Acts 13

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

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch, along with many others, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord.

²²When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

²³When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.

⁹And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

⁹Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

¹⁵But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased

¹⁵“Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.

¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as He determines.

¹Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—

¹¹to which I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher.

²⁶From Attalia they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had just completed.

⁶They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

²⁶From Attalia they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had just completed.

²And the things that you have heard me say among many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well.

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.

¹⁴Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.

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.”

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

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.”

¹⁹Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews.

²³I only know that in town after town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions await me.

⁴After putting out from there, we sailed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

¹⁴And from Perga, they traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

²⁰Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”

¹⁷So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day.

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.

¹At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.

¹⁵Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

⁴⁶Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road.

¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

¹⁸You must not allow a sorceress to live.

¹If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,

²and if the sign or wonder he has spoken to you comes about, but he says, “Let us follow other gods (which you have not known) and let us worship them,”

¹²When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

³⁸So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges against one another there.

¹²While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.

¹⁵The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.

¹⁵The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.

⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

¹⁵You too should beware of him, for he has vigorously opposed our message.

⁶They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,

⁷an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

¹²When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

³⁶In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity.

⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).

⁸As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord, with justice and courage, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people!

⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

⁵Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.

³¹After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

³I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.

³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,

⁷which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.

⁹Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them.

⁵²Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

³then the hand of the Lord will bring a severe plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.

⁴For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah

¹¹Then the Ekronites called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!” For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was very heavy upon it.

³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

²¹Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.

³⁹Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”

⁴The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

⁵We demolish arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

⁷an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

²²All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” they asked.

⁴⁹And the word of the Lord spread throughout that region.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

¹⁰but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

³⁸But Paul thought it best not to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.

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

⁶They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,

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.

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome,

⁵And when we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.

²⁴After passing through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

²⁵And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

¹³On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there.

²As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

¹⁹Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.

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

⁴Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.

⁸Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.

²²I urge you, brothers, to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have only written to you briefly.

²¹For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

²²A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived, and seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet

⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

¹⁶Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read,

¹⁷the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:

¹⁷At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.

¹⁷Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.

²⁶Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.

²He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,

²both low and high, rich and poor alike.

⁷God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

¹¹He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.

⁶For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.

⁷The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.

⁹In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

¹⁰But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.

⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

⁴For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam.

⁴For the Lord has chosen Jacob as His own, Israel as His treasured possession.

²for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

³⁶He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.

²²not one of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness—yet have tested Me and disobeyed Me these ten times—

²And there in the desert the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

³³Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.

³⁴In keeping with the forty days you spied out the land, you shall bear your guilt forty years—a year for each day—and you will experience My alienation.

²¹And I took that sinful thing, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust, and I cast it into the stream that came down from the mountain.

²²You continued to provoke the Lord at Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah.

⁷Remember this, and never forget how you provoked the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left the land of Egypt until you reached this place, you have been rebelling against the Lord.

¹When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—

⁵⁵He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁴⁵And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David,

⁵¹These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing up the land.

¹Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel.

⁸And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”

¹⁶Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.

²⁰So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.

¹In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab.

¹¹So the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt securely.

¹⁰The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the Lord delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.

¹¹and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you.

¹Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over His inheritance?

¹Then Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the Lord.

²¹Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him.

²²So again they inquired of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord replied, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”

¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.

⁵“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”

¹²But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king to rule over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king.

¹³Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you requested. Behold, the Lord has placed a king over you.

¹³“You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the Lord your God gave you; if you had, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.

¹⁴But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the Lord.”

⁵For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything the Lord commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

¹³So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

⁷⁰He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;

⁷¹from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.

¹Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”

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.

¹This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

¹¹The Lord swore an oath to David, a promise He will not revoke: “One of your descendants I will place on your throne.

¹⁶“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”

²⁵to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

³For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

⁴But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,

³²And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers

²²beginning from John’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

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

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

³“Into what, then, were you baptized?” Paul asked. “The baptism of John,” they replied.

⁴Paul explained: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”

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

³“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”

²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

³He went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

³⁷You yourselves know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee with the baptism that John proclaimed:

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.

⁷And he proclaimed: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

²⁶“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know.

²⁷He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

²⁰He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

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.

¹⁵The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John could be the Christ.

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.

⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,

⁷⁷to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,

¹³And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

¹⁶I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.

¹³I am bringing My righteousness near; it is not far away, and My salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion and adorn Israel with My splendor.

