The book of Acts The Acts of the apostles
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Verse by verse, account of the book of Acts.

Acts chapter 1

¹The gospel account (Gospel of Luke) that I wrote of all that Jesus did and taught, was for your sake most excellent Theophilus. ²How He gave commands to His apostles that He had chosen, through the Holy Spirit, until the day He was taken up, ³After which through many proofs He presented Himself alive, being with them for forty days and speaking of the things of the kingdom of God to them, Luke 1:1-4.

⁴When Jesus was assembled with His disciples, He commanded them; Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the Promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, that I have told you of. ⁵For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now, Luke 24:49.

⁶Therefore, His disciples asked Him at that time if He would restore the kingdom to Israel? ⁷And He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ⁸But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me, throughout all the regions of the earth.

⁹When He had spoken these things to them, He was taken up in a cloud to heaven, from their sight. ¹⁰And while they stood gazing up towards heaven, two men in white apparel appeared before them and said; ¹¹Why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you, will also come as you saw Him go into heaven.

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount of Olivet, (approximately three quarters of a mile away). ¹³And the eleven disciples, Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James, went up into the upper room. ¹⁴There they all were in one accord, continuing in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus and His brothers.

The Ministry of Peter

¹⁵In those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the followers of Jesus, altogether there were about one hundred and twenty, and he spoke. ¹⁶Men and brothers, concerning the death and betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas Iscariot, thus fulfilling the scripture that was spoken by David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷Though this man was numbered with us and obtained a part of this ministry, (Judas Iscariot). ¹⁸With the wages of his iniquity, this man has purchased a field and now lies dead in that field. ¹⁹This became known in Jerusalem and this field is known as the field of blood, Matthew 27:3-10. ²⁰For it is written in the book of Psalm; Let his dwelling place become vacant, no one shall dwell there and let another take His office, Psalm 109:8.

Matthias fills Judas Iscariot's office and becomes numbered with the twelve.

²¹Let this man be, one whom accompanied His disciples when the Lord Jesus was among us. ²²From the early days of John the Baptist to the day of Christ's ascension when He was taken up from among us. Such a man must join with us and become a witness with us of His resurrection. ²³And two men were suggested to fill the office. Joseph called Barsabas and Matthias. ²⁴The disciples then prayed over the two names, saying; Lord You know the hearts of both men, show us who You have chosen. ²⁵To take part in this ministry and to be an apostle in the office of Judas, who fell. ²⁶Then they cast lots and the lot fell on Matthias and he became numbered with the twelve apostles.

Acts chapter 2

¹When the Day of Pentecost had come, they were all in one place and of like mind. (The day of Pentecost is 50 days after Passover and was the time when the Feast of Weeks was held). ²Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing wind and it filled the whole house where they were. ³Divided tongues as of fire, appeared to them and one sat upon each of them. ⁴And all were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵Now there were devout Jew's dwelling in Jerusalem, men from many nations. ⁶Now when they heard this sound, they were confused, amazed and wondered. For everyone heard them speaking in their own native language. ⁷And they said, to each other, are not all these men who speak Galilean's?, (Galilee was a rural area, the poor side of town). ⁸Questioning why each man heard them in his own native language? ^9-10For the men were from at least sixteen different nations and languages, men who were both Jews and converted Gentiles. ¹¹Some of the men said, we hear them speaking in our own tongue and this is a wonderful work of God. ¹²And they were amassed and puzzled, wondering what this could mean? ¹³Yet others mocked them and said, they are full of new wine.

The start of Peter's public ministry.

¹⁴Peter then stood up with the Eleven and spoke; Men, Jews and those who live in Jerusalem, listen to my words and let this be known to you. ¹⁵These men are not drunk, for it is only 9:00am in the morning. ¹⁶But this is what was spoken by Joel the prophet;

¹⁷In the last days, God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh, Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams. ¹⁸I shall pour out My Spirit on My menservants and maidservants and they shall prophesy. ¹⁹I will show wonders in the heaven and signs in the earth, of blood, fire and smoke vapors shall be seen. ²⁰The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. ²¹And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved, Joel 2:28-32.

²²Men of Israel hear my words; Jesus of Nazareth was a Man proven by God and also to you through miracles, wonders and signs which God did through Him, in your sight. ²³Being delivered up through the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you took Him into your lawless hands, crucified Him and put Him to death. ²⁴But God raised Him up, having loosed Him from the grip of death, for it was impossible that death could hold Him.

²⁵The patriarch David has also said about Him; I always kept the Lord before me, at my right hand, that I should not be moved. ²⁶Therefore my heart rejoiced, having a song on my lips and even My flesh shall rest in hope. ²⁷For You will not let Your Holy One see corruption, nor will You leave my soul in the grave. ²⁸You have filled me with joy and revealed to me the ways of life, Psalm 16:8-11.

²⁹Men and brothers, now we know that the patriarch David, is dead and buried, for his tomb is with us this day. ³⁰David being a prophet knew, for God had given him His oath, that from one of his descendants, God would raise up Christ to sit upon David's throne over Israel, ³¹Knowing this beforehand, David spoke of the resurrection of Christ's soul from the grave, nor would His flesh see corruption. ³²God raised up this Jesus, for we are all witnesses of this. ³³Therefore having been raised up to the right hand of God and given the Father's promise of the Holy Spirit, that today you see and hear. ³⁴For David himself did not ascend into the heavens, but has said; The LORD said to my soul, Sit at My right hand ³⁵until I put Christ's enemies under His feet as a footstool, Psalm 110:1.

³⁶Therefore let all of Israel know that God has made Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. ³⁷When the people heard this, they were deeply grieved and replied; What then shall we do? ³⁸And Peter answered and said; Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is to you and your children and to those who are far away, as many as the Lord God calls.

⁴⁰Peter testified with many other words and encouraged them saying; Be saved from this wicked and perverse, (morally corrupt) generation. ⁴¹Those who gladly received Peter's words were baptized and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ⁴²And they continued steadfastly in the doctrine and fellowship of the breaking of bread and in prayers. ⁴³However when great signs and wonders were done by the apostle's hands, fear came upon everyone. ⁴⁴Now all those who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and divided them among all, as each had need. ⁴⁶Continuing daily in the temple and being of like mind. Going from house to house, breaking bread, eating their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. ⁴⁷Praising God, they found favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily, to those who were being saved.

Acts chapter 3

Peter and John healed a crippled man at the temple gate called beautiful.

¹Now around 3:00pm, at the hour of prayer, Peter and John went up to the temple. ²A man who had been lame from birth, was carried there daily to the entrance of the temple called beautiful, to beg. ³When the man saw Peter and John, he asked them for alms. ⁴As they both set their eyes upon him, Peter said; Look at us. ⁵And the lame man gave them his attention, expecting to receive something. ⁶Peter then said; Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. ⁷Then he took him by the right hand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. ⁸Leaping up he stood and entered the temple with them, walking, leaping and praising God. ⁹Now all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰And they knew it was he who sat begging at the temple and they were filled with wonder and amazement.

¹¹Now as the man who had been lame yet held onto Peter and John, all the people gathered near to where they were, for they were greatly amassed. ¹²When Peter saw this, he spoke and said; Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or look at us as though by our own power or godliness, we have made this man walk? ¹³The God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has glorified His son Jesus, whom you delivered up, even when Pilate, wished to let Him go. ¹⁴But you denied the Holy and Just One, demanding that a murderer be released instead. ¹⁵Killing the Prince of Life, whom God has raised from the dead and we are witnesses to this. ¹⁶The name of Jesus and faith in His name, has healed this man whom you know and has made him strong.

¹⁷Now I know that you did this in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸Just as God foretold through the prophets, that the Christ had to suffer these things, that He has now fulfilled. ¹⁹Therefore repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out and you shall have the peace and refreshing from the LORD. ²⁰That God may send Jesus Christ, whom was preached to you. ²¹whom Heaven must receive until the time of the complete restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of His prophets. ²²For Moses had said to the fathers; God will raise up a Prophet from among your brothers, as He also raised me up and you will hear Him in all things. ²³And every soul that refuses to hear and understand that Prophet shall be cut off from their people. ²⁴Also all the prophets from Samuel on, also foretold of these days. ²⁵And you are the descendants, the heirs of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham; In your Seed shall all the people of the earth be blessed, Genesis 22:18. ²⁶For God having raised up His Son Jesus, has sent the Holy Spirit to you that everyone of you might turn away from his iniquities.

Acts chapter 4

¹As Peter and John spoke; the priests, captions of the temple and the Sadducees came against them. ²For they were grieved that they were teaching Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead. ³So they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. ⁴However, many who had heard the Word came to believe and this number was about five thousand men.

⁵The next day, the rulers, elders, scribes, ⁶along with the high priest, Annas and his family, all gathered together at Jerusalem. ⁷And setting Peter and John in the midst of them, they asked them; By what power or by what authority have you done this healing? ⁸Peter then, being filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke saying; Rulers of the people and elders of Israel. ⁹If we are being judged for the good deed, of how this helpless man was made well. ¹⁰Then let it be made known that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹This is the Stone that was rejected by you builders and has become the Cornerstone, Isaiah 28:16, ¹²Nor is there salvation in any other name.

¹³The council marveled at the boldness of Peter and John, for they realized that they were uneducated men who had been with Jesus. ¹⁴And since the man that had been healed was standing with them, they could not deny the healing miracle. ¹⁵So they sent the apostles out, and in private they conferred among themselves. ¹⁶As to what they should do with these men? Acknowledging that a notable miracle has been done through them, for it had become evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem and we cannot deny this. ¹⁷But that this stops right here and spreads no further among the people, let us threaten them. That they not speak or teach to anyone in the name of Jesus Christ.

¹⁸When they called the men back in, they commanded them not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But when Peter and John were told this, they replied; Whether it be right in the sight of God, to listen to God or man, you judge for yourselves. ²⁰For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. ²¹After hearing this, the council further threatened them and let them go. Because they did not see a way they could convict the men, since the people all glorified God, for what had been done. ²²For the man whom had been healed was over forty years old.

²³Being let go, the apostles returned to their own and reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴And when the others had heard and all being of like mind, they rejoiced to God, saying; Lord God, who has made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. ²⁵As was said by Your servant David; Why do the nation's rage and why do the people plot vain things? ²⁶The kings and rulers gather against the LORD and against His Christ, Psalm 2:1-2. ²⁷For against Your anointed holy Servant Jesus both Herod, Pontius Pilate the Gentles and the people of Israel all gathered together. ²⁸To carry out all of what Your hand had purposed.

Praying for boldness to speak the word, for healings, signs and wonders.

²⁹Now, Lord, observe the threats they make to us and grant Your servants that with boldness we may speak Your Word, ³⁰By stretching out Your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus. ³¹After they had prayed, the place where they were was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, continuing to speak the Word with boldness.

³²Now the multitudes of believers that were with the disciples, were all of like mind and soul, for they did not claim ownership of their possessions but held all things in common. ³³And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴There was not a lack among anyone, for they who were landowners sold their properties and brought the proceeds ³⁵to the apostles and they were distributed to each as they had need.

