken ^(EG)the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were ^(EH)proclaiming the gospel to many villages of the ^(EI)Samaritans.

²⁶ But ^(EJ)an angel of the ^[ap]Lord spoke to ^(EK)Philip saying, “Rise up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to ^(EL)Gaza.” (^[aq]This is a desert road.) ²⁷ So he rose up and went; and behold, ^(EM)there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he ^(EN)had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and he was returning and sitting in his ^[ar]chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ Then ^(EO)the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this ^[as]chariot.” ³⁰ And Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

³⁴ And the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you earnestly, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip ^(ER)opened his mouth, and ^(ES)beginning from this Scripture he ^(ET)proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. ³⁶ And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! ^(EU)What prevents me from being baptized?” ^37 [av][And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] ³⁸ And he ordered the ^[aw]chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, ^(EV)the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch no longer saw him, ^[ax]but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip ^[ay]found himself at ^[az](EW)Azotus, and as he passed through he ^(EX)kept proclaiming the gospel to all the cities until he came to ^(EY)Caesarea.

The Conversion of Saul

9 ^(EZ)Now ^[ba]Saul, still ^(FA)breathing ^[bb]threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ² and asked for ^(FB)letters from him to ^(FC)the synagogues at ^(FD)Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^(FE)the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³ And as he was traveling, it happened that when he was approaching Damascus, ^(FF)suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; ⁴ and ^(FG)falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, ⁶ but rise up and enter the city, and ^(FH)it will be told you what you must do.” ⁷ And the men who traveled with him ^(FI)stood speechless, ^(FJ)hearing the ^[bc]voice but seeing no one. ⁸ And Saul got up from the ground, and ^(FK)though his eyes were open, he ^[bd]could see nothing. Leading him by the hand, they brought him into ^(FL)Damascus. ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple at ^(FM)Damascus named ^(FN)Ananias, and the Lord said to him in ^(FO)a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Rise up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from ^(FP)Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, ¹² and he has seen ^[be]in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^(FQ)lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^(FR)how much harm he did to ^(FS)Your ^[bf]saints at Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And here he ^(FT)has authority from the chief priests to bind all who ^(FU)call on Your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(FV)he is a chosen ^[bg]instrument of Mine, to bear My name before ^(FW)the Gentiles and ^(FX)kings and the sons of Israel; ¹⁶ for ^(FY)I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.” ¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house. And he ^(FZ)laid his hands on him and said, “^(GA)Brother Saul, the Lord sent me—that is Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming—so that you may regain your sight and be ^(GB)filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he rose up and was baptized; ¹⁹ and he took food and was strengthened.

Saul Begins to Preach Christ

Now ^(GC)for several days he was with ^(GD)the disciples who were at Damascus, ²⁰ and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus ^(GE)in the synagogues, ^[bh]saying, “He is ^(GF)the Son of God.” ²¹ And all those hearing him continued to be astounded, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem ^(GG)destroyed those that ^(GH)called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” ²² But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this One is the ^[bi]Christ.

²³ And when ^(GI)many days had elapsed, ^(GJ)the Jews plotted together to put him to death, ²⁴ but ^(GK)their plot became known to Saul. ^(GL)They were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; ²⁵ but his disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

^26 (GM)And when he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples, ^[bj]but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. ²⁷ But ^(GN)Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and recounted to them how he had ^(GO)seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how ^(GP)at Damascus he had ^(GQ)spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ So he was with them, ^[bk]moving about freely in Jerusalem, ^(GR)speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ And he was talking and arguing with the ^[bl](GS)Hellenistic Jews, but they were attempting to put him to death. ³⁰ But when ^(GT)the brothers learned of it, they brought him down to ^(GU)Caesarea and ^(GV)sent him away to ^(GW)Tarsus.

³¹ So ^(GX)the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria was having peace, being built up. And going on in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it continued to multiply.

Peter Heals Aeneas

³² Now it happened that as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to ^(GY)the ^[bm]saints who lived at ^[bn](GZ)Lydda. ³³ And there he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. ³⁴ And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Rise up and make your bed.” Immediately he rose up. ³⁵ And all who lived at ^[bo](HA)Lydda and ^(HB)Sharon saw him, and they ^(HC)turned to the Lord.

