Acts 1

³Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

¹⁹“What things?” He asked. “The events involving Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “This man was a prophet, powerful in speech and action before God and all the people.

²³Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

²⁴News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.

²³Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,

⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

²¹At that very hour Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many who were blind.

²²So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

⁹After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

²¹Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”

²⁴For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.

²⁰“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.

²¹“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the Lord.

¹⁸I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’

⁵and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.

⁶After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

³¹and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.

²⁶Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

¹That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.

¹⁴This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after He was raised from the dead.

¹Later, by the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus again revealed Himself to the disciples. He made Himself known in this way:

⁴⁹And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But remain in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—

²⁶When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.

²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.

²⁷Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.

³⁹He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

¹²For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”

¹¹I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

¹⁵As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning.

¹⁶Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁶John answered all of them: “I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

¹³For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.

⁵He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

⁸I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

¹¹While the people were listening to this, Jesus proceeded to tell them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought the kingdom of God would appear imminently.

²⁷Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey Him.’

²⁰When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs.

³While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”

²⁴My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes.

²⁵They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live there forever with their children and grandchildren, and My servant David will be their prince forever.

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.

³⁶No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

¹Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you.

²For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

³²No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

²⁹The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

⁴⁰But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

²¹He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

¹⁵And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

¹⁹by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

³³With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all.

³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

⁸Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.

¹³In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.

⁵⁰When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

⁵¹While He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven.

¹⁹After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

⁸This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”

⁹What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth?

⁶²Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?

⁹The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the Lord what the people had said.

⁴While they were puzzling over this, suddenly two men in radiant apparel stood beside them.

¹²and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet.

⁵When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

¹⁴“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

⁹As I continued to watch, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.

³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

⁷Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.

¹⁶For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.

²⁶At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.

³⁰At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

³¹When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.

⁵²And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

¹As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples,

⁵⁰When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

³⁷Every day Jesus taught at the temple, but every evening He went out to spend the night on the Mount of Olives.

⁴On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.

³⁰And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

⁸Now there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered.

¹²And he will show you a large upper room, already furnished. Make preparations there.”

¹⁵And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

¹⁴As He was walking along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.

⁹The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.

¹⁰He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

⁴and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

²Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful,

¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.

¹Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:

⁶After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

²⁰When they heard this, they glorified God. Then they said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.

⁴But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white.

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

⁶Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.

¹³And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand were killed in the quake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

²³Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. However, Jesus did not say that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you?”

⁹Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁸I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’

¹²For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide.

¹³But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend.

²⁰“For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, ‘May another take his position.’

³⁸This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

³⁹For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says:

⁵⁶But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.

²⁵to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”

²⁴But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

⁷⁰Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”

⁷¹He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. For although Judas was one of the Twelve, he was later to betray Jesus.

¹²While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

¹⁶Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

³When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.

⁴“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”

²³But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.

¹⁴Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

¹⁵and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.

¹⁵Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

²¹When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

²²So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there it all was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath.

¹⁵They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.

¹⁶But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

¹⁵So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this account has been circulated among the Jews to this very day.

²²Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.

¹⁶Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, and they all fell together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is called Helkath-hazzurim.

⁴⁰Having received permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. A great hush came over the crowd, and he addressed them in Hebrew:

²⁵May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

⁸May his days be few; may another take his position.

⁹May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.

²⁵to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”

⁴⁴Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

²⁷And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

¹After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit.

²And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.

¹⁷who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

²he said to them, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old; I am no longer able to come and go, and the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’

²Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you the Lord said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”

¹“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

²But the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

²until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.

³³With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.

¹This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”

²⁷And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

¹In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea

²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

²²Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to select men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, two leaders among the brothers,

²⁶Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was added to the eleven apostles.

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the Lord does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.”

⁸And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.

¹³Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

¹⁰I, the Lord, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

²³Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

²³Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.

²Even if I am not an apostle to others, surely I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

⁵Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

¹²While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

⁷⁰Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”

⁷¹He was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. For although Judas was one of the Twelve, he was later to betray Jesus.

¹⁶“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”

⁸For the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles.

⁸After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat,

¹⁰And Joshua cast lots for them in the presence of the Lord at Shiloh, where he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their divisions.

⁷“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

⁴¹So Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Why have You not answered Your servant this day? If the fault is with me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the fault is with the men of Israel, respond with Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were selected, but the people were cleared of the charge.

⁴²Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was selected.

⁵Thus they were divided by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.