³⁶Now Joses surnamed Barnabas by the apostles (which means; the son of encouragement), a Levite. ³⁷Sold a field that was his and brought the proceeds to the apostles.

Acts chapter 5

¹But, a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, also sold a possession. ²And together with his wife's consent, they kept back part of the proceeds and gave the rest to the apostles. ³But Peter, said; Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, keeping back part of the price. ⁴Before you sold it was it not your own? And after it was sold was it not under your own control? Why have you then conceived this in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.

⁵When Ananias heard these words, he fell dead and great fear came on all those that heard of it. ⁶And the young men came and carried him out and buried him. ⁷About three hours later, Sapphira, his wife came in not knowing what had happened. ⁸Peter asked her if the land was sold for so much? And she said, Yes for this much. ⁹Peter then said to her, How is it that both, you and your husband have agreed to test the Spirit of the Lord? Those who have buried your husband, are here at the door and they will also carry you out. ¹⁰Instantly she fell down dead, she was carried out and buried with her husband. ¹¹And great fear then came upon all the church and all who heard these things.

That Peter's shadow might fall on the sick and heal them.

¹²Through the hands of the apostles, many signs and wonders were done, for they were all in one accord and met regularly at Solomon's temple. ¹³Yet none of the rest dared join them, however, the believers esteemed the apostles highly. ¹⁴And multitudes of both men and women, believers were added to the Lord. ¹⁵So many that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds, hoping that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on them. ¹⁶And further multitude came from the cities around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those being tormented by unclean spirits and they were all healed.

¹⁷Then the high priest and the entire sect of the Sadducees were filled with indignation. ¹⁸And they laid their hands on the apostles and put them into a common prison. ¹⁹However at night an angel of the Lord, opened the prison doors and brought them out. ²⁰Instructing them to go to the temple and speak to the people the Words of eternal life.

²¹And thus they entered into the temple early in the morning and taught the people. Now the high priest and those with him called together a council and sent for the apostles from the prison. ²²When the officers did not find them in the prison, they returned and brought back the report. ²³That the prison was found to be secure and the guards were in place standing outside and in front of the doors. But, when we opened the doors, we found no one inside. ²⁴Now when the high priest, the temple commander and the chief priests heard this, they were perplexed and wondered what might become of this. ²⁵It was then reported to them, that the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.

²⁶Hearing this, the captain and his officers went to the temple and brought the apostles back, without the use of violence, for they feared the people, lest they might be stoned. ²⁷They set them before the council and the high priest questioned them. ²⁸Saying; Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And now you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, intending to bring this Man's blood on us! ²⁹But Peter and the other apostles answered saying: We will obey God rather than men. ³⁰Jesus Christ whom you crucified, God has raised Him from the dead. ³¹The One that God has exalted to be a Ruler and Savior and to give repentance and remission of sins to Israel. ³²We are witnesses of these things and so also is the Holy Spirit, that God has given to those who obey Him.

³³When the council heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. ³⁴But, Gamaliel a Pharisee, stood up, a well respected teacher of the law. Requesting that the apostles be put outside for a moment. ³⁵He then spoke, saying; Men of Israel, give serious thought to what you intend to do regarding these men. ³⁶For before our days, there was a man named Theudas, who rose up, claiming to be somebody, having about four hundred followers. He was slain and all who followed him were scattered and all came to nothing. ³⁷After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up and drew away many people after him. He also perished and all who followed him were dispersed. ³⁸Now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing. ³⁹But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest you find yourselves fighting against God.

⁴⁰They all agreed with this and when they had beaten the apostles. They again commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. ⁴¹The apostles then departed, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. ⁴²And daily in the temple and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

Acts chapter 6

The ministry of Stephen.

¹In those days, the number of believers was greatly increasing, however there arose a complaint from a group of Hebrews, called the Hellenists. Because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. ²So the twelve disciples gathered the multitude together and said; It is not right that we should neglect teaching and preaching the Word of God for the sake of supervising the food distribution. ³Therefore brothers, seek out seven men of good reputation, filled with the Holy Spirit, that we can appoint for this task. ⁴This will allow us to give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. ⁵This pleased the whole multitude and the seven chosen were Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas. ⁶These seven went before the apostles and they prayed and laid hands on them. ⁷The Word of God kept on spreading and the number of believers in Jerusalem continued to multiply, also a great company of the Priests were obedient to the faith.

Stephen, did great wonders and signs among the people.

⁸Stephen, a man full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. ⁹Then a dispute arose, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, Jews of Cyrenians and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia ¹⁰However, these men were not able to dispute Stephen's words for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit was with Him. ¹¹These men then, in secret, persuaded men to speak against Stephen, saying that he spoke blasphemous words against Moses and God. ¹²This stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes. So they seized Stephen and brought him before the council. ¹³They then set up false witnesses to accuse Stephen of continually speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the Law of Moses. ¹⁴For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the customs of Moses. ¹⁵And all who sat in the council saw Stephen's face as the face as of an angel.

Acts chapter 7

¹The high priest then questioned Stephen, saying; are these charges true?

²And Stephen answered, brethren, listen to me, God appeared to our father Abraham in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in the land of Haran, ³And God said to him; Leave your land, separate from your family and come into a land that I will show you. ⁴Abraham then left the land of Mesopotamia and dwelt in Haran. Now when his father died, he moved into this land that we dwell in today. ⁵Even when Abraham had no child, God promised to give this land to him and his descendants as a possession. ⁶However God also spoke of his descendant's dwelling and being in bondage in a foreign land for four hundred years. ⁷Then God said He would judge that nation, (Egypt) that kept the Israelites in bondage, and when they come out, they shall serve Him in that place. ⁸God then gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. After that Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac begot Jacob and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

⁹The patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt, but God was with him. ¹⁰And God delivered him out of his troubles, giving Joseph favor and wisdom in Pharaoh's sight, so much so that Joseph was made governor over all of Egypt. ¹¹Now a great famine came over Egypt and Canaan and our fathers found no food. ¹²However when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent his older sons, of the twelve tribes. ¹³But on their second trip to Egypt Joseph made himself known to his brothers and Joseph's family was also made known to Pharaoh, ¹⁴Then Joseph called for his father, Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five people to come down to Egypt. ¹⁵Jacob and his family then went down to Egypt where he died, as our forefathers have also died. ¹⁶And Jacob was carried into Shechem. And laid in the tomb that Abraham bought from Emmor the father of Shechem. ¹⁷As the fullness of the promise that God had sworn to Abraham was nearing, for the Hebrew people were multiplying in Egypt. ¹⁸Until the time when another king arose to power in Egypt, who did not know of Joseph. ¹⁹Thus he dealt treacherously with the Hebrew people, oppressing them and causing their newborns to be exposed, so that they would die.

²⁰At this time Moses was born. And was brought up in his father's house for three months. ²¹And when he was left exposed to the elements, so as to perish, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. ²²Moses then learned the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a powerful ruler in Egypt, in both speech and deeds. ²³Now when he was forty years old, he decided to visit his Hebrew brethren. ²⁴And seeing one of them suffering wrong, at the hands of an Egyptian, Moses struck the Egyptian dead. ²⁵For he thought that his brothers would understand, that he was their deliverer sent by God's hand, but they did not understand.

²⁶The next day he came across two Hebrews men that were fighting and attempting to make peace between the men. ²⁷The man who wronged his neighbor, said to Moses; Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? ²⁸Are you going to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday? ²⁹When Moses heard this, he realized this was now known in all of Egypt. And He fled to the land of Midian and dwelt there, where he had two sons. ³⁰After forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Sinai. ³¹Seeing this Moses marveled and as he drew near, the voice of the Lord spoke to him; ³²Saying; I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ³³Take your sandals off, for the place where you stand is holy ground. ³⁴I have seen the oppression of My people in Egypt, hearing their cries and I have come down to deliver them. And I will send you back to Egypt to deliver My people.

³⁵Moses whom the Hebrews had earlier refused as their deliverer, God sent him back to them to be a ruler and a redeemer by the hand of the Angel of the Lord. ³⁶After Moses had worked wonders and miracles, he brought the people out of Egypt, crossed through the Red Sea and was in the wilderness for forty years. ³⁷Moses also said, to the sons of Israel; The Lord God shall raise up a Prophet to you from your brothers, One like me and you shall hear Him. ³⁸This is the very Moses, who was with the congregation in the wilderness, whom the Angel of the Lord spoke to on Mount Sinai and through our fathers we have received the living Word.

³⁹But the children of Israel would not be obedient to Moses, even though he had God's living Word, for they rejected it and turned back to their old Egyptian ways. ⁴⁰Telling Aaron to make gods to go before them, not knowing what had become of Moses, (for Moses remained on Mount Sinai for forty days). ⁴¹And they made a golden calf, offering sacrifices to the idol and rejoicing in the work of their own hands. ⁴²So God gave them over to serve natural gods of this world, as it is written in the book of the Prophets; Israel, have you really offered to Me slain beasts and sacrifices these forty years in the wilderness? ⁴³For you also took up the tabernacle of Moloch worshiping false gods, images that you made with your own hands. Thus I shall carry you away into exile, Amos 5:25-27.

⁴⁴While in the wilderness Moses was directed to make the Tabernacle of the Testimony, according to the pattern that God had shown him. ⁴⁵And the sons of Israel brought it with them, when Joshua brought them into the promise land, where God drove out the inhabitants before them and it remained there until the day of David. ⁴⁶David finding favor with God, desired to build a house for God. ⁴⁷But rather, his son Solomon, was given the task of building the temple. ⁴⁸However, as the prophet Isaiah says; The Most High God does not dwell in temples made with hands.

⁴⁹Heaven is My throne and earth is My footstool. What house could you possibly build for Me, where I can take My rest? ⁵⁰For I have made all these things you see, Isaiah 66:1-2 ⁵¹You stiff-necked stubborn people who reject God's Word from your heart and your hearing. Just as your fathers did, you also resist the Holy Spirit. ⁵²Your fathers persecuted every prophet, even killing those who foretold of the coming of Christ, whom you thus betrayed and murdered. ⁵³You have received the Law and it was delivered to you by angels, yet you still do not keep it.

⁵⁴When the council heard all this, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed their teeth at Stephen. ⁵⁵But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God's right hand. ⁵⁶Stephen spoke this vision to the council. ⁵⁷But upon hearing this, they cried out, covered their ears and all charged at him. ⁵⁸They cast him out of the city and stoned him, laying down their clothes at the feet of a man named Saul. ⁵⁹And as they stoned Stephen he was calling on God, saying; Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. ⁶⁰He knelt down and cried out, saying; Lord, do not charge them with this sin and he then breathed his last.

Acts chapter 8

Saul persecutes the church and the believers scatter.

¹Now Saul had consented to the death of Stephen and at that time a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem. Scattering all the saints to regions of Judea and Samaria, everyone was scattered except for the apostles. ²Devout men buried Stephen and mourned over him greatly. ³As for Saul, he continued to persecute the church, entering house churches and dragging off both men and women committing them to prison. ⁴However, the saints that were scattered, went everywhere preaching the Word and further spreading the gospel.