Peter Raises Tabitha to Life

³⁶ Now in ^(HD)Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated is called ^[bp]Dorcas). This woman was full of good works and charity which she continually did. ³⁷ And it happened ^[bq]at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an ^(HE)upper room. ³⁸ Now since Lydda was near ^(HF)Joppa, ^(HG)the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, pleading with him, “Do not delay in coming to us.” ³⁹ So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the ^(HH)upper room; and all the ^(HI)widows stood beside him, crying and showing all the ^[br]tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter ^(HJ)sent them all out and ^(HK)knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “^(HL)Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ And he gave her his hand and raised her up. And calling ^(HM)the ^[bs]saints and ^(HN)widows, he presented her alive. ⁴² And it became known all over ^(HO)Joppa, and ^(HP)many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ And it happened that he stayed many days in ^(HQ)Joppa with ^(HR)a tanner named Simon.

Cornelius’ and Peter’s Visions

10 Now there was a man at ^(HS)Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was ^(HT)called the Italian ^[bt]cohort, ² a devout man and ^(HU)one who feared God with all his household, and ^(HV)gave many ^[bu]alms to the people and prayed to God continually. ³ About ^(HW)the ^[bv]ninth hour of the day he clearly saw ^(HX)in a vision ^(HY)an angel of God who had come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” ⁴ And ^(HZ)looking intently on him and becoming afraid, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and ^[bw]alms ^(IA)have ascended ^(IB)as a memorial before God. ⁵ Now send some men to ^(IC)Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; ⁶ he is lodging with a tanner named ^(ID)Simon, whose house is by the sea.” ⁷ And when the angel who was speaking to him had left, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, ⁸ and after he explained everything to them, he sent them to ^(IE)Joppa.

⁹ And on the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, ^(IF)Peter went up on ^(IG)the housetop about ^(IH)the ^[bx]sixth hour to pray. ¹⁰ But he became hungry and was desiring to eat. And while they were making preparations, he ^(II)fell into a trance ¹¹ and *saw ^(IJ)heaven opened up, and ^[by]an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, ¹² and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the ^[bz]sky. ¹³ And a voice came to him, “Rise up, Peter, ^[ca]slaughter and eat!” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, ^(IK)Lord, for ^(IL)I have never eaten anything defiled and unclean.” ¹⁵ Again a voice came to him a second time, “^(IM)What God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.” ¹⁶ And this happened three times and immediately the ^[cb]object was taken up into heaven.

¹⁷ Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in ^[cc]mind as to what ^(IN)the vision which he had seen might be, behold, ^(IO)the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; ¹⁸ and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was lodging there. ¹⁹ And while Peter was reflecting on ^(IP)the vision, ^(IQ)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, ^[cd]three men are looking for you. ²⁰ But rise up, go down and ^(IR)accompany them without taking issue at all, for I have sent them Myself.” ²¹ And Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” ²² And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and ^(IS)God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, ^(IT)was directed by a ^(IU)holy angel to summon you to his house and hear ^[ce](IV)a message from you.” ²³ So he invited them in and gave them lodging.

Peter at Caesarea

And on the next day he rose up and went away with them, and ^(IW)some of ^(IX)the brothers from ^(IY)Joppa went with him. ²⁴ And on the following day he entered ^(IZ)Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ And when Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and ^[cf](JA)worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter raised him up, saying, “^(JB)Stand up; I too am just a man.” ²⁷ As he talked with him, he entered and *found ^(JC)many people assembled. ²⁸ And he said to them, “You yourselves know how ^(JD)unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet ^(JE)God has shown me that I should not call any man defiled or unclean. ²⁹ That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was summoned. So I ask for what reason you have summoned me.”

³⁰ And Cornelius said, “^(JF)Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during ^(JG)the ^[cg]ninth hour; and behold, ^(JH)a man stood before me in shining garments, ³¹ and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your ^[ch]alms have been remembered before God. ³² Therefore send to ^(JI)Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is lodging at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you immediately, and you have ^[ci]been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been ordered by the Lord.”

