Acts 5

¹Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to His command.

²So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the Lord.

²⁰A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.

⁴⁷Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.

⁴⁸When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.

³⁷Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.

³⁷sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

¹⁴Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.

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

³⁴There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales,

³⁵and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need.

¹¹Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.

¹²This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?

²So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

²⁴“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.

¹⁵Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the Lord. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”

²⁷And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

²The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

⁹“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

⁸Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?

⁸Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.

³Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this holy temple:

²⁵When Gehazi went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Gehazi, where have you been?” “Your servant did not go anywhere,” he replied.

²⁶But Elisha questioned him, “Did not my spirit go with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to accept money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, menservants and maidservants?

²⁵“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the Lord will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.

²⁶And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the Lord turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.

¹⁶Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

¹⁰At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.

⁴³A sense of awe came over everyone, and the apostles performed many wonders and signs.

²⁶And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”

²⁷So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants.

⁵If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed.

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.

¹³Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them.

⁴⁰So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.

⁴Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here; carry the bodies of your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary.”

⁵So they came forward and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses had directed.

¹⁷They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.

²³you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

²With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

⁹We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?

⁴Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

⁸do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,

⁹where your fathers tested and tried Me, though they had seen My work.

⁵⁶But they tested and disobeyed God Most High, for they did not keep His decrees.

¹⁰Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?

⁴⁰How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!

⁴¹Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

⁵On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.

⁵On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.

¹¹Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

¹²So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall.

¹⁷This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.

¹Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it.

¹²Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

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.

¹¹God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul,

¹²The marks of a true apostle—signs, wonders, and miracles—were performed among you with great perseverance.

⁴and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.

³So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.

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.

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

⁴³A sense of awe came over everyone, and the apostles performed many wonders and signs.

⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

²¹After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened.

¹⁷This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.

³⁸Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed His body.

⁴²Nevertheless, many of the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue.

³⁷And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:

³⁸“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

¹¹so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.

¹²You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

⁴But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

⁴¹Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.

¹While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.

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

¹¹God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul,

¹²so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.

³⁶and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.

¹²Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

²¹She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

³Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men.

⁴Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.

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.

⁵⁴As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus

⁵⁵and ran through that whole region, carrying the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was.

¹⁶When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.

¹²Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

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

⁹Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him

⁵The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people.

¹Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

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

⁴⁷Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.

⁴⁸If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

³They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day.

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.

²³Are they servants of Christ? (I am speaking as if I were out of my mind.) I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death.

³⁶Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

²³And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.

²⁴On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

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

⁶On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.

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

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

⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.

⁸“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

¹⁷He sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave.

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

²³For just last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me

⁶³The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

⁶⁸Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

¹¹And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

¹²Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

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.

²And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.

²³When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”

⁵⁰And I know that His command leads to eternal life. So I speak exactly what the Father has told Me to say.”

²Early in the morning He went back into the temple courts. All the people came to Him, and He sat down to teach them.

¹⁸At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

¹⁹After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.

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

³⁸And early in the morning all the people would come to hear Him at the temple.

²When they heard him speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then Paul declared,

³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

³⁵“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”

⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

¹⁰The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.

⁴The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord taunts them.

⁵⁵I called on Your name, O Lord, out of the depths of the Pit.

⁵⁶You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.”

³⁷Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?

¹¹and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

¹²But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

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

²⁶At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles—but not by force, for fear the people would stone them.

¹While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

⁴⁷Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.

⁴⁸If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

³⁰Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?

³¹It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.

²¹After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened.

⁴And Judas went to discuss with the chief priests and temple officers how he might betray Jesus to them.

¹³Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them.

²¹After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened.

¹⁹When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.

²⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.”

⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

⁵Although Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a prophet.

²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.

¹²So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin,

³⁰The next day the commander, wanting to learn the real reason Paul was accused by the Jews, released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.

⁷They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

⁶⁶At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and scribes, met together. They led Jesus into their Sanhedrin and said,

²⁵All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—

¹⁸Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.

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.

¹¹This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’

¹⁵But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, upon this city, and upon its residents; for truly the Lord has sent me to speak all these words in your hearing.”

¹⁵who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,

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.

¹⁹But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.

²⁴Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the Lord’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

⁷They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’

⁸You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.”

¹⁷And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

⁸Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

⁹And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand,

¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

²⁴He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”

³⁹We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And although they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree,

²⁸And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.

²⁹When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

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.

¹¹This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’

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.

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

³³Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

¹⁰In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

¹⁸When they heard this, they had no further objections, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

¹¹Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!

¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.

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.

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

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,

⁴and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.

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.”

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

⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

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.

³⁹We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And although they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree,

⁴⁰God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen—

⁵⁴On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him.

²⁸On hearing this, all the people in the synagogue were enraged.

²⁹They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him over the cliff.

³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

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.

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

¹²The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,

¹³but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.

³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

⁴⁶Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

¹⁷One day Jesus was teaching, and the Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. People had come from Jerusalem and from every village of Galilee and Judea, and the power of the Lord was present for Him to heal the sick.

¹⁰Even the wrath of man shall praise You; with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.

⁵⁰Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who himself was one of them, asked,

⁵¹“Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”

⁷As soon as he had said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

⁸For the Sadducees say that there is neither a resurrection nor angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did Hezekiah not fear the Lord and seek His favor, and did not the Lord relent of the disaster He had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great harm on ourselves!”

¹⁹While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”

³⁶Since these things are undeniable, you ought to be calm and not do anything rash.

²⁶On hearing this, the centurion went and reported it to the commander. “What are you going to do?” he said. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

⁹Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great,

²Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed.

³And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

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

⁵And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

³If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

¹Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.

²This was the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

¹At that time some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

²To this He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this way?

⁵the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?

⁶Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,

⁵²“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

¹⁴Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.

¹⁵He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

¹⁶The Lord is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah

¹³But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.

³⁷Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?

⁹Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!

¹⁰Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”

¹²He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.

¹³He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

⁵For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying:

⁶‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’

¹⁰The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.

¹¹The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the Lord.

¹⁰I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

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.

²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

⁵¹You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.

¹⁷So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?”

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

²⁴Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

¹⁷But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

¹Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged.

²The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.

⁹So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.

²⁸“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,

¹³But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

²²Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.

²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,

²¹But they will treat you like this because of My name, since they do not know the One who sent Me.

¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

⁴⁶With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart,

²⁰I did not shrink back from declaring anything that was helpful to you as I taught you publicly and from house to house,

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

³⁵Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

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

²Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.