Philip, cast out unclean spirits and healed many paralyzed and lame.

⁵Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ there. ⁶And the multitudes having like mind, took the words that Philip spoke to heart, both hearing and seeing the miracles that he did. ⁷For unclean spirits cried with a loud voice and then came out of many, also many who were lame and paralyzed were healed ⁸and there was great joy in that city.

Simon the sorcerer was baptized, wishing to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit.

⁹Now there was a man named Simon, who had formally practiced sorcery in the city, astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. ¹⁰And all the people from the least to the greatest gave him respect, claiming that he has a great power of God. ¹¹They were attentive to him because for a very long time he had amazed the people. ¹²But when they heard and believed Philip preaching the kingdom of God, together with the name of Jesus Christ, both men and woman were baptized. ¹³And even Simon himself believed and was baptized. Simon then continued on with Philip and he was amassed when he saw the miracles and mighty works that took place.

¹⁴When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵And when they had arrived, they prayed that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶For as yet He had not fallen upon any of them. For they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then the apostles laid their hands on them and they received. ¹⁸When Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered the apostles money for this gift. ¹⁹Saying; Give me this power so that I may also lay hands on people and they shall receive the Holy Spirit. ²⁰But Peter said to him, may your money perish with you, because you thought that you could purchase the gift of God with money! ²¹Since your heart is not right in the sight of God, you do not have any part in this matter. ²²Therefore, Repent of your wickedness and pray to God that the thoughts of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³For I see that your heart is bitter and you are bound by your own iniquity. ²⁴Then Simon spoke and said, Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken come upon me. ²⁵And when the apostles had preached the Word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many parts of Samara as they traveled.

Philip preaches Jesus to an Ethiopian.

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying; Go toward the road leading south to Gaza, take the desert path. ²⁷There he found an Ethiopian man who had come to Jerusalem to worship and the man had great authority, for he had charge over all his queen's treasury. ²⁸He was returning to his own country, sitting in his chariot, reading from the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip; Go and overtake the chariot. ³⁰So Philip ran to his chariot and hearing him reading, Philip asked the man if he understood what he was reading? ³¹The Ethiopian answer; How can I, unless someone explains it to me? And asked Philip to join him in the chariot.

³²The Scripture he was reading was Isaiah 53:7-8. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb before its sheerer is silent, He opened not His mouth. ³³In His humiliation His justice was denied, who can relate to this wicked generation? For they took His very life from off the earth.

³⁴The Ethiopian asked Philip, who the prophet is speaking of, himself or some other man? ³⁵Philip then starting with that scripture and began to preach Jesus to the man. ³⁶As they went down the road they pass a body of water and the Ethiopian asked Philip if anything hindered him from being baptized? ³⁷Philip answered, If you believe with all your heart that Jesus is your Savior, then you may. And the Ethiopian replied; I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. ³⁸So he commanded the chariot to stop and they both went down into the water and he was baptized. ³⁹As they were both coming out of the water the Spirit of the Lord transposed Philip away to the country of Azotus. And the Ethiopian saw Philip no more, yet he went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰And Philip now being in Azotus preached in all the cities until he came to Caesarea.

Acts chapter 9

The conversion of Saul while on the road to Damascus.

¹Back in Jerusalem, Saul was still plotting against the disciples of the Lord and he even went so far as to go to the high priest. ²Asking for letters of authorization, addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, allowing him to bind any believers in Christ, whether it be man or woman and to bring them back to Jerusalem. ³Now as Saul was traveling, he came near to Damascus and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. ⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice, say; Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? ⁵Saul replied; Who are You, Lord? The Lord answered; I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, it will turn out badly for you to keep coming against Me. ⁶Saul was left trembling and astonished and asked; Lord, what do You wish me to do? And the Lord told him to; Arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do there. ⁷The men with him were speechless, for they heard a voice but saw no one. ⁸Saul then arose, but was now blinded, so the men with him led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹And Saul was there three days without sight, neither eating nor drinking.

Saul receives his eyesight from Ananias through baptism.

¹⁰Now a certain disciple was in Damascus named Ananias. And the Lord spoke to him in a vision and Ananias replied; here I am Lord. ¹¹The Lord then said; Arise and go to the house of Judas and inquire for one there called Saul of Tarsus, for he is praying. ¹²And through a vision I have shown him that a man named Ananias is coming to lay hands on him, so that he will receive his sight. ¹³But Ananias answered; Lord, I have heard much about this man, the harm that he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴That he even has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Your name. ¹⁵But the Lord said to him; Go, for I have chosen him to bear My name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake. ¹⁷So Ananias went his way, entered the house and laid his hands on Saul. Saying; Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸Immediately what seemed as scales fell from Saul's eyes and he received his sight, he then arose and was baptized. ¹⁹And when he had received food he was strengthened and stayed several days with the disciples at Damascus.

²⁰Immediately Saul began to preach Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, in the synagogues. ²¹And all who heard him were amazed and said; Is this not the one who persecuted those who called on the name of Jesus in Jerusalem? And now he has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests? ²²But Saul increased all the more in strength and boldness, confounded the Jews, who dwelt in Damascus with his arguments, proving that Jesus is the Christ.

²³After many days of Saul preaching Christ, the Jews plotted to kill him. ²⁴But their plot became known to Saul, for the Jews were watching the city gates day and night, so as to ambush him. ²⁵So at night time, the disciples helped him to escape by letting him down through an opening in the city wall, in a large basket.

²⁶When Saul had come into Jerusalem, he tried joining the multitudes of believers, but they were afraid of him for they did not believe he was truly a disciple. ²⁷However, Barnabas brought him to the apostles and Saul told them how he had seen and heard the Lord on the road and after being restored, he boldly preached at Damascus in the name of Jesus. ²⁸Saul then stayed with the apostles, as one of them in Jerusalem, as he continued ministering. ²⁹Speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and debating with the Hellenists. But, after a time, they also attempted to kill him. ³⁰But when the brethren found out, they took Saul to Caesarea and from there they sent him on to Tarsus.

³¹It was a peaceful time and all the churches throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria were edified. And all walked in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit and the churches multiplied.

Peter heals a man named Aeneas in Lydda, who was paralyzed for eight years.

³²As Peter was going through the country, he also came down to the saints that dwelt in Lydda. ³³There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. ³⁴Peter said to him; Aeneas, Jesus Christ, now makes you whole, arise and make your bed. And he immediately arose. ³⁵Then all those who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon, who saw what had happened to the man turned to the Lord.

Peter was called to Joppa, to raise Tabitha from the dead.

³⁶At Joppa, there was a saint named Tabitha. She had done many good works and charitable deeds. ³⁷And it happened that she became sick and died and when they had washed the body, they laid her in the upper room. ³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa and they heard that Peter was there, the believers sent two men to him, begging him to come to them immediately. ³⁹When Peter got there, he was led to the upper room where they had laid her. And all the widows were there weeping. Showing the various garments that Tabitha had made for them. ⁴⁰Peter put all the widows out of the room, knelt down and prayed, then turning to the body he said; Tabitha, arise! She opened her eyes and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹He then gave her his hand and helped her up and calling in the saints and the widows and he presented her alive to them. ⁴²As this became known in Joppa, many others came to believe on the Lord. ⁴³Peter then stayed there in Joppa with a man called Simon the tanner, for many days.

Acts chapter 10

¹Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Regiment, in Caesarea. ²Was a devout man for he and his household feared God and he gave alms generously to all people, for he continually prayed to God. ³About 3:00pm he had a vision, of an angel coming to him and saying; Cornelius! ⁴And when Cornelius observed him, he became frightened and said; What is it Lord? And he said; Your prayers and gifts have come as a memorial before God. ⁵Send men to Joppa and call for Peter. ⁶He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the seaside. He will tell you what you must do. ⁷After the angel had departed, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier of his. ⁸Explaining the situation to them and sending them off to Joppa.

Peter's vision, followed by him being called to Cornelius of Caesarea.

⁹The next day, as the men traveled. It was about twelve noon and Peter went up on the rooftop to pray. ¹⁰As he was very hungry and wished to eat, however the food was not yet ready and while they prepared the food, Peter fell into a trance. ¹¹And Peter saw, heaven opened up and an object much like a great sheet descending to earth. ¹²On it were all kinds of four-footed animals, wild beasts, creeping things and birds. ¹³And a voice came to him and said; Rise, Peter; kill and eat. ¹⁴But Peter replied; No, Lord! I have never eaten anything common or unclean. ¹⁵The voice came back and said; What God has cleansed you must not call common. ¹⁶This was repeated three times and the object was taken up into heaven.

¹⁷While Peter was wondering about what this vision meant, the men looking for Peter that were sent by Cornelius arrived and stood before the gate. ¹⁸And they inquired as to where Peter was lodging. ¹⁹While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit spoke to him and said; Three men are seeking you. ²⁰Therefore, arise, go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. ²¹Peter then told the men that he was Peter the one they are seeking and he asked, why they had come? ²²They answered, Cornelius the centurion, a just man and one who fears God and is well spoken of among all the Jews, was instructed by a holy angel of God to send for you to come to his house and speak to us. ²³Peter then invited them in and gave them lodging. And on the next day Peter went with them, together with certain brothers from Joppa.

²⁴The following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, along with his relatives and close friends that he had called. ²⁵As Peter was coming in, Cornelius fell down at his feet and worshiped him. ²⁶But Peter lifted him up, saying; Stand up, for I am also a man. ²⁷As Peter talked with him, he entered into the house and saw the large crowd gathered. ²⁸He then said; according to Jewish law, It is unlawful for a Jewish man to keep company with persons of other nations. But, God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. ²⁹Thus I came without objection, as soon as I was sent for. Now why have you sent for me?

³⁰Cornelius then told Peter of his vision. Saying; About four days ago I was fasting and about 3:00pm, I saw a vision of a man in bright clothing. ³¹And he said; Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your gifts are remembered in the sight of God. ³²Therefore send for a man called Peter, he is in Joppa lodging in the house of Simon the tanner, when he comes, he will speak to you. ³³So I sent for you immediately and you have done well to come. We are all here before God to hear what you have been instructed by the Lord to say.

³⁴Peter then spoke saying; I perceive and understand now that God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons. ³⁵That in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. ³⁶The message of the good news is that God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ, that He is Lord of all. ³⁷That same Word that started in Galilee and proclaimed throughout all Judea, after the baptism which John preached. ³⁸How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. ³⁹We are witnesses of all things which He did. Yet, they killed Him by hanging Him on a tree. ⁴⁰But God raised Jesus up on the third day and caused Him to be plainly seen. ⁴¹He was not seen by all the people, but He witnessed to those that God had chosen and even to us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. ⁴²And He commanded His chosen to preach and testify to the people, that He was appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³As the prophets have witnessed, that whoever believes on His name will receive remission of their sins.

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. ⁴⁵And the Jews with Peter were amassed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. ⁴⁶For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter spoke; ⁴⁷Does anyone see why these should not be baptized, for they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? ⁴⁸And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. And they then asked him to stay a few days.