The Holy Spirit Poured Out on the Gentiles

^34 (JJ)And opening his mouth, Peter said:

“I most truly comprehend now that ^(JK)God is not one to show partiality, ³⁵ but ^(JL)in every nation the one who ^[cj](JM)fears Him and does righteousness is welcome to Him. ³⁶ As for the word which He sent to the sons of Israel, ^(JN)proclaiming the good news of ^(JO)peace through Jesus Christ—He is ^(JP)Lord of all— ³⁷ you yourselves know the thing which happened throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. ^38 [ck]You know of ^(JQ)Jesus of Nazareth, how God ^(JR)anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, ^[cl](JS)and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for ^(JT)God was with Him. ³⁹ And we are ^(JU)witnesses of all the things He did both in the ^[cm]land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also ^(JV)put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree. ^40 (JW)God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He appear, ^41 (JX)not to all the people, but to ^(JY)witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us ^(JZ)who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴² And He ^(KA)commanded us to ^[cn]preach to the people, and solemnly to ^(KB)bear witness that this is the One who has been ^(KC)designated by God as ^(KD)Judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ Of Him ^(KE)all the prophets bear witness that through ^(KF)His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these things, ^(KG)the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the word. ^45 (KH)And all the ^[co]circumcised believers who came with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been ^(KI)poured out on the Gentiles also. ⁴⁶ For they were hearing them ^(KJ)speaking with tongues and magnifying God. Then Peter answered, ⁴⁷ “^(KK)Can anyone refuse water for these to be baptized who ^(KL)have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” ⁴⁸ And he ^(KM)ordered them to be baptized ^(KN)in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for a few days.

Peter’s Report in Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and ^(KO)the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, ^[cp](KP)those who were circumcised took issue with him, ³ saying, “^(KQ)You ^[cq]went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” ⁴ But Peter began speaking ^[cr]and proceeded to explain to them ^(KR)in orderly sequence, saying, ⁵ “^(KS)I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw ^(KT)a vision, ^[cs]an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from heaven, and it came right down to me, ⁶ and when looking closely at it, I was observing it and saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the ^[ct]sky. ⁷ And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise up, Peter; ^[cu]slaughter and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing defiled or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘^(KU)What God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.’ ¹⁰ And this happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven. ¹¹ And behold, immediately three men appeared at the house in which we were, having been sent to me from ^(KV)Caesarea. ^12 (KW)And the Spirit told me to go with them ^[cv](KX)without taking issue at all. ^(KY)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 ^[cw]standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is also called Peter; ¹⁴ and he will speak ^(KZ)words to you by which you will be saved, you and ^(LA)all your household.’ ¹⁵ And as I began to speak, ^(LB)the Holy Spirit fell upon them just ^(LC)as He did upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘^(LD)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized ^[cx]with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ Therefore if ^(LE)God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, ^(LF)who was I that I could prevent God’s way?” ¹⁸ And when they heard this, they ^[cy]quieted down and ^(LG)glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the ^(LH)repentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

^19 (LI)So then those who were scattered because of the ^[cz]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way ^[da]to ^(LJ)Phoenicia and ^(LK)Cyprus and ^(LL)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of ^(LM)Cyprus and ^(LN)Cyrene, who came to ^(LO)Antioch and began speaking to the ^[db](LP)Greeks also, ^(LQ)proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^(LR)the hand of the Lord was with them, and ^(LS)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. ²² Now the ^[dc]news about them ^[dd]reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent ^(LT)Barnabas off ^[de]to ^(LU)Antioch, ²³ who, when he arrived and saw ^(LV)the grace of God, rejoiced and began to encourage them all with a purposeful heart to remain true to the Lord; ²⁴ for he was a good man, and ^(LW)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a ^(LX)considerable crowd was ^[df]brought to the Lord. ²⁵ And he left for ^(LY)Tarsus to search for Saul; ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him to ^(LZ)Antioch. And it happened that for an entire year they ^[dg]met with the church and taught a considerable crowd. And ^(MA)the disciples were first called ^(MB)Christians in ^(MC)Antioch.

²⁷ Now in those days, ^(MD)some prophets came down from Jerusalem to ^(ME)Antioch. ²⁸ And one of them named ^(MF)Agabus stood up and indicated ^[dh]by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine ^(MG)all over the ^[di]world. ^[dj]And this took place in the reign of ^(MH)Claudius. ²⁹ And as any of ^(MI)the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the service of ^(MJ)the brothers living in Judea. ^30 (MK)And this they did, sending it ^[dk]in charge of ^(ML)Barnabas and Saul to the ^(MM)elders.

