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New American Standard Bible (en)

Вся Библия

Деяния Святых Апостолов

Главы 13-28

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 13

¹ Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also known as Paul,^afilled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, ¹⁰ and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³ Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said,

“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: ¹⁷ The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and^bmade the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. ¹⁸ For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. ¹⁹ When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. ²⁰ After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My^cwill.’ ²³ From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, ²⁴ after John had proclaimed before^dHis coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶ “Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the^eutterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. ²⁸ And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be^fexecuted. ²⁹ When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the^gcross and laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised Him from the dead; ³¹ and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. ³² And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, ³³ that God has fulfilled this promise^hto our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’ ³⁴ As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY andⁱSURE blessings OF DAVID.’ ³⁵ Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘YOU WILL NOT^jALLOW YOUR^kHOLY ONE TO^lUNDERGO DECAY.’ ³⁶ For David, after he had^mserved the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers andⁿunderwent decay; ³⁷ but He whom God raised did not^oundergo decay. ³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through^pHim forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and^qthrough Him everyone who believes is^rfreed^sfrom all things, from which you could not be^tfreed^uthrough the Law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:

⁴¹

‘BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND^vPERISH;
FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS,
A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.’”

⁴² As^wPaul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these^xthings might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing^yproselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴ The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of^zthe Lord. ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were^aablaspheming. ⁴⁶ Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us,‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES,
THAT YOU MAY^abBRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’”

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of^acthe Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But the Jews incited the^addevout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their^aedistrict. ⁵¹ But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 14

¹ In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. ² But the Jews who^adisbelieved stirred up the^bminds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. ³ Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that^csigns and wonders be done by their hands. ⁴ But the^dpeople of the city were divided; and some^esided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. ⁵ And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, ⁶ they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; ⁷ and there they continued to preach the gospel.

⁸ At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. ⁹ This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be^fmade well, ¹⁰ said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk. ¹¹ When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” ¹² And they began calling Barnabas,^gZeus, and Paul,^hHermes, because he wasⁱthe chief speaker. ¹³ The priest of Zeus, whose temple was^jjust outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their^krobes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these^lvain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM. ¹⁶ ^mIn the generations gone by He permitted all theⁿnations to go their own ways; ¹⁷ and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,^osatisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” ¹⁸ Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

¹⁹ But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. ²⁰ But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. ²¹ After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” ²³ When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴ They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia. ²⁵ When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶ From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had^paccomplished. ²⁷ When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and^qhow He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they spent^ra long time with the disciples.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 15

¹ Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And when Paul and Barnabas had^agreat dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. ³ Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren. ⁴ When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

⁶ The apostles and the elders came together to^blook into this^cmatter. ⁷ After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that^din the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; ⁹ and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹² All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³ After they had stopped speaking,^eJames answered, saying, “Brethren, listen to me. ¹⁴ Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. ¹⁵ With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁶

‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return,
AND I WILL REBUILD THE^fTABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN,
AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS,
AND I WILL RESTORE IT,

¹⁷

SO THAT THE REST OF^gMANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD,
AND ALL THE GENTILES^hWHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’

¹⁸

SAYS THE LORD, WHOⁱMAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO.

¹⁹ Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, ²⁰ but that we write to them that they abstain from^jthings contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. ²¹ For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since^khe is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²² Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, ²³ and they^lsent this letter by them,

“The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.

²⁴ “Since we have heard that some^mof our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,
²⁵ it seemed good to us, havingⁿbecome of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
²⁶ men who have^orisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
²⁷ “Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.
²⁸ “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:
²⁹ that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication;^pif you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰ So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the^qcongregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹ When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its^rencouragement. ³² Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves,^sencouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message. ³³ After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren in peace to those who had sent them out. ³⁴ [^tBut it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] ³⁵ But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also, the word of the Lord.

³⁶ After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸ But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them^uin Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. ⁴⁰ But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 16

¹ Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, ² and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted this man to^ago with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. ⁵ So the churches were being strengthened^bin the faith, and were increasing in number daily.