Acts chapter 11

¹The apostles and brethren in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the Word of God. ²Now when Peter had come back into Jerusalem, certain Jewish believers contended with him. ³Saying to him, why have you gone into the house of the Gentiles and you have even eaten with them. ⁴So Peter explained to them, from the beginning. ⁵Of seeing the vision of the great sheet in Joppa and falling into a trance. I saw a vision of a sheet coming down from the sky and it came to me. ⁶When I had fixed my eyes on it, I saw four-footed animals, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. ⁷Hearing a voice saying; Rise, Peter; kill and eat. ⁸But I said; Not so Lord, for nothing common or unclean has at any time entered into my mouth. ⁹But the voice spoke a second time and said; What God has cleansed do not regard it as common or unholy. ¹⁰This was repeated three times and all was then taken back up into heaven. ¹¹At that very moment, three men stood at the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea. ¹²Then the Spirit told me to go with them without reservations, and six brothers also accompanied me and we entered the man's house.

¹³Cornelius then told me of his vision, how he had seen an angel of the Lord, who told him to call for me. ¹⁴And that I would tell him what he must do so that he and his household could be saved. ¹⁵As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as had fallen upon us in the beginning. ¹⁶I then remembered the Word of the Lord, how Jesus said; John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷Since God gave to them the same gift as we have and they also believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, Then who was I to then hinder and forbid God? ¹⁸When they heard this, they became silent and they glorified God, saying; For God has also granted to the Gentile's repentance to life.

¹⁹Now due to the persecution that arose after the death of Stephen, many believers had traveled to various countries, however they preached the Word only to the Jews. ²⁰But some of the believers on their return trip from Antioch, spoke to the Greeks, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. ²¹And a great number of them believed and turned to the Lord, for His hand was with them. ²²Then news of this came to the church in Jerusalem and they had Barnabas to go to Antioch. ²³When Barnabas arrived and saw how the grace of God was upon the gentiles, he was glad. And greatly encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord. ²⁴For Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith and thus a great many people were added to the Lord.

²⁵Barnabas then departed for Tarsus to seek Saul, ²⁶And when he had found him, he brought him back with him to Antioch. There for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

²⁸In those days, prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸And a man named Agabus, stood up and prophesied that there would be a great famine throughout all the world and this came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. ²⁹Then the disciples, each according to his ability, sent relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. ³⁰This they did by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Acts chapter 12

¹About this time Herod, the king started harassing some from the church. ²He killed James the brother of John with the sword. ³And since it pleased the Jews, he also seized Peter, however it was during the time of the Passover. ⁴So Herod had Peter arrested and put into prison, guarded by four squads of soldiers, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

⁵As Peter was in prison, constant prayer was offered up to God by the church. ⁶The night before Herod was about to bring him out. Peter was sleeping bound with two chains between two soldiers, behind a guarded door. ⁷Then an angel of the Lord stood by Peter and a light shone in the prison. The angel struck Peter on his side, so as to wake him up. Saying; Arise quickly! And the chains fell off his hands. ⁸Then the angel said; Gird yourself and put on your sandals and your garment and follow me. ⁹Peter followed the angel, not knowing if this was a vision. ¹⁰When they were past the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate leading to the city and it opened automatically. They entered the city, walked down a street and immediately the angel departed from Peter.

¹¹When Peter realized where he was, he knew that the Lord has sent His angel to deliver him from the hand of Herod and from the expectations of the Jewish people. ¹²He then came to the house of Mary, the mother of John-Mark, (the writer of the gospel of Mark), as there were many gathered there praying for him. ¹³As Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a maid named Rhoda came and answered. ¹⁴When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her gladness, she did not open the gate, but announced to the others that Peter stood at the gate. ¹⁵But they did not believe her. At first they told her she was beside herself. As she kept on insisting it was Peter, she was told that it was his angel. ¹⁶But Peter kept on knocking and when the door was finely opened, seeing Peter, they were all astonished. ¹⁷Motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, Peter told them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. Peter then asked them to go and tell this to James and the rest of the brethren. Then Peter departed and went to another place. ¹⁸As soon as it was day, there was a great upset among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. ¹⁹But when all of Herod searching had come up empty, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. Then Herod went down to Caesarea and stayed there.

²⁰Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, for in the past the people had won the king's personal aide over as their friend. But, now all the people came to Herod and asked for peace, for their country was supplied with food by the king's country of Roman rule. ²¹Now Herod, arrayed in his royal apparel, sat on his throne giving an oration to the people. ²²And the people in a loud voice replied back, The voice of a god and not of a man! ²³Because Herod took these words to heart and did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him and he was eaten by worms and died. ²⁴But, even with this, the Word of God grew and multiplied, in Tyre and Sidon.

The start of Paul's ministry.

²⁵Now, Barnabas and Saul, after fulfilling their ministry in Jerusalem, returned and brought along with them John-Mark.

Acts chapter 13

Paul's, first missionary journey with Barnabas and John-Mark approximately 47ad.

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen and Saul. ²As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said; separate, Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have called them. ³And after further fasting and prayer, they laid their hands on them and sent them away.

⁴Being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they sailed to the city of Salamis, on the island of Cyprus. ⁵There they preached the Word of God to the Jews, in their synagogues and John joined them there as their assistant. ⁶Having preached through Salamis, they traveled to the city of Paphos. There they met a false prophet by the name of Bar-Jesus, a Jew and a sorcerer. ⁷Who was also with the proconsul, now the governor of the country, Sergius Paulus, called for Barnabas and Saul for he wanting to hear the Word of God. ⁸But the sorcerer withstood Barnabas and Saul, trying to keep the proconsul from coming to the faith. ⁹Then Saul, also called Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him. ¹⁰And rebuked him, saying; You are filled with deceit and fraud, a son of the devil and an enemy of righteousness, will you always pervert the ways of the Lord? ¹¹For the hand of the Lord is upon you and you shall be blind for a time. Immediately, a darkness fell upon him and he had to be led around by the hand. ¹²When Sergius Paulus the governor saw what had been done he believed and was greatly astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³When Paul and his party sailed from the island of Cyprus of the city of Paphos, they came to Perga. There, John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴When they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch of Pisidia and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. ¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue gave a word of invitation to anyone to speak if they had a word of exhortation for the people.

¹⁶So Paul stood up and said; Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen! ¹⁷The God of Israel chose our fathers, exalting the people when they were in the land of Egypt and with a mighty hand He brought them out of Egypt. ¹⁸For about forty years God endured their behavior in the wilderness. ¹⁹And after He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them their inheritance by allotment. ²⁰Judges were set up for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. ²¹Afterward they asked for a king, so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin and he reigned for forty years. ²²After God had removed Saul, He raised up David the son of Jesse as king. God then gave testimony that David was a man after His own heart, who would do His will. ²³From David's descendants, according to the promise, God raised up a Savior, Jesus for Israel. ²⁴Before His coming, John the Baptist, preached and gave a baptism of repentance. ²⁵As John was fulfilling his course, he said; I am not the Christ, but there comes One after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to loose. ²⁶This Word of salvation has been sent to you, the sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear God. ²⁷For those dwelling in Jerusalem and their rulers, did not recognize the Christ, or the voices of the Prophets, which are read every Sabbath. Yet, they have thus fulfilled what was prophesied to them by crucifying Christ on a tree. ²⁸Even though they found no cause for death, yet their request was for Pilate to put Him to death. ²⁹After they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Jesus. They took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰However, God raised Him from the dead. ³¹And after this, Jesus appeared for many days to the people who followed Him, within Galilee and Jerusalem and these bare witnesses of this. ³²And we declare to you this good news, for the promise that was made to the fathers. ³³God has fulfilled this for us, His children, in that He has raised up Jesus.

As it is written, You are My Son, Today I have begotten You, Psalm 2:7 ³⁴That He has raised Jesus from the dead, no more to return to corruption, As God has also spoken; I will give you the sure mercies of David, Isaiah 55:3. ³⁵And will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption, Psalm 16:10.

³⁶After David had served his own generation by the will of God, he was buried with his fathers and his body did see corruption. ³⁷But Jesus whom God raised from the dead saw no corruption. ³⁸Therefore, may you all know that through Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is preached to you through this Man. ³⁹And by Him everyone who believes is justified, from all things because the law of Moses could not justify a man.

⁴⁰Beware therefore, least what is spoken by the prophets comes upon you. ⁴¹Look here you cynics, who don't believe My works, marvel and perish! For the work I have done in your days you do not believe, even when one plainly declares it to you, Habakkuk 1:5.

⁴²When Paul and Barnabas had left the synagogue, the Gentiles pleaded that these words might be further preached to them the next Sabbath. ⁴³And many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism also urged them to be steadfast in the grace of God. ⁴⁴On the next Sabbath nearly the whole city came together to hear the Word of God. ⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy. They begin contradicting what was spoken by Paul. ⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas then grew bold, saying to the Jews; it was necessary that the Word should first be preached to you. But, since you have rejected it, judging yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, we have now turned to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷For the Lord has commanded us, according to His scripture:

I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should bring salvation to the ends of the earth, Isaiah 49:6

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the Word of the Lord. And as many as were destined to believe on eternal life did. ⁴⁹And the Word spread throughout the entire region. ⁵⁰But the Jews stirred up the devout women and the men of influence of the city and brought persecution against Paul and Barnabas. So much so that they were expelled from the region. ⁵¹So Paul and Barnabas shook of the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. ⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acts chapter 14

Paul and Barnabas perform signs and wonders in Iconium.

¹When Paul and Barnabas arrived at Iconium, they went to the Jewish synagogue and spoke. And a great multitude of both Jews and Greeks believed. ²However the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, corrupting their minds against the brethren. ³Therefore Paul and Barnabas stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord. Bearing witness to the Word of His grace and doing signs and wonders through their hands. ⁴But the people in the city were divided, some believed the Jews and some the apostles. ⁵And assaults were made by both Jew and Gentiles lead by the rulers, in order to accuse and stone them, ⁶When they had become aware of the threats, they fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, ⁷and preached the gospel there.

Paul healed a cripple man in Lystra, who had never walked.

⁸In Lystra, there was a man crippled from birth who had never walked. ⁹This man heard Paul speaking, and Paul observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰Said with a loud voice; Stand up on your feet! And the man leaped up and walked. ¹¹Now when the people saw what Paul had done, in their native language, they said; The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men! ¹²Barnabas they called Zeus and Paul they called Hermes, for he was the chief speaker. ¹³Then the priests from the temple of Zeus came and brought oxen intending to sacrifice them with the others. ¹⁴But when the apostles saw and heard about this, they were distraught and ran in the midst of the multitude ¹⁵Saying; Men why are you doing these things? We are also men with the same human nature as you and we preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God. Who made the heaven and earth and all the things that are in them. ¹⁶Whom in past generations allowed the nations to walk in their own ways. ¹⁷And He did not leave us without a witness of Himself, for He gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. ¹⁸But with this spoken, the apostles could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them.