An Angel Frees Peter from Prison

12 Now about that time ^[dl]Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to harm them. ² And he ^(MN)had James the brother of John ^(MO)put to death with a sword. ³ And when he saw that it ^(MP)pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now ^[dm]it was during ^(MQ)the days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four ^[dn](MR)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after ^(MS)the Passover to bring him out before the people. ⁵ So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.

⁶ Now on ^[do]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, ^(MT)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. ⁷ And behold, ^(MU)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(MV)appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Rise up quickly.” And ^(MW)his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and ^[dp]put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your garment around yourself and follow me.” ⁹ And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but was thinking he was seeing ^(MX)a vision. ¹⁰ And when they had passed the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which ^(MY)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹ When Peter ^(MZ)came ^[dq]to himself, he said, “Now truly I know that ^(NA)the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all ^[dr]that the Jewish people were expecting.” ¹² And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of ^(NB)John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and ^(NC)were praying. ¹³ And when he knocked at the door of the gate, ^(ND)a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ And when she recognized Peter’s voice, ^(NE)because of her joy she did not open the gate. But she ran in and reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate. ¹⁵ And they said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is ^(NF)his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door, they saw him and were astounded. ¹⁷ But ^(NG)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he recounted to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to ^(NH)James and ^(NI)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 what ^[ds]had become of Peter. ¹⁹ And when Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they ^(NJ)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to ^(NK)Caesarea and was spending time there.

The Death of Herod

²⁰ Now he was very angry with the people of ^(NL)Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because ^(NM)their country was fed by the king’s country. ²¹ And on an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel and sitting on the judgment seat, began delivering an address to them. ²² And the assembly kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ And immediately ^(NN)an angel of the ^[dt]Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

²⁴ But ^(NO)the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

²⁵ And ^(NP)Barnabas and ^(NQ)Saul ^[du]returned ^[dv]to Jerusalem, ^(NR)fulfilling their ministry, taking along with them ^(NS)John, who was also called Mark.

Barnabas and Saul Sent from Antioch by the Holy Spirit

13 Now there were at ^(NT)Antioch, in the ^(NU)church that was there, ^(NV)prophets and ^(NW)teachers: ^(NX)Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of ^(NY)Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with ^(NZ)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, ^(OA)the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me ^(OB)Barnabas and Saul for ^(OC)the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, when they had fasted and ^(OD)prayed and ^(OE)laid their hands on them, ^(OF)they sent them away.

On Cyprus

⁴ So, being ^(OG)sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to ^(OH)Cyprus. ⁵ And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in ^(OI)the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had ^(OJ)John as their helper. ⁶ And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a ^(OK)magician, a Jewish ^(OL)false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the ^(OM)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 ^(ON)magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the ^(OO)proconsul away from ^(OP)the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also known as Paul, ^[dw](OQ)filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, ¹⁰ and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you ^(OR)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked ^(OS)the straight ways of the ^[dx]Lord? ¹¹ Now, behold, ^(OT)the hand of the ^[dy]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 ^(OU)proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being astonished at ^(OV)the teaching of the Lord.

In Pisidian Antioch

¹³ Now after Paul and his companions set sail from ^(OW)Paphos, they came to ^(OX)Perga in ^(OY)Pamphylia, but ^(OZ)John left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But going on from Perga, they arrived at ^(PA)Pisidian ^(PB)Antioch. And on ^(PC)the Sabbath day, they went into ^(PD)the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ And after ^(PE)the reading of the Law and ^(PF)the Prophets ^(PG)the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ So Paul stood up, and ^(PH)motioning with his hand said,

“Men of Israel, and ^(PI)you who fear God, listen: ¹⁷ The God of this people Israel ^(PJ)chose our fathers and ^[dz](PK)lifted up the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm ^(PL)He led them out from it. ¹⁸ And for ^(PM)a period of about forty years ^(PN)He put up with them in the wilderness. ^19 (PO)And when He destroyed ^(PP)seven nations in the land of Canaan, He ^(PQ)distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took ^(PR)about 450 years. ²⁰ After these things He ^(PS)gave them judges until ^(PT)Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then they ^(PU)asked for a king, and God gave them ^(PV)Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² And after He had ^(PW)removed him, He raised up David to be their king, about whom He also said, bearing witness, ‘^(PX)I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My ^[ea]will.’ ^23 (PY)From the seed of this man, ^(PZ)according to promise, God has brought to Israel ^(QA)a Savior, Jesus, ²⁴ after ^(QB)John had preached before ^[eb]His coming a ^(QC)baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John ^(QD)was fulfilling his course, ^(QE)he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of His feet.’