⁶ They passed through the^cPhrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in^dAsia; ⁷ and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; ⁸ and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. ⁹ A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to^ego into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹¹ So putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; ¹² and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. ¹³ And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

¹⁴ A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening;^fand the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵ And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

¹⁶ It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you^gthe way of salvation.” ¹⁸ She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very^hmoment.

¹⁹ But when her masters saw that their hope of profit wasⁱgone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities, ²⁰ and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, ²¹ and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”

²² The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their^jrobes off them and proceeded to order^kthem to be beaten with rods. ²³ When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; ²⁴ ^land he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the^mstocks.

²⁵ But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; ²⁶ and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” ²⁹ And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, ³⁰ and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² And they spoke the word ofⁿthe Lord to him together with all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. ³⁴ And he brought them into his house and set^ofood before them, and rejoiced^pgreatly, having believed in God with his whole household.

³⁵ Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” ³⁶ And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” ³⁸ The policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, ³⁹ and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ They went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they^qencouraged them and departed.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 17

¹ Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³ ^aexplaining and^bgiving evidence that the^cChrist had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the^dChrist.” ⁴ And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,^ealong with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and^fa number of the leading women. ⁵ But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. ⁶ When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset^gthe world have come here also; ⁷ ^hand Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” ⁸ They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. ⁹ And when they had received aⁱpledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

¹⁰ The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea,^jand when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica,^kfor they received the word with^lgreat eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed,^malong with a number of prominent Greek women and men. ¹³ But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. ¹⁴ Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. ¹⁵ Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.

¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. ¹⁷ So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. ¹⁸ And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers wereⁿconversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this^oidle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ And they took him and brought him^pto the^qAreopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is^rwhich you are proclaiming? ²⁰ For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

²² So Paul stood in the midst of the^sAreopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. ²³ For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴ The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; ²⁵ nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; ²⁶ and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for in Him we live and move and^texist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ ²⁹ Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. ³⁰ Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, ³¹ because He has fixed a day in which He will judge^uthe world in righteousness^vthrough a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men^wby raising Him from the dead.”

³² Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you^xagain concerning this.” ³³ So Paul went out of their midst. ³⁴ But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 18

¹ After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, ³ and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. ⁴ And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

⁵ But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the^aChrist. ⁶ But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ Then he left there and went to the house of a man named^bTitius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. ⁸ Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, ¹³ saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” ¹⁴ But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; ¹⁵ but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.” ¹⁶ And he drove them away from the judgment seat. ¹⁷ And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.

¹⁸ Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea^che had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. ¹⁹ They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, ²¹ but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.

²² When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch.

²³ And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴ Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth,^dan eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. ²⁵ This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; ²⁶ and^ehe began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly^fhelped those who had believed through grace, ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the^gChrist.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 19

¹ It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. ² He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether^athere is a Holy Spirit.” ³ And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” ⁴ Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized^bin the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. ⁷ There were in all about twelve men.

⁸ And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the^cpeople, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This took place for two years, so that all who lived in^dAsia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹ God was performing extraordinary^emiracles by the hands of Paul, ¹² so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. ¹³ But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” ¹⁴ Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵ And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶ And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. ¹⁸ Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. ¹⁹ And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it^ffifty thousand pieces of silver. ²⁰ So^gthe word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

²¹ Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the^hSpirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” ²² And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed inⁱAsia for a while.

²³ About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. ²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of^jArtemis, was bringing no little^kbusiness to the craftsmen; ²⁵ these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity^ldepends upon this business. ²⁶ You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of^mAsia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying thatⁿgods made with hands are no gods at all. ²⁷ Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess^oArtemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of^pAsia and the^qworld worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”

²⁸ When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is^rArtemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed^swith one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. ³⁰ And when Paul wanted to go into the^tassembly, the disciples would not let him. ³¹ Also some of the^uAsiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to^vventure into the theater. ³² So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the^wassembly was in confusion and the majority did not know^xfor what reason they had come together. ³³ Some of the crowd^yconcluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the^zassembly. ³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is^aaArtemis of the Ephesians!” ³⁵ After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great^abArtemis and of the image which fell down from^acheaven? ³⁶ So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. ³⁸ So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and^adproconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. ³⁹ But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the^aelawful^afassembly. ⁴⁰ For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.” ⁴¹ After saying this he dismissed the^agassembly.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 20

¹ After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. ² When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. ³ And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. ⁴ And^ahe was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of^bAsia. ⁵ But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. ⁶ We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days.