Paul stoned and left for dead and he was raised up by the disciples.

¹⁹Then the Jews that had become antagonized with Paul's preaching in Antioch and Iconium came there. Having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and left him for dead. ²⁰However, the disciples gathered around him and he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹When they had preached the gospel in Derbe and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. ²²Strengthening the believers and encouraging them to continue in the faith, telling them that it is through many hardships that we shall enter the kingdom of God. ²³When they had appointed elders in each church, through prayer and fasting, they then committed them unto the Lord. ²⁴And they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. ²⁵When they had preached the Word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶From there they sailed to Antioch where they had first been commended of their work of preaching the grace of God. ²⁷Upon arrival they gathered the church together and they told of all that God had done through them, how He had brought the faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸And they stayed there a long time with the fellow believers.

Acts chapter 15

¹Now certain men from Judea came down to Antioch and started teaching that one could not be saved, unless they were circumcision according to the custom of Moses. (At that time Antioch was the epicenter of church doctrine and teachings would have quickly spread to other parts of the country). ²This brought a very great dilemma to Paul and Barnabas and they disputed with the men who taught this doctrine. And it was determined that Paul and Barnabas with others would go to Jerusalem and confer with the apostles and elders about this question. ³Being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring this controversy to the Gentiles and even this gave the brothers great joy. ⁴When they came to Jerusalem. They were received by the church, the apostles and the elders. And they reported all things that God had done through them. ⁵However some of the Pharisees who believed in Jesus, spoke up and said; It is necessary that the Gentile converts be circumcised and that they must keep the Law of Moses.

⁶Now the Apostles and elders came together to consider this matter of circumcision. ⁷And after much dispute, Peter spoke and said. Men and brethren, A good while ago God chose that through me the Gentiles should hear the Word of God and believe. ⁸God whom knew their hearts bore them witness, by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He has given us the Holy Spirit. ⁹He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰Therefore, why do you now test God by putting a burden on the believers which neither our fathers, nor we were able to bear? ¹¹For through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, as also in the same manner as they. ¹²And as the people remained silent as Barnabas and Paul spoke, declaring all the miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. ¹³After the crowd had become silent, James spoke, saying; Men and brethren, listen! ¹⁴Peter has declared to you how God visited the Gentiles to select some of them to bear His own name. ¹⁵And with this the words of the prophets also agree, as is written:

¹⁶After this I will return, I will rebuild the tabernacle of David. ¹⁷So that the rest of mankind may also seek the LORD, All the Gentiles, who are called by My name, says the LORD, Amos 9:11-12. ¹⁸For the Lord has been making these things known from the beginning of the world.

¹⁹Therefore I say that we should not trouble the Gentiles that are turning to God with rules of circumcision. ²⁰But rather write them to abstain from idolatry and things polluted by idolatry, from sexual immorality, from eating meat of animals that have been strangled and from eating blood. ²¹For Moses proclaimed this in every city and it is also read in synagogues every Sabbath day.

²²This pleased the apostles, elders and the rest of the church. And they sent back Judas and Silas, chief men among the brethren with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. ²³And they composed the following letter;

From the apostles, elders and the brethren,
To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia,
Greetings.
²⁴We have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with their words, saying; One must be circumcised and keep the law, of this, we have given no such commandment! ²⁵Being all in agreement, we have sent chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul. ²⁶Men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷Therefore we have also sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things to you. ²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us that we should lay no greater burden on you but that which is necessary. ²⁹That you abstain from things offered to idols, from eating meat of animals that have been strangled or of eating blood and to keep yourself from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.
Farewell.

³⁰When they had come to Antioch, they gather all the people together and delivered the letter. ³¹After reading the letter, all the people rejoiced for the comfort it gave them. ³²Judas and Silas, also being prophets, spoke words of exhortation to the people. ³³And after having stayed there for some time they were sent back to Jerusalem with greetings from the brethren. ³⁴But it pleased Silas to remain. ³⁵So Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching.

³⁶After some days Paul spoke to Barnabas about going back to the cities where they had first preached, to see how the new believers were doing. ³⁷Barnabas, however, was determined to take John-Mark with them. ³⁸But Paul insisted that they should not take him, for he had departed from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to do the work of the gospel. ³⁹The contention between them became so hot that they parted from one another and Barnabas went with John-Mark and sailed to Cyprus.

Paul's, second missionary journey with Silas.

⁴⁰Paul chose Silas and they departed, being sent off by the brethren under God's grace. ⁴¹And they went through Syria and Cilicia preaching and strengthen the churches.

Acts chapter 16

Timothy joins Paul and Silas on their missionary journey.

¹After going through Syria and Cilicia, they came to Derbe and Lystra. There was a believer there by the name of Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman, however his father was Greek. ²Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. ³And Paul wished for him to travel with them. But, because of the Jews in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek, Paul circumcised Timothy. ⁴Now as they went through the cities, they instructed the people according to the letter that had been written by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. ⁵And the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily.

⁶When they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia. The Holy Spirit forbade them to preach the Word in Asia, (modern day Turkey). ⁷After they came to Mysia, they tried going into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. ⁸So passing by Mysia, they came to Troas. ⁹A vision then appeared to Paul, a man of Macedonia saying; Come to Macedonia and help us. ¹⁰Immediately after having the vision we set out for Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel there.

¹¹Sailing from Troas, we plotted a straight course to Macedonia and the next day came to Neapolis. ¹²From there we moved on to Philippi, which is the major city in, that part of Macedonia and we stayed there for some days. ¹³On the Sabbath we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made and we sat down and spoke to the women who gathered together there. ¹⁴A woman named Lydia heard us, she was a business woman from the city of Thyatira. A devout woman who worshiped God for the Lord opened her heart to comprehend the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵When she and her entire household were baptized, she said to us; If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, then please stay at my house.

¹⁶Now as they were on their way to prayer, a certain slave girl who was possessed with a spirit of divination met them on the road. And through her fortune-telling, she brought much profit to her masters. ¹⁷This girl followed them around, crying out; These men are servants of the Most High God, they proclaim the way of salvation to us. ¹⁸After many days of this, Paul became greatly annoyed and he turned to the girl and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And that very hour the spirit came out of her. ¹⁹But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities and magistrates. ²⁰Bringing the complaint against them that, these Jews exceedingly trouble our city, ²¹For they teach un-lawful customs that we being Romans are not allowed to observe. ²²The magistrates showing their disapproval commanded them to be beaten with rods and all the people rose up against them. ²³When they had beaten them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them secure. ²⁴Having received such a command, the jailer put them into the inner prison and fastened their legs in the stocks.

²⁵At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and all the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly there was a great earthquake and the foundations of the prison was shaken. Immediately, all the prison doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. ²⁷The keeper of the prison was awakened from his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had all fled. He drew his sword and was about to kill himself. ²⁸But Paul called with a loud voice, saying; Do not harm yourself, for we are all here. ²⁹After a light was brought, the keeper ran into their cell, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰And he brought them out, asked what he must do to be saved? ³¹They replied, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and your whole household. ³²Then they spoke the Word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³And that same hour, he washed their wounds and immediately everyone in his family was baptized. ³⁴Now when he had brought them into his house, He then set food before them and he and all of his household rejoiced, having believed in God.

³⁵When it was day, the magistrates told the officers, to inform the keeper of the prison to let the men go. ³⁶So the keeper told Paul and Silas to depart and go in peace. ³⁷But Paul, was not about to be secretly dismissed. For he said to the keeper, we are of Roman citizenship and have been openly beaten and thrown into prison. Let them come themselves and tell us to go. ³⁸The officers relayed their words to the magistrates and fear came over them when they heard that they were Romans. ³⁹Then the magistrates came and pleaded with them, asking them to depart from the city. ⁴⁰When they had left the prison they entered into Lydia's house and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

Acts chapter 17

¹When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ²As Paul's custom was he went into it and for three Sabbaths shared the Scriptures with them. ³Reasoning with them that the Christ had to suffer and be risen from the dead and this Jesus that I preach to you is the Christ. ⁴Some of them were persuaded and many devout Greeks and some of the leading women joined Paul and Silas.

⁵But the unbelieving Jews became envious and gathered a mob of evil men together from the marketplace and set the city in an uproar. They attacked the house where Paul and Silas were thought to be staying. ⁶But when they did not find them, they dragged out the owner of the house and some of the brethren along with the rulers of the city, and said; The men who have turned the world upside down are staying at this man's house. ⁷They are behaving contrary to the laws of Caesar, saying there is another king called Jesus. ⁸Now when the rulers of the city heard this, they were troubled. ⁹So after they had fined the owner of the household, they let them all go.

¹⁰After that, the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. Having arrived there they again went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹The people there were more accepting than those in Thessalonica. In that they received the Word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. ¹²Many of the Greeks, as well as the prominent women and men also believed. ¹³However when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching at Berea, they came there and stirred up the crowds. ¹⁴So the brethren sent Paul away via the sea to Athens, but both Silas and Timothy stayed there. ¹⁵And some time later, Paul sent a command to Silas and Timothy to both come to him with all haste, so they departed.

¹⁶As Paul waited at Athens for Silas and Timothy to come, his spirit was saddened when he saw that the city was given over to idols. ¹⁷Therefore he reasoned with the Jews and with the Gentile believers in the synagogue and in the marketplace daily. ¹⁸But when Paul met a certain Epicurean and other Stoic philosophers, they wondered, what this babbler had to say. Some said, he seems to be proclaiming foreign gods, because he proclaimed Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹So they brought him up to the council that meets on Mars' Hill. Asking him to explain what this new doctrine he speaks of is? ²⁰For these are strange concepts that you are telling us and we wish to know what these things mean. ²¹For all of Athens and the foreigners were caught up in philosophy, for most Athenians spent their days looking to share or hear new thoughts and ideas.

²²As Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill he said; Men of Athens, I perceive you as being very religious. ²³Since I even found a statue, that you had, with the inscription: "to the unknown god". Therefore, let me now proclaim to you this One that you worship without knowledge. ²⁴He is the God, who made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not dwell in temples made with hands. ²⁵Nether is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, for He has given life and breath to all things. ²⁶He has made, every nation from one common blood, for men to dwell on the face of the earth. Determining their pre appointed times and even their dwelling places. ²⁷So that they might diligently seek the Lord, that they might find Him, even though He is not far from each one of us. ²⁸For in Him we live and move and have our being, as some of your own poets have also said, "We are His offspring". ²⁹Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought to realize that God's Divine Nature cannot be represented by things of gold, silver or stone, or objects shaped by mans hand. ³⁰Truly, these were made in times of ignorance and God chose to overlook it, but now we must repent of these past sins. ³¹For God has appointed a day when He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man, Christ Jesus, whom He has ordained. And He has given us assurance of this by raising Christ Jesus from the dead. ³²When the philosopher's heard Paul speak of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked it, while others were interested and wished to hear more on this matter. ³³Then Paul departed, ³⁴However, some men did join him and believed, among them was a man called Dionysius and a woman named Damaris and others as well.