²⁶ “Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the word of ^(QF)this salvation was sent. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem, and their ^(QG)rulers, ^(QH)recognizing neither Him nor the ^[ec]utterances of ^(QI)the prophets which are ^(QJ)read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him. ²⁸ And though they found no ground for death, they ^(QK)asked Pilate that He be ^[ed]executed. ²⁹ And when they had ^(QL)finished all that was written concerning Him, ^(QM)they took Him down from ^(QN)the tree and ^(QO)laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God ^(QP)raised Him from the dead; ³¹ and for many days ^(QQ)He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now ^(QR)His witnesses to the people. ³² And we ^(QS)proclaim to you the good news of ^(QT)the promise made to the fathers, ³³ that God has fulfilled this promise ^[ee]to our children in that He ^(QU)raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘^(QV)You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ ³⁴ But that He ^(QW)raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to corruption, He has spoken in this way: ‘^(QX)I will give you the holy and ^[ef]faithful lovingkindnesses of David.’ ³⁵ Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘^(QY)You will not give Your ^[eg]Holy One over to see corruption.’ ³⁶ For ^(QZ)David, after he had ^[eh]served ^(RA)the purpose of God in his own generation, ^(RB)fell asleep and was laid among his fathers and saw corruption; ³⁷ but He whom God ^(RC)raised did not see corruption. ³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that ^(RD)through ^[ei]Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and that in Him, ^(RE)everyone who believes is justified from all things which you could not be justified from ^[ej]through the Law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Therefore watch out, so that the thing spoken of ^(RF)in the Prophets may not come upon you:

⁴² And as ^[el]Paul and Barnabas were leaving, the people kept pleading that these words might be spoken to them the next ^(RH)Sabbath. ⁴³ Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the ^(RI)God-fearing ^[em](RJ)proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in ^(RK)the grace of God.

Many Gentiles Believe

⁴⁴ And the next ^(RL)Sabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of ^[en]the ^[eo]Lord. ⁴⁵ But when ^(RM)the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, ^[ep]blaspheming. ⁴⁶ Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you ^(RN)first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, ^(RO)we are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the ^[eq]Lord has commanded us,

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying ^(RR)the word of ^[es]the ^[et]Lord, and as many as ^(RS)had been appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And ^(RT)the word of the ^[eu]Lord was being spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But ^(RU)the Jews incited the ^[ev](RV)God-fearing women ^(RW)of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their ^[ew]district. ⁵¹ But ^(RX)having shaken off the dust of their feet against them, they went to ^(RY)Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were continually ^(RZ)filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

In Iconium

14 Now it happened that in ^(SA)Iconium ^(SB)they entered the synagogue of the Jews together and spoke in such a manner ^(SC)that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of ^(SD)Greeks. ² But ^(SE)the ^[ex](SF)unbelieving Jews instigated and embittered the ^[ey]minds of the Gentiles against ^(SG)the brothers. ³ Therefore they spent a long time there ^(SH)speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that ^[ez](SI)signs and wonders be done through their hands. ^4 (SJ)But the multitude of the city was divided; and some ^[fa]sided with ^(SK)the Jews, and some with ^(SL)the apostles. ⁵ And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and ^(SM)the Jews with their rulers to mistreat and to ^(SN)stone them, ⁶ they became aware of it and fled to the cities of ^(SO)Lycaonia, ^(SP)Lystra and ^(SQ)Derbe, and the surrounding region; ⁷ and there they continued to ^(SR)proclaim the gospel.