⁷ On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his^cmessage until midnight. ⁸ There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. ⁹ And there was a young man named^dEutychus sitting^eon the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “^fDo not be troubled, for his life is in him.” ¹¹ When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and^geaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. ¹² They took away the boy alive, and were^hgreatly comforted.

¹³ But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for so he had arranged it, intending himself to goⁱby land. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. ¹⁵ Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came to Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in^jAsia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷ From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they had come to him, he said to them,

“You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in^kAsia, how I was with you the whole time, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me^lthrough the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and^mfrom house to house, ²¹ solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² And now, behold, bound by theⁿSpirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. ²⁴ But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

²⁵ “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. ²⁶ Therefore, I^otestify to you this day that I am^pinnocent of the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. ²⁸ Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you^qoverseers, to shepherd the church of God which He^rpurchased^swith His own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. ³² And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ³³ I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. ³⁵ In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And^tthey began to weep aloud and^uembraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, ³⁸ ^vgrieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 21

¹ When we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara; ² and having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ When we came in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ After looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul^athrough the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. ⁵ When^bour days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. ⁶ Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home again.

⁷ When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting the brethren, we stayed with them for a day. ⁸ On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. ⁹ Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses. ¹⁰ As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” ¹² When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”

¹⁵ After these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to lodge.

¹⁷ After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. ¹⁸ And the following day Paul went in with us to^cJames, and all the elders were present. ¹⁹ After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many^dthousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; ²¹ and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to^ewalk according to the customs. ²² What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who^fare under a vow; ²⁴ take them and purify yourself along with them, and^gpay their expenses so that they may shave their^hheads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. ²⁵ But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain fromⁱmeat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.” ²⁶ Then Paul^jtook the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

²⁷ When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from^kAsia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” ²⁹ For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then all the city was provoked, and^lthe people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. ³¹ While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the^mcommander of the Romanⁿcohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ³² At once he took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the^ocommander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the^pcommander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ But among the crowd some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the^qfacts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. ³⁵ When he got to the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the^rmob; ³⁶ for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, “Away with him!”

³⁷ As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the^scommander, “May I say something to you?” And he *said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Then you are not the Egyptian who some^ttime ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?” ³⁹ But Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand; and when there^uwas a great hush, he spoke to them in the^vHebrew dialect, saying,

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 22

¹ “Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

² And when they heard that he was addressing them in the^aHebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated^bunder Gamaliel,^cstrictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today. ⁴ I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, ⁵ as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders^dcan testify. From them I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem^eas prisoners to be punished.

⁶ “But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, ⁷ and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ⁸ And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹ And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not^funderstand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹ But since I could not see because of the^gbrightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

¹² “A certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ¹³ came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And^hat that very time I looked up at him. ¹⁴ And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear anⁱutterance from His mouth. ¹⁵ For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’

¹⁷ “It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance, ¹⁸ and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You. ²⁰ And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ ²¹ And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

²² They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!” ²³ And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, ²⁴ the^jcommander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. ²⁵ But when they stretched him out^kwith thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it^llawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” ²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the^mcommander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” ²⁷ Theⁿcommander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” ²⁸ The^ocommander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” ²⁹ Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately^plet go of him; and the^qcommander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had^rput him in chains.

³⁰ But on the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the^sCouncil to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 23

¹ Paul, looking intently at the^aCouncil, said, “Brethren, I have^blived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.” ² The high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?” ⁴ But the bystanders said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” ⁵ And Paul said, “I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK EVIL OF A RULER OF YOUR PEOPLE.’”

⁶ But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the^cCouncil, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!” ⁷ As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ And there occurred a great uproar; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man; suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰ And as a great dissension was developing, the^dcommander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹ But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.”

¹² When it was day, the Jews formed a^econspiracy and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty who formed this plot. ¹⁴ They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now therefore, you^fand the^gCouncil notify the^hcommander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case by a more thorough investigation; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near the place.”

