Acts 12

⁹Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

²⁰Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.

¹⁷But beware of men, for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.

¹⁸On My account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.

⁵³Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on Me. But this hour belongs to you and to the power of darkness.”

²They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.

³⁰as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”

³⁷They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.

²³“You will indeed drink My cup,” Jesus said. “But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”

²¹Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them,

²²and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

³⁸“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?”

³⁵Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and declared, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”

¹⁰“I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”

¹⁵You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.

⁴³For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

²⁷After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

⁶On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

⁷On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work.

¹⁴And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the Lord, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.

¹⁵For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.

⁹But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to stand trial before me on these charges?”

²¹Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the Lord will prevail.

³³“Lord,” said Peter, “I am ready to go with You even to prison and to death.”

¹²But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors.

³⁶“Lord, where are You going?” Simon Peter asked. Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷“Lord,” said Peter, “why can’t I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.”

²⁸They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.

¹⁸Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

¹⁷Pray without ceasing.

¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

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.

¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,

¹¹as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the favor shown us in answer to their prayers.

¹⁹Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.

⁶So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

³³The commander came up and arrested Paul, ordering that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.

²⁶Saul was proceeding along one side of the mountain, and David and his men along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.

²⁷Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”

¹⁶May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains.

⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.

²⁶Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.

¹⁹But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying,

⁷He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free,

¹⁸They bruised his feet with shackles and placed his neck in irons,

¹⁹until his prediction came true and the word of the Lord proved him right.

⁶Listen to my cry, for I am brought quite low. Rescue me from my pursuers, for they are too strong for me.

⁷Free my soul from prison, that I may praise Your name. The righteous will gather around me because of Your goodness to me.

⁷The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.

¹A song of ascents. When the Lord restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers.

⁸By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.

²⁶“Joseph is still alive,” they said, “and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” But Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

¹⁹So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

³One day at about the ninth hour, he had a clear vision of an angel of God who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me.

¹⁹But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying,

²⁶Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.

¹This is what the Lord says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:

²“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

³⁴and because it had not been declared what should be done to him, they placed him in custody.

¹⁷So Joseph imprisoned them for three days,

³and imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard, the same prison where Joseph was confined.

²²My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

²⁸Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

⁹if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

⁷The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.

¹⁸Surely the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion

¹⁰Hate evil, O you who love the Lord! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

¹⁴And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

¹⁵And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.

⁵So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.

¹⁹Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.

²⁰For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”

²⁵When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.

⁵When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And John was with them as their helper.

²⁴Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

²⁵After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’

¹⁶But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.

¹⁶But Peter stood outside at the door. Then the disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.

¹⁷At this, the servant girl watching the door said to Peter, “Aren’t you also one of this man’s disciples?” “I am not,” he answered.

⁴¹While they were still in disbelief because of their joy and amazement, He asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

⁸So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

¹⁰See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.

³⁷But they were startled and frightened, thinking they had seen a spirit.

³⁸“Why are you troubled,” Jesus asked, “and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

¹¹But their words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women.

¹⁴Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

²⁴At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”

¹¹And when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it.

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:

¹⁶Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and began to speak: “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who fear God, listen to me!

³³The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward to explain himself, and he motioned for silence so he could make his defense to the people.

¹³When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me!

¹⁸The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were present.

¹²For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group.

²²But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they returned with the report:

²³“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.

²³About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.

²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.

¹⁰So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,

¹¹for on account of him many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.

³²Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,

³³the Lord will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned under judgment.

⁸Leaving the next day, we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven.

⁴³Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went home to Samaria.

¹⁴And David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God would not deliver David into his hand.

⁷They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

¹⁷Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith, cakes and honey, oil and balm for your merchandise.

²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

²²But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

³¹Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

³²And if he is unable, he will send a delegation while the other king is still far off, to ask for terms of peace.

⁸The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.

⁶“I afflicted all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the Lord.

⁷“I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered.

¹⁰In a loud voice Paul called out, “Stand up on your feet!” And the man jumped up and began to walk.

¹¹When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices in the Lycaonian language: “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

¹⁶These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.

⁴They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”

²They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

⁷All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions.

¹Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your loving devotion, because of Your faithfulness.

²⁵As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.

²⁶But Peter helped him up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

⁴He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting,

¹⁵“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.

³⁰the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”

³¹While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you.

³⁸About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal dead.

⁷So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith.

²⁰So the word of the Lord powerfully continued to spread and prevail.

¹Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you.

¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

²¹The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

⁶that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.

¹²And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark.

¹³The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does my son Mark.

²⁹So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

³⁰This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.

³⁶Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement),

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.

²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”