In Lystra and Derbe

⁸ And at ^(SS)Lystra ^(ST)a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. ⁹ This man listened to Paul as he spoke, who, ^(SU)when he fixed his gaze on him and saw that he had ^(SV)faith to be ^[fb]saved from being lame, ¹⁰ said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” ^(SW)And he leaped up and began to walk. ¹¹ And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the ^(SX)Lycaonian language, “^(SY)The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” ¹² And they began calling Barnabas, ^[fc]Zeus, and Paul, ^[fd]Hermes, because he was ^[fe]the chief speaker. ¹³ And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was ^[ff]just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and ^(SZ)was wanting to offer sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴ But when ^(TA)the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ^(TB)tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also ^(TC)men of the same nature as you, ^(TD)proclaiming the gospel to you that you should turn from these ^[fg](TE)vain things to a ^(TF)living God, ^(TG)who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ^16 [fh]In the generations gone by He ^(TH)permitted all the ^[fi]nations to ^(TI)go their own ways; ¹⁷ and yet ^(TJ)He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and ^(TK)gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.” ¹⁸ And saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

¹⁹ But ^(TL)Jews came from ^(TM)Antioch and ^(TN)Iconium, and after winning over the crowds and ^(TO)stoning Paul, they were dragging him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. ²⁰ But while ^(TP)the disciples stood around him, he rose up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to ^(TQ)Derbe. ²¹ And after they had ^(TR)proclaimed the gospel to that city and had ^(TS)made many disciples, they returned to ^(TT)Lystra and to ^(TU)Iconium and to ^(TV)Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of ^(TW)the disciples, encouraging them to continue in ^(TX)the faith, and saying, “^(TY)Through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God.” ²³ And when ^(TZ)they had appointed ^(UA)elders for them in every church, having ^(UB)prayed with fasting, they ^(UC)commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

The Return to Antioch

²⁴ And when they passed through ^(UD)Pisidia, they came into ^(UE)Pamphylia. ²⁵ And when they had spoken the word in ^(UF)Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶ And from there they sailed to ^(UG)Antioch, from ^(UH)where they had been ^(UI)committed to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. ²⁷ And when they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to ^(UJ)report all things that God had done with them and ^[fj]how He had opened a ^(UK)door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they spent not a little time with ^(UL)the disciples.

The Jerusalem Council

15 ^(UM)Some men came down from Judea and began teaching ^(UN)the brothers, “Unless you are ^(UO)circumcised according to ^(UP)the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And when Paul and Barnabas had not a little dissension and ^(UQ)debate with them, ^(UR)the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the ^(US)apostles and elders concerning this issue. ³ Therefore, being ^(UT)sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both ^(UU)Phoenicia and Samaria, ^(UV)recounting in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all ^(UW)the brothers. ⁴ When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and ^(UX)the apostles and the elders, and they ^(UY)reported all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some of ^(UZ)the sect of the ^(VA)Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to ^(VB)circumcise them and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”

^6 (VC)Both the apostles and the elders came together to ^[fk]look into this ^[fl]matter. ⁷ And after there had been much ^(VD)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that ^[fm]in the early days ^(VE)God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of ^(VF)the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, ^(VG)who knows the heart, testified to them ^(VH)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; ⁹ and ^(VI)He made no distinction between us and them, ^(VJ)cleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now therefore why do you ^(VK)put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which ^(VL)neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we are saved through ^(VM)the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹² And all the multitude kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were ^(VN)relating what ^(VO)signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

James Issues a Judgment

¹³ Now after they had stopped speaking, ^(VP)James answered, saying, “Brothers, listen to me. ^14 (VQ)Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of ^(VR)the Prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁹ Therefore ^(VZ)I judge that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, ²⁰ but that we write to them that they abstain from ^(WA)things contaminated by idols and from ^(WB)sexual immorality and from ^(WC)what is strangled and from blood. ²¹ For from ancient generations, ^(WD)Moses has those who preach him in every city, since ^[fs]he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²² Then it seemed good to ^(WE)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them—Judas called Barsabbas, and ^(WF)Silas, leading men among ^(WG)the brothers—to send to ^(WH)Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, ²³ and they ^[ft]sent this letter by them,

³⁰ So when they were sent away, ^(XB)they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the ^[fw]congregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹ And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its ^[fx]encouragement. ^32 (XC)And both Judas and ^(XD)Silas, also being ^(XE)prophets themselves, ^[fy]encouraged and strengthened ^(XF)the brothers with a lengthy message. ³³ And after they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers ^(XG)in peace to those who had ^(XH)sent them. ^34 [fz][But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] ³⁵ But ^(XI)Paul and Barnabas spent a long time in Antioch, teaching and ^[ga](XJ)preaching with many others also, ^(XK)the word of the Lord.