¹⁶ But the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush,ⁱand he came and entered the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷ Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Lead this young man to the^jcommander, for he has something to report to him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and led him to the^kcommander and *said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you.” ¹⁹ The^lcommander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?” ²⁰ And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the^mCouncil, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. ²¹ So do notⁿlisten to them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.” ²² So the^ocommander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”

²³ And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by^pthe third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea,^qwith seventy horsemen and two hundred^rspearmen.” ²⁴ They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor. ²⁵ And he wrote a letter having this form:

²⁶ “Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent governor Felix, greetings.

²⁷ “When this man was arrested by the Jews and was about to be slain by them, I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.
²⁸ “And wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their^sCouncil;
²⁹ and I found him to be accused over questions about their Law, but^tunder no accusation deserving death or^uimprisonment.

³⁰ “When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing his accusers to^vbring charges against him before you.”

³¹ So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³² But the next day, leaving the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the barracks. ³³ When these had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. ³⁴ When he had read it, he asked from what province he was, and when he learned that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing after your accusers arrive also,” giving orders for him to be kept in Herod’s^wPraetorium.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 24

¹ After five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders,^awith an^battorney named Tertullus, and they^cbrought charges to the governor against Paul. ² After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying to the governor,

“Since we have through you attained much peace, and since by your providence reforms are being carried out for this nation, ³ we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. ⁴ But, that I may not weary you any further, I beg you^dto grant us, by your kindness, a brief hearing. ⁵ For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout^ethe world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. ⁶ And he even tried to desecrate the temple; and^fthen we arrested him. [^gWe wanted to judge him according to our own Law. ⁷ But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our hands, ⁸ ordering his accusers to come before you.] By examining him yourself concerning all these matters you will be able to ascertain the things of which we accuse him.” ⁹ The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

¹⁰ When the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense, ¹¹ since you can take note of the fact that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ¹² Neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing^ha riot. ¹³ Nor can they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me. ¹⁴ But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serveⁱthe God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; ¹⁵ having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶ In view of this, I also^jdo my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men. ¹⁷ Now after several years I came to bring^kalms to my nation and to present offerings; ¹⁸ in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from^lAsia— ¹⁹ who ought to have been present before you and to make accusation, if they should have anything against me. ²⁰ Or else let these men themselves tell what misdeed they found when I stood before the^mCouncil, ²¹ other than for this one statement which I shouted out while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.’”

²² But Felix,ⁿhaving a more exact knowledge about the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the^ocommander comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³ Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him.

²⁴ But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his^pwife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.” ²⁶ At the same time too, he was hoping that money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and converse with him. ²⁷ But after two years had passed, Felix^qwas succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 25

¹ Festus then, having arrived in the province, three days later went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. ² And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were urging him, ³ requesting a^aconcession against^bPaul, that he might^chave him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, setting an ambush to kill him on the way). ⁴ Festus then answered that Paul was being kept in custody at Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. ⁵ “Therefore,” he *said, “let the influential men among you^dgo there with me, and if there is anything wrong^eabout the man, let them^fprosecute him.”

⁶ After he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. ⁷ After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him which they could not prove, ⁸ while Paul said in his own defense, “I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” ⁹ But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and^gstand trial before me on these charges?” ¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. ¹¹ If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.” ¹² Then when Festus had conferred with^hhis council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.”

¹³ Now when several days had elapsed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesareaⁱand paid their respects to Festus. ¹⁴ While they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix; ¹⁵ and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. ¹⁶ I answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any man before the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges. ¹⁷ So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought before me. ¹⁸ When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting, ¹⁹ but they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own^jreligion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive. ²⁰ Being at a loss how to investigate^ksuch matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these matters. ²¹ But when Paul appealed to be held in custody for^lthe Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.” ²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he *said, “you shall hear him.”

²³ So, on the next day when Agrippa came^mtogether with Bernice amid great pomp, and entered the auditoriumⁿaccompanied by the^ocommanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to^pthe Emperor, I decided to send him. ²⁶ ^qYet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 26

¹ Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense:

² “In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today; ³ ^aespecially because you are an expert in all customs and^bquestions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴ “So then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem; ⁵ since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion. ⁶ And now I am^cstanding trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; ⁷ the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews. ⁸ Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?