Acts chapter 18

¹Paul then departed from Athens and went to Corinth. ²There he found a Jewish man named Aquila and his wife Priscilla, who had recently left Italy, since Claudius the Roman emperor, had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. ³Because Paul and Aquila were both of the same trade, Paul stayed with them and they both worked their trade as tent makers. ⁴And Paul reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath persuading both Jews and Greeks.

⁵When Silas and Timothy arrived and joined Paul, the spirit compelled Paul to testify to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. ⁶But when the Jews blasphemed and opposed him, he said; Your blood be upon your own heads, for I am clean, from now on I will go to the Gentiles and preach. ⁷He departed and entered a house of a man named Justus, who worshiped God and whose house was next door to the synagogue. ⁸The ruler of the synagogue, Crispus, also believed along with his household and many of the Corinthians hearing this believed and were baptized. ⁹Now, through a vision the Lord spoke to Paul in the night, saying; Do not be afraid, keep on speaking. ¹⁰For I am with you, no one will attack or hurt you for I have many people in this city. ¹¹Thus he continued there a year and a half, teaching them the Word of God.

¹²However when Gallio was the Roman governor, the Jews rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat. ¹³Saying; This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law. ¹⁴Just before Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews. This matter does not concern me, if it were a matter of wrongdoing or a wicked crime, I would judge it. ¹⁵But since it is a question of words and names and of your own law, look into it yourselves, for I do not wish to be a judge over such matters. ¹⁶And he dismissed the case and drove them away from his judgment seat. ¹⁷Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue and beat him before the judgment seat. But, Gallio turned his back to the entire matter.

¹⁸After that Paul remained a good while in Corinth with Priscilla and Aquila and then all three left for Syria. Paul had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, since he had taken a vow. ¹⁹They then came to Ephesus where he left Aquila and Priscilla but Paul entered into the synagogue and began to reason with the Jews. ²⁰The Jews at Ephesus asked Paul to stay longer, however he did not consent. ²¹But said that he must get back to Jerusalem for an upcoming feast. However, God willing, I will return to you and he sailed from Ephesus. ²²When he landed at Caesarea and had greeted the church there, he continued onto Antioch.

Paul's, third missionary journey, about 54ad.

²³After he had spent some time in Antioch, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the believers.

²⁴A certain Jew, very well versed in the scriptures named Apollos, came to Ephesus. ²⁵He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and being fervent in his spirit, he taught accurately the things of the Lord, even though he had only the baptism of John the Baptist. ²⁶When Aquila and Priscilla heard him speaking boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. ²⁷Apollos then desired to cross over to Achaia, so the other disciples gave him a letter of reference to take with him. And when he had crossed over he greatly helped the other brethren who believed in Christ. ²⁸For he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Acts chapter 19

¹While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through those regions came to Ephesus. And finding some believers there ²He asked them, if they had received the Holy Spirit upon believing? And they answered him; We had not even heard that there was a Holy Spirit. ³Paul then asked them; what were you baptized into? And they replied; into John's baptism. ⁴Paul spoke and said; John the Baptist, gave a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe on the coming Christ, (Jesus). ⁵When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. ⁷There were twelve men in all.

⁸Then as his custom, Paul went into their synagogues, speaking boldly and reasoning with the people the things of God, for three months. ⁹But when some of the people hardened their hearts, refusing to believe and speaking evil of the Way. Paul withdrew from the synagogue and took along the new believers with him. He then continued to reason with them daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰And Paul continued in this for two years, long enough for all who dwelt in Asia to hear the Word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

God worked miracles by Paul's hands, handkerchiefs brought to the sick.

¹¹Now God was working extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. ¹²So that even handkerchiefs and aprons that he had put on his body, were taken to the sick and the diseases left and evil spirits also went out of them.

Seven sons of Sceva, casting out spirits by the name of Jesus that Paul preaches.

¹³When some of the traveling Jewish exorcists saw this, they begin using the name of the Lord Jesus to cast out evil spirits, saying; "We exorcise you by the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches." ¹⁴This was done by the seven sons of a Jewish priest named Sceva. ¹⁵However, the evil spirit answered and said; "Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you?" ¹⁶The possessed man then overpowered and overtook them. So that they fled out of the house wounded and naked. ¹⁷This became widely known to both Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus and the fear of the Lord fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

¹⁸Many who had believed came confessing past deeds and making full confessions. ¹⁹Also many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them, in the presence of all. And when they had tallied up the value from all the books, it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver, (this would be at least one hundred thousand dollars). ²⁰And the Word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

²¹After all these things had happened in Ephesus. As Paul was passing through Macedonia and Achaia on his way back to Jerusalem, he sensed in his spirit that he must also go to Rome. ²²So Paul sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia, both who had previous ministered to him, however Paul stayed in Asia for a time. ²³About that time there arose a great commotion concerning the way of the Lord. ²⁴A silversmith named Demetrius, who profited greatly by making silver shrines of the goddess Diana. ²⁵Called all the men together of similar trades and said; Men, this trade is what gives us our prosperity. ²⁶And not only at Ephesus but throughout most of Asia, this Paul has persuaded many saying they are not gods that are made with hands. ²⁷Not only is our trade in danger but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may have her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worships.

²⁸When they heard this, they were filled with wrath and cried out; Great is Diana of the Ephesians! ²⁹And the whole city was filled with confusion. They rushed into the theater where Paul's traveling companions were and seized the three that were there, Gaius, Aristarchus and Macedonians. ³⁰When Paul found out about this, he wanted to go into the theater but the other disciples would not allow it. ³¹Even some of the city officials that Paul knew, urged him not to enter in. ³²For the assembly was now acting in confusion, some were speaking one thing and some spoke another, while most did not even know why they had come together. ³³The Jews put Alexander forward, one of the three men and he started to make his defense to the people. ³⁴But when they discovered that he was a Jew. The multitude cried out for about two hours, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" ³⁵When at last the city clerk quieted the crowd, he spoke: Men of Ephesus, everyone knows that our city of Ephesians is the guardian of the goddess Diana that fell down from Zeus. ³⁶And this cannot be denied, therefore you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. ³⁷You have brought these men here without cause, they are neither robbers nor blasphemers of your goddess. ³⁸If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against these men. The courts are open and will hear it. ³⁹Any further matters shall be determined in a lawful assembly. ⁴⁰As for this un-lawful assembly, it is in danger of being called in question for today's uproar, for there is no justification for this disorderly gathering. ⁴¹When he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Acts chapter 20

¹After the uproar had stilled, Paul called all the disciples together, embraced them, departed from Ephesus and sailed for Macedonia. ²When Paul had gone over that region, preaching in their synagogues and encouraging them. He came to Greece ³He then stayed there three months. However, when the Jews plotted against him, he decided to return through Macedonia rather than traveling straight to Syria. ⁴Paul's traveling companions: Sopater from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonians, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, Tychicus and Trophimus went as far as Asia. ⁵For these men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. ⁶And after the days of the Passover and Unleavened Bread, we sailed away from Philippi and in five days came to them at Troas and we stayed there for seven days.

Paul raised Eutychus, from the dead, after falling out of a third story window.

⁷On the Sabbath, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, being ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. ⁸In the upper room where they were gathered, there were many lamps. ⁹And a young man named Eutychus was sitting on the sill of the window and he was overcome by sleep. As Paul continued speaking, he fell out of the third story window and was taken up dead. ¹⁰But Paul went down, fell on him and embraced him and said, do not be troubled for his life is within him. ¹¹Now when they had come back up into the room they broke bread, ate and talked until daybreak. Then at daybreak Paul departed. ¹²And the youth went home alive and all the brethren were greatly comforted.

¹³We then sailed to Assos and we tried to convince Paul to come on board with us, for he intended to go on foot. ¹⁴When we met up with Paul at Assos, we took him on board and we sailed to Mitylene. ¹⁵We sailed by Chios and after two days came to Samos where we stayed at Trogyllium, the next day we came to Miletus. ¹⁶But Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus and not spend time in Asia, for he wished to be back in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.

¹⁷From the city of Miletus, Paul set out for Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. (not wanting to go into the city of Ephesus, for that was where the stirring of the goddess Diana took place, chapter 19:21). ¹⁸When the elders had come to him, he said to them; Men you know, the manner in which I have lived among you, from the first day until now. ¹⁹Serving the Lord in all humility, with many tears and trials that happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. ²⁰How I held back nothing but taught all that was helpful to you, teaching both publicly and house to house. ²¹Preaching repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, to both the Jews and to the Greeks. ²²Now I go back to Jerusalem compelled by the Holy Spirit not knowing what may happen to me there. ²³Except that within the Holy Spirit I see that chains and tribulations await me. ²⁴But, none of these things move me, for I do not count my life dear. Rather I wish to finish my race with joy, the ministry that I have received from the Lord Jesus and to testify of God's gospel of grace.

²⁵And now I leave you who I have preached the kingdom of God to, knowing that you will not see me again. ²⁶Therefore I declare to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men. ²⁷For I have not ceased to declare to you the whole Word of God. ²⁸Therefore be advised, you and the entire church body, which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which Jesus purchased with His own blood. ²⁹For I know, that after my departure wolves will come in among you, to disrupt and break up the church body. ³⁰Also, even from among yourself men will rise up, speaking perverse, (morally corrupt) things, to draw away fellow believers after themselves. ³¹Beware of this! And remember that for three years I did not cease to warn people of this.

³²Now as I leave, brethren, I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, that is able to build you up and give all those who are sanctified an inheritance. ³³I have not coveted anyone's gold, silver nor their apparel. ³⁴You know that my own hands have provided for my necessities and for those who were with me. ³⁵Through my labors, I have shown you, that you must support the weak. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that It is more blessed to give than to receive. ³⁶When Paul had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷Then they wept and kissed Paul on his neck, ³⁸With much sorrow, for they recalled his words, that they would not see him again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

Acts chapter 21

¹As we departed, we set sail charting a straight course for Cos, the next day we came to Rhodes and from there to Patara. ²And finding a ship sailing to Phoenicia, we boarded it and set sail. ³We sailed past Cyprus and sailed on to Syria, landing at Tyre and the ship unloaded her cargo. ⁴finding fellow believers we stayed there seven days. And they told Paul, through the Spirit, not to go up to Jerusalem. ⁵When we came to the end of our stay. They all saw us off, together with their wives and their children until we were outside of the city. On the shore, we knelt down and prayed. ⁶We then boarded the ship and they returned to their homes. ⁷When we departed from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren and stayed with them one day. ⁸The next day we departed and came to Caesarea. There we entered the house of an evangelist named Philip, who was one of the original seven who waited tables in the early church, verse 8:5. ⁹Philip had four virgin daughters who had the gift of prophecy. ¹⁰As we stayed there many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹He took Paul's belt and bound his own hands and feet and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. ¹²When we heard this, we all pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³But Paul answered and said; Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁴When they could not persuade Paul otherwise, they said; "May the will of the Lord be done."