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

³⁶ Now after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in ^(XL)every city in which we proclaimed ^(XM)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ And Barnabas wanted to take ^(XN)John, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸ But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had ^(XO)deserted them ^[gb]in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ And there was such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took ^(XP)Mark with him and sailed away to ^(XQ)Cyprus. ⁴⁰ But Paul chose ^(XR)Silas and left, being ^(XS)committed by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ And he was traveling through ^(XT)Syria and ^(XU)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Now Paul also arrived at ^(XV)Derbe and at ^(XW)Lystra. And behold, a disciple was there, named ^(XX)Timothy, the son of a ^(XY)Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, ² and he was well spoken of by ^(XZ)the brothers who were in ^(YA)Lystra and ^(YB)Iconium. ³ Paul wanted this man to ^[gc]go with him, and he ^(YC)took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering ^(YD)the decrees which had been decided upon by ^(YE)the apostles and ^(YF)elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to keep. ⁵ So ^(YG)the churches were being strengthened ^[gd]in the faith, and were ^(YH)abounding in number daily.

The Macedonian Vision

⁶ And they passed through the ^[ge](YI)Phrygian and ^(YJ)Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in ^[gf](YK)Asia; ⁷ and after they came to ^(YL)Mysia, they were trying to go into ^(YM)Bithynia, and the ^(YN)Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; ⁸ and passing by ^(YO)Mysia, they came down to ^(YP)Troas. ^9 (YQ)And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of ^(YR)Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ And when he had seen ^(YS)the vision, immediately ^(YT)we sought to ^[gg]go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to ^(YU)proclaim the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

¹¹ So setting sail from ^(YV)Troas, we ran ^(YW)a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; ¹² and from there to ^(YX)Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of ^(YY)Macedonia, ^(YZ)a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. ¹³ And on ^(ZA)the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and sitting down, we began speaking to the women who had assembled. ¹⁴ And a woman named Lydia, from the city of ^(ZB)Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, ^(ZC)a worshiper of God, was listening, whose heart the Lord ^(ZD)opened to pay attention to the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵ And when she and ^(ZE)her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶ Now it happened that as we were going to ^(ZF)the place of prayer, a servant-girl having ^(ZG)a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are slaves of ^(ZH)the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you ^[gh]the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And she continued doing this for many days. But being greatly annoyed, Paul turned and said to the spirit, “I command you ^(ZI)in the name of Jesus Christ to leave her!” And it left at that very ^[gi]moment.

¹⁹ But when her masters saw that their hope of ^(ZJ)profit had left, they seized ^(ZK)Paul and Silas and ^(ZL)dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, ²⁰ and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, ²¹ and ^(ZM)are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being ^(ZN)Romans.” ²² And the crowd joined together to attack them, and the chief magistrates, tearing their garments off of them, proceeded to order them to be ^(ZO)beaten with rods. ²³ And when they had inflicted them with many wounds, they threw them into prison, commanding ^(ZP)the jailer to guard them securely, ²⁴ who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in ^(ZQ)the ^[gj]stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

²⁵ But about midnight ^(ZR)Paul and Silas were praying and ^(ZS)singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ And suddenly ^(ZT)there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the jailhouse were shaken; and immediately ^(ZU)all the doors were opened and everyone’s ^(ZV)chains were unfastened. ²⁷ And when ^(ZW)the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about ^(ZX)to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” ²⁹ And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before ^(ZY)Paul and Silas, ³⁰ and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, ^(ZZ)what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ And they said, “^(AAA)Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and ^(AAB)your house.” ³² And they spoke the word of ^[gk]the Lord to him together with all who were in his household. ³³ And he took them ^(AAC)that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. ³⁴ And he brought them into his house and set ^[gl]food before them, and rejoiced ^[gm]greatly with ^(AAD)his whole household, because he had believed in God.

³⁵ Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” ³⁶ And ^(AAE)the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go ^(AAF)in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public without trial, ^(AAG)men who are Romans, they have thrown us into prison. And now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.”