⁵the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel

¹⁷And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.

²⁵I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

²¹For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

²⁰Our chief priests and rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and they crucified Him.

²²But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:

²³that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had described. But Him they did not see.”

²⁵Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

²¹but they kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

²²A third time he said to them, “What evil has this man done? I have found in Him no offense worthy of death. So after I punish Him, I will release Him.”

²²“What then should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify Him!”

²³“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”

⁴Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.”

¹⁴and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him here in your presence and found Him not guilty of your charges against Him.

¹⁵Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us. As you can see, He has done nothing deserving of death.

³⁸“What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.

¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him.

¹⁴You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.

⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid.

³⁰When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.

²⁸After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

⁴⁵When Pilate had confirmed it with the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

⁴⁶So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself was a disciple of Jesus.

⁵⁸He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.

⁴that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

²⁴But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep Him in its grip.

³¹For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

⁶He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay.

¹⁰then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.

³¹God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

¹⁷The reason the Father loves Me is that I lay down My life in order to take it up again.

⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

³After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

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.”

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.

¹⁶Meanwhile, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated.

¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”

¹³For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁶And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers,

²³I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.

⁴the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.

⁵Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

¹⁶The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.

¹⁷What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise.

⁷I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the Lord: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.

⁵So also Christ did not take upon Himself the glory of becoming a high priest, but He was called by the One who said to Him: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.”

⁵For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father”? Or again: “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son”?

⁶And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”

³Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.

²For I have said, “Loving devotion is built up forever; in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”

³You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant:

⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.

¹⁹You once spoke in a vision; to Your godly ones You said, “I have bestowed help on a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people.

²⁰I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

²³I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.

²⁴I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

¹⁴I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

¹⁵But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

¹⁰For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

²⁷because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’

³⁶For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.

³⁷But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

⁵¹Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”

²⁶The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

⁴⁸What man can live and never see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah

²⁹Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

¹⁰Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.

¹²And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.

²²After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’

¹⁴Thus David reigned over all Israel and administered justice and righteousness for all his people:

⁷¹from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.

⁷²So David shepherded them with integrity of heart and guided them with skillful hands.

³⁰But God raised Him from the dead,

²⁴But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep Him in its grip.

⁴⁷and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.

¹²I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.

¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

³¹God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

²⁸Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

¹⁶know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

⁴For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.

¹⁹(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

³For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

¹⁰For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

¹“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”

⁵“Look at the nations and observe—be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you.

¹²See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.

²⁵See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven?

²But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.

³how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

⁵“Look at the nations and observe—be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you.

¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

⁷What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,

⁸as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”

¹⁴Therefore hear the word of the Lord, O scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.

¹⁵For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”

²⁶the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints.

²⁷To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

¹²and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!

²⁸Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

³⁰But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

⁶not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

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.

³³So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has instructed you to tell us.”

¹⁴And from Perga, they traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down.

²³When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

¹⁵See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.

⁹Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them.

⁹Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.

¹¹Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.

¹⁰On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.

¹⁰The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.

⁸Who are these who fly like clouds, like doves to their shelters?

³Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.

¹⁰These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively.

⁶But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁹But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁶hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.

¹⁷Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out

³for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?

²⁸Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

⁴³Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

⁵And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

⁶But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

²⁰First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.

²⁶When God raised up His Servant, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

¹⁰but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek.

⁶He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

⁶“I, the Lord, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,

³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.”

²²Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

²⁰This is what the Lord of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—

²¹and the residents of one city will go to another, saying: ‘Let us go at once to plead before the Lord and to seek the Lord of Hosts. I myself am going.’

¹³So will it be on the earth and among the nations, like a harvested olive tree, like a gleaning after a grape harvest.

¹⁴They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they proclaim the majesty of the Lord.

²⁹For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

³⁰And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

⁴For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love

⁷What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,

²⁶But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe.

²⁷My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.

⁵²and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.

²⁴But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.

¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

¹⁴And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.

¹⁰This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord.

²⁶And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.

⁴²This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

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.

²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.

¹⁹Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.

¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was also proclaiming the word of God in Berea, they went there themselves to incite and agitate the crowds.

²⁷When the seven days were almost over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,

¹¹my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.

¹⁴And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

⁵If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”

⁶But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

¹¹If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them.”

²¹They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

¹⁹Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.

¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

⁶And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.

³¹After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

³Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.