⁹ “So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And this is^djust what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the^esaints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to^fforeign cities.

¹² “^gWhile so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, ¹³ at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven,^hbrighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. ¹⁴ And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in theⁱHebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?^jIt is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have^kseen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; ¹⁷ rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, ¹⁸ to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

¹⁹ “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. ²¹ For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. ²² So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; ²³ ^lthat^mthe Christ wasⁿto suffer, and^othat by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴ While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind!^pYour great learning is^qdriving you mad.” ²⁵ But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words^rof sober truth. ²⁶ For the king^sknows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a^tcorner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you^udo.” ²⁸ Agrippa replied to Paul, “^vIn a short time you^wwill persuade me to^xbecome a Christian.” ²⁹ And Paul said, “^yI would wish to God, that whether^zin a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰ The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, ³¹ and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything worthy of death or^aaimprisonment.” ³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 27

¹ When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan^acohort named Julius. ² And embarking in an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of^bAsia, we put out to sea accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica. ³ The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care. ⁴ From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. ⁵ When we had sailed through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. ⁶ There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. ⁷ When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone; ⁸ and with difficulty sailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

⁹ When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the^cfast was already over, Paul began to admonish them, ¹⁰ and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” ¹¹ But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the^dcaptain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. ¹² Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

¹³ ^eWhen a moderate south wind came up, supposing that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, close inshore.

¹⁴ But before very long there rushed down from^fthe land a violent wind, called^gEuraquilo; ¹⁵ and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along. ¹⁶ Running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the ship’s^hboat under control. ¹⁷ After they had hoisted it up, they usedⁱsupporting cables in undergirding the ship; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the^jsea anchor and in this way let themselves be driven along. ¹⁸ The next day as we were being violently storm-tossed,^kthey began to jettison the cargo; ¹⁹ and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. ²⁰ Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned.

²¹ ^lWhen they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have^mfollowed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete andⁿincurred this damage and loss. ²² Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³ For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, ²⁴ saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ ²⁵ Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that^oit will turn out exactly as I have been told. ²⁶ But we must run aground on a certain island.”

²⁷ But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that^pthey were approaching some land. ²⁸ They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. ²⁹ Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the^qrocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and^rwished for daybreak. ³⁰ But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, ³¹ Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” ³² Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

³³ Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing. ³⁴ Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” ³⁵ Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶ All of them^swere encouraged and they themselves also took food. ³⁷ All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six^tpersons. ³⁸ When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea.

³⁹ When day came, they^ucould not recognize the land; but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could. ⁴⁰ And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach. ⁴¹ But striking a^vreef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. ⁴² The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; ⁴³ but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and commanded that those who could swim should^wjump overboard first and get to land, ⁴⁴ and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.

Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 28

¹ When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called^aMalta. ² The^bnatives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all. ³ But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out^cbecause of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the^dnatives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea,^ejustice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶ But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.

⁷ Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. ⁸ And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. ⁹ After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured. ¹⁰ They also honored us with many^fmarks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they^gsupplied us with^hall we needed.

¹¹ At the end of three months we set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which hadⁱthe Twin Brothers for its figurehead. ¹² After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. ¹³ From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴ ^jThere we found some brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome. ¹⁵ And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the^kMarket of Appius and^lThree Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶ When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

¹⁷ After three days^mPaul called together those who were the leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “Brethren, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of ourⁿfathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸ And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground^ofor putting me to death. ¹⁹ But when the Jews^pobjected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation. ²⁰ For this reason, therefore, I^qrequested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.” ²¹ They said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. ²² But we desire to hear from you what^ryour views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.”

²³ When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. ²⁴ Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. ²⁵ And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, ²⁶ saying,‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY,
“^sYOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING,^tBUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
AND^uYOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

²⁷FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,
AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES;
OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.”’

²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.” ²⁹ [^vWhen he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]

³⁰ And he stayed two full years^win his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, ³¹ ^xpreaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.


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