¹⁵After this, we packed our baggage and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶And some of the fellow believers from Caesarea went with us, along with a man from Cyprus, called Mnason a believer at whose house we stayed at. ¹⁷When we got to Jerusalem the brethren received us gladly. ¹⁸The next day Paul went with us to see James and all the elders were also present. ¹⁹Paul greeted them and told them of the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰When they heard it, they glorified the Lord. Then they said to Paul; We have thousands of Jews who believe here, but they are all zealous for the Law. ²¹And they have heard that you teach all the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake the law of Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs of Moses. ²²Therefore, we need to address this matter before a multitude of people come together, for the people will surely hear that you are here. ²³Thus do as we tell you. We have four men in the process of their purification, due to a vow that they have taken. ²⁴Join them in their purification, pay the temple offering and have your head shaven. So that the Jews may see that those things they were informed about you are nothing. For they will see that you walk orderly and keep the law. ²⁵Concerning the believing Gentiles we have written that they need not observe any such thing except that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled and from sexual immorality.

²⁶So Paul went through the purification ceremony with the other four men. Having been purified with them, he then entered the temple to announce the completion of the ceremony and at that time to pay the temple offering. ²⁷Just as the seven days of the purification rite were almost up, the Jews from Asia seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him. ²⁸Saying; Men of Israel help us! This is the man who teaches all men contrary to the law and our customs. Furthermore, he has also defiled this holy place by bringing Greeks into the temple. ²⁹For they had earlier seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰And the entire city was disturbed by this and all the people came and seized Paul. They dragged him out of the temple, closing the gates behind him.

³¹Now as they were seeking to kill Paul, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³²Immediately he brought soldiers and centurions and came down to where the people were. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they quit beating Paul. ³³The commander then came near, took and bound Paul with two chains, asking who he was and what he had done. ³⁴Some said one thing while others said another. So when he could not ascertain the truth, he commanded that Paul be taken to the barracks. ³⁵When Paul came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers due to the violence of the mob. ³⁶For the entire mob cried out, saying; Away with him!

³⁷As Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he asked the commander, if he could speak? The commander replied, can you speak Greek? ³⁸For the commander mistook Paul as being an Egyptian rebel, who in the past caused a riot and led four thousand men, murderers out into the wilderness. ³⁹But Paul said to the commander; I am Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia. And further asked, if he could speak to the people. ⁴⁰After getting permission, Paul stood on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hands. And when it was silent, he spoke in the Hebrew language.

Acts chapter 22

¹Men and brethren, hear my defense! ²When they heard Paul speaking in the Hebrew tongue, the crowd grew very quiet.

³I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, raised in Jerusalem and learned under Gamaliel, according to the strictness of our fathers' law. Being as zealous toward God as you all are today. ⁴I persecuted the followers of the Way of the Lord, binding and delivering them to prisons both men and women. ⁵As the high priest and the council of elders will all verify, I received from them letters of authorization to bring back believers of this Way in chains to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶As I journeyed to Damascus, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. ⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? ⁸And I answered; Who are You, Lord? And He said; I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting. ⁹Those who were with me saw the light and were afraid, yet did not hear the voice. ¹⁰I then said; What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me; Go into Damascus and you will be told all things that are appointed for you to do. ¹¹When I got up, I could not see because of the glory of that light, so I was led by the hand into Damascus. ¹²Ananias, a devout man according to the law, with a good reputation among all the Jews, dwelt there. ¹³He came to me and said; Brother Saul, receive your sight. And that very hour I received my sight. ¹⁴He then said; The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, to see the Just One and to hear His voice. ¹⁵For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶And now why are you waiting? Be baptized, wash away your sins and call on the name of the Lord.

¹⁷When I had returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the temple and fell into a trance. ¹⁸And saw Him saying to me; Get out of Jerusalem quickly, for the Jews will not receive your testimony concerning Me. ¹⁹I questioned and said; Lord, the Jews know that in all the synagogues, I imprisoned and beat those who believed on You. ²⁰And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also consented to his death, even guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. ²¹Then He said to me; Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.

²²The crowd listened to Paul until he mentioned, being sent to the Gentiles. At this they shouted, saying; Away with such a fellow, for he is not fit to live! ²³And as they shouted, they showed signs of their distress by tearing their garments and throwing dust into the air, ²⁴Then the commander had Paul brought into the barracks. And was going to examine him under scourging, thinking this might tell him why the crowd shouted against him so. ²⁵As they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion; Is it lawful for you to scourge a Roman citizen who has not been condemned? ²⁶When the centurion heard this, he told the commander and said; Use care in what you do to this man, for he is a Roman. ²⁷Then the commander came to Paul and asked him, if he was a Roman citizen? And Paul said; "Yes". ²⁸The commander replied; With a great sum of money, I bought this citizenship. But, Paul answered; I was born a Roman. ²⁹Immediately after this, the commander and those who were about to examine Paul withdrew. And the commander was also afraid because Paul was a Roman and he had bound him.

³⁰The next day, because the commander still wanted to know why Paul was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds and commanded the chief priests and their council to appear before him and brought Paul down and set him before them.

Acts chapter 23

¹Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said; Men and brethren, I have lived in all good consciences before God to this very day. ²After Paul said this, the high priest, Ananias, commanded those who stood by Paul that he be struck on the mouth. ³Paul responded to this abrupt action by saying; God will strike you, you whitewashed wall, (clean on the outside but not on the inside) you hypocrite! For you judge me according to the law, but you ordered me to be struck contrary to the law? ⁴Those who stood by said to Paul; Do you abuse God's high priest in such a manor? ⁵To which Paul replied, I did not know that he was the high priest. For it is written; You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people, Exodus 22:28.

⁶Now when Paul perceived that the council was made up of Sadducees and Pharisees, he spoke; Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is concerning the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am being judged. ⁷When he had said this a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the assembly was divided. ⁸For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection and no angels or spirits, but the Pharisees openly confess both. ⁹There was then a great uproar. And the scribes of the Pharisees' stood and said; We find no evil in this man, if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God. ¹⁰This caused even a greater dissension among the council. So for Paul's safety, the commander ordered his solders to take Paul by force and bring him back to the barracks, least he be torn apart by the council.

¹¹The next night the Lord spoke to Paul and said; Be of good cheer Paul, for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you will also bear witness in Rome. ¹²When it was day, some of the Jews conspired and bound themselves under an oath, saying, we will neither eat nor drink until we have killed Paul. ¹³For there were over forty Jews, who had conspired to this. ¹⁴Then they went to the chief priests and elders and told them of the oath, they had bound themselves with. ¹⁵Desiring that the counsel suggest to the commander that Paul be brought down tomorrow for further questioning. And we will wait in ambush and kill him. ¹⁶But Paul's sister's son heard of their ambush and went and told Paul in the barracks. ¹⁷Paul then called a centurion and had him take the boy to the commander.

^18-19The young man was then taken to the commander and spoke to him in private and said; ²⁰The Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow for further questioning. ²¹But do not yield to them, for there are more than forty men planning an ambush against him. For they have bound themselves with an oath not to eat nor drink until they have killed Paul. ²²So the commander sent away the young man, instructing him not to tell anyone that he had been informed.

²³The commander then called for two centurions to prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at 9:00pm. ²⁴Providing a mount for Paul to sit on and take him safely to Felix the governor. ²⁵And the commander wrote the following letter.

Claudius Lysias,
To the most excellent governor Felix:
Greetings.
²⁷This man was seized and was about to be killed by the Jews. I rescued him by the presents of my troops and have learned that he is a Roman citizen. ²⁸Attempting to learn why the Jews accused him, I brought him before their council. ²⁹As I found out that he was accused concerning questions of the Jewish law, but had nothing charged against him deserving death or chains. ³⁰When it was told me that the Jews planned an ambush against this man, I sent him immediately to you, commanding his accusers to state before you the charges against him.
Farewell.

³¹As the soldiers were commanded, they took Paul by night and brought him to Antipatris, (the Roman military city). ³²The next day the foot solders returned to Jerusalem and left the horsemen to go on with Paul to Caesarea. ³³When they came to Caesarea, they delivered the letter and Paul to governor Felix, ³⁴When Felix had read the letter, he asked Paul what province he was from? And when he understood that he was from Cilicia. ³⁵Felix said; I will hear your case when your accusers also have come. And he commanded Paul to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.

Acts chapter 24

¹After five days, Ananias the high priest, the elders and a certain spokesman, came down to Caesarea to testify against Paul. ²First the Jews stated their case against Paul. They opened up their accusal by saying; We are very thankful for all the peace and prosperity that your foresight has brought to our land. ³And we accept and acknowledge it always, great governor Felix. ⁴Nevertheless, we beg you to hear, a few words from us. ⁵We have found this man Paul, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. ⁶He has even tried to profane our temple, so we seized him and were going to judge him according to our law. ⁷But commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him away from us. ⁸Commanding his accusers to come to you. Now by examining him yourself, you will find all these things that we have accused him of to be true. ⁹And all the Jews who were assembled, asserted that these things were so.

¹⁰Then Paul, being motioned that he could speak, said; I know that you have been a judge of this nation for many years and therefore, I gladly answer for myself. ¹¹No more than twelve days ago, I went up to worship in Jerusalem, as can be verified. ¹²The Jews did not find me disputing in the temple nor was I inciting crowds in the synagogues or in the city. ¹³Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me of. ¹⁴But I do say this to you; according to the Way which they call a sect of the Nazarenes. Yes I do so worship the God of my fathers, believing all things that are written in the Law and the Prophets. ¹⁵I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept. That there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. ¹⁶With this being so, I strive always to have a blameless conscience before God and men. ¹⁷Now after many years, I came back to Jerusalem to bring alms and offerings to my nation. ¹⁸I was peaceably in the temple in the process of my purification and some Jews from Asia found me there. ¹⁹These men ought to be present before you accusing me, if they had anything against me. ²⁰Therefore let those who are here tell you what wrong I have done, when I had previous stood before their council. ²¹For I am before you today because of this one statement, Concerning the resurrection of the dead.

²²When Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way. He adjourned the proceedings saying; When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case. ²³Felix then commanded an officer to keep Paul in custody, letting him have limited liberties, not hindering anyone to minister or come to him. ²⁴Some days later, Felix along with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jew, sent for Paul to hear him concerning the faith in Christ. ²⁵As Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance and the Judgment to come, Felix became troubled, telling Paul to go and that he would call for him at a later time. ²⁶But Felix actually hoped that Paul would give him a bribe so that he might free him. Therefore, he sent for and talked with Paul frequently. ²⁷But at the end of two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix. And Felix, wishing to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.

Acts chapter 25

¹When the new governor Festus had come into his own province, after three days he went to Jerusalem. ²There the high priest and the chief men of the Jew informed and petitioned him against Paul. ³Asking Festus, if they could summon Paul back to Jerusalem, (planning again to ambush him along the road and kill him). ⁴But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea and that he was going back there shortly. ⁵Therefore, let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see if he is guilty of any wrongdoing.

⁶After Festus had stayed among them ten more days, he went down to Caesarea. The very next day he commanded that Paul be brought before the judgment seat. ⁷When Festus had come into Caesarea, the Jews, who came down from Jerusalem laid many serious accusations against Paul that they could not prove. ⁸Paul then answered for himself, saying; Nether the law of the Jews, or against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I offended. ⁹But the governor, wishing to do a favor for the Jews. Spoke to Paul and said; Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be judged before me, concerning these things? ¹⁰Paul replied, I am standing at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews, I have done no wrong, as you very well know. ¹¹If I have offended or committed anything deserving of death, then convict me. But, if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one shall deliver me to them, I appeal to Caesar. ¹²When the governor had conferred with his council, he spoke and said; You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar, you shall go!

¹³Now, after some days king Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. ¹⁴After they had been there many days, Festus brought up Paul's case before the king, saying; Felix had left this man in prison. ¹⁵About whom the chief priest and elders of the Jews, informed me of when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him. ¹⁶To them I replied, It is the custom of the Romans that every man have a trial before his accusers face to face and that he can plead his case. ¹⁷Therefore the Jews quickly came together and I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in. ¹⁸When his accusers spoke, they brought no accusation against him as I had expected. ¹⁹But they had some questions against him concerning their own religion and a certain man named Jesus, who had died, but Paul affirmed to be alive. ²⁰Being unaware of such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be judged there concerning these matters. ²¹But Paul then appealed to Caesar, so I commanded him to be kept until I could send him to Caesar.

²²King Agrippa was interested and wished to hear the man Paul, so Festus arranged that the next day they would hear Paul. ²³And when king Agrippa and Bernice had entered the auditorium making a grand display, for commanders and many prominent men of the city were there and at Festus command Paul was brought in. ²⁴Festus then spoke, Honored king and all present with us. This man, the whole assembly of the Jews has petitioned me both at Jerusalem and here, saying; this man is not fit to live any longer. ²⁵But, when I found he had committed nothing deserving of death and that he had appealed to Caesar, I decided to send him to Caesar. ²⁶But now I have nothing certain to write to Caesar concerning him. Therefore, I have brought him out before all of you, especially before you King Agrippa, so that after examining him that I may have something to write. ²⁷For it seems to me to be unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.

Acts chapter 26

¹Then king Agrippa said to Paul, You may speak for yourself.
Paul then gesturing with his hands and said; ²Today I am happy because I shall answer for myself before you of the things that the Jews have accused me of. ³For I know that you are an expert in all customs concerning the Jews, therefore, I ask you to hear me patiently. ⁴I was raised in Jerusalem, all the Jews know this. ⁵They knew me from the first, according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. ⁶And now I stand here today being judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. ⁷The same promise that the twelve tribes serving God day and night hoped to attain. And of this hope, I am being accused by the Jews. ⁸Why should it be thought unreasonable to any of you that God raises the dead?

⁹I also once thought, that I needed to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰This I did in Jerusalem and carried many saints who followed this Way off to prison, having been given the authority to do so by the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹In every synagogue I punished them, compelling them to blaspheme, for I was enraged by them and persecuted them even into foreign cities.

¹²While enraged, I journeyed to Damascus with authority from the chief priests, to bind and persecute these believers. ¹³At noon, I saw a bright light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining around me, as did those who journeyed with me also saw it. ¹⁴When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew language, saying; Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It will turn out badly for you to keep coming against Me. ¹⁵And I said; Who are You, Lord? And He said; I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶Now rise, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. ¹⁷I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you. ¹⁸To open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. That those who are sanctified by faith in Me, may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance.

¹⁹Therefore king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. ²⁰Declaring, to those in Damascus, Jerusalem, in Judea and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God and do works showing their repentance. ²¹And it was for these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²²Therefore, having obtained help from God, this day I stand before you witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come. ²³That Christ would suffer and be the first raised from the dead, proclaiming a light to the Jews and to the Gentiles.

²⁴As Paul was making his defense, Festus, the governor, said in a loud voice; Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is making you mad! ²⁵But Paul said; Most noble Festus, I am not mad, but speak words of truth and reason. ²⁶For the king before whom I speak, knows these things. I am convinced that none of these things have escaped your attention, since this thing has not been done in secret. ²⁷I know that the King believes in the prophets. ²⁸The king then said to Paul; You almost persuade me to become a Christian. ²⁹Paul replied; My wish is that not only you, but all who hear me might become as I am, except for these chains. ³⁰When Paul had said this, the king, the governor, Bernice and all who sat with them stood up. ³¹After conferring among themselves, their consensus was that Paul had done nothing deserving of death or chains. ³²Then the king said to Festus; This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.

Acts chapter 27

Paul's, forth missionary journey, now as he is a prisoner, about 60ad.

¹It was decided to sail for Italy and Paul was brought onboard along with other prisoners. All the prisoners were put into the custody of a centurion named Julius. ²When we had all boarded the ship, Aristarchus, a fellow believer was also with us and our plan was to sail along the coast of Asia. ³The next day when we had landed at Sidon, Julius the centurion gave Paul the liberty to go ashore to his friends and receive care. ⁴When we had put out to sea again, we sailed under the shelter of the isle of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. ⁵And we docked at Myra, a city of Lycia. ⁶There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and he put all of us on board. ⁷After many days of sailing slowly, with great difficulty we arrived at Cnidus, for the winds were not permitting us to proceed, so we sailed under the shelter of Crete. ⁸And we docked at Fair Havens, on the isle of Crete.

⁹Sailing now became very dangerous. because it was near the end of September. So Paul advised the centurion in command. ¹⁰Saying; Men, I perceive that this voyage will end in disaster and much loss, not only to the ship and its cargo but also to our lives. ¹¹But the centurion was persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship rather than by what Paul had spoken. ¹²And since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail.

¹³When the south wind blew softly and it looked like the winds were favorable, we then put out to sea and sailed close to the shoreline of Crete. ¹⁴But not long after we left the protection of the isle of Crete, a tempestuous head wind arose. ¹⁵And when the ship became caught in the storm, we were unable to direct her, so we let the winds drive her. ¹⁶Running under the shelter of an island, with much difficulty we secured the life raft on board. ¹⁷And the ship's crew also under girded the ship with cables. Then fearing that the ship might be run aground, we raised the sails and were driven by the storm. ¹⁸Because we were being tossed so by the storm, the next day they lightened the ship's load. ¹⁹On the third day we threw the ship's tackle overboard. ²⁰When we could see neither sun nor stars for many days and the storm raged on, all hope that we would be saved had vanished.

²¹However, after a long abstinence from food. Paul stood in the midst of them and said; Men, you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete, incurring this disaster and loss. ²²Now I urge you to take heart for there will be no loss of life among you, only the ship will be lost. ²³For this night an Angel of my God stood by me, to whom I belong and whom I serve. ²⁴Saying to me; Do not be afraid, Paul, for you must be brought before Caesar. And God has granted you the lives of all those who sail with you. ²⁵So take heart men, for I believe that it will be just as God told me. ²⁶However, we must run aground on a certain island.

²⁷Now when fourteen days had passed and we were still being tossed in the Adriatic Sea, the sailors sensed we were drawing near to land. ²⁸Soundings were taken and were estimated at one hundred and twenty feet and as they had gone further the soundings were showing ninety feet. ²⁹Then fearing we might break up on the rocks, we dropped four anchors off the stern and prayed that day might come. ³⁰But the sailors were secretly attempting to escape, for they had let down the life raft under the false premise of putting out anchors from the bow. ³¹However Paul saw this and said to the centurion and the solders, unless these men stay in the ship, we cannot be saved. ³²The soldiers then cut away the ropes of the life raft and it drifted away. ³³As day was about to dawn, Paul encouraged them all to take food, saying; Today is the fourteenth day we have been without food. ³⁴Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, none of you shall be harmed. ³⁵When he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all and he broke it and ate. ³⁶They all being encouraged, also took food themselves. ³⁷All together there were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship. ³⁸And when they had finished eating, they lightened the ship and threw out the last of the wheat.

³⁹When day had come, they did not recognize the land, but seeing a bay with a beach, they planned to run the ship aground there. ⁴⁰They then cut the anchors, loosened the rudder ropes and hoisted the mainsail and headed for shore. ⁴¹But coming upon a crosscurrent the ship ran aground, the bow of the ship struck fast between two rocks and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves. ⁴²The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. ⁴³However, the centurion wanting to save Paul, stopped any killings. ⁴⁴Commanding that those who could swim to jump overboard and for the rest to grab onto boards or parts of the ship and escaped safely to land.

Acts chapter 28

¹The island that we had come to was called Malta. (approximate eighty miles south of the isle of Sicily). ²The natives showed us unusual kindness and made us to feel very welcome, as they started a fire for us because of the rain and the cold. ³But, when Paul had gathered a bunch of sticks and placed them on the fire, a snake came out and rapped itself around his hand. ⁴When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they believed that he was a murderer and even though he had escaped the sea, yet justice did not allow him to live. ⁵Paul, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶The natives were however expecting Paul to swell up or fall down dead, but after they had watched him for a long time and nether happened. They changed their minds and said he was a god.

Shipwrecked on Malta, Paul heals Publius' father and island natives.

⁷A man called Publius, a leading citizen of the island, received us and entertained us for three days. ⁸During this time Paul, found out that the host's father lay sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul then went to him, prayed and laid hands on him and healed him. ⁹When the natives on the island saw this, all the sick on the island also came to Paul and were healed. ¹⁰The natives of the island showed us great respect, honoring us with many gifts. And when we set sail, they provided for our needs.

¹¹After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island. ¹²Landing at Syracuse on the isle of Sicily, we stayed there three days. ¹³Then we went on to Rhegium and the next day came to Puteoli. ¹⁴At Puteoli we found brethren and stayed with them, for seven days, as we journeyed on to Rome. ¹⁵When the other brethren heard about our journey, they came from places as far as sixty miles away. When I, Paul saw this, I thanked God, for it gave me new courage.

Apostle Paul under Roman house arrest.

¹⁶When we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself, yet under guard. ¹⁷After three days, Paul called the leaders of the Jews together and addressed them, saying; Men and brethren, though I have done nothing wrong against our people or the customs of our fathers. Yet, I have been delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸When I was examined by the authorities, they wanted to let me go, because no cause for death could be found. ¹⁹But when the Jews spoke against me, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar. I did this not because I had a charge to make against my country. ²⁰This is why I have called you to see and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain for the hope of Israel.

²¹Then the Jewish council said to him; We have not received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have we heard any reports or any evil spoken of you. ²²But we do wish to hear concerning this religious sect, for it is spoken against everywhere. ²³So a day was set up and many came to his lodging, to hear Paul testify of the kingdom of God. Persuading them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and the Prophets from morning until evening. ²⁴Some were persuaded while others disbelieved. ²⁵So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one last word to them. from Isaiah the prophet;

²⁶Go to these people and say: Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, seeing you will see and not perceive. ²⁷For the hearts of these people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them, Isaiah 6:9-10.

²⁸Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles and they will hear it! ²⁹When he had said these words, the Jews departed and a great dispute arose among them. ³⁰Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house in Rome, receiving all who came to him. ³¹Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence and no one forbid him from doing so.