³⁴ “^(A)Therefore, behold, ^(B)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^(C)flog in your synagogues, and ^(D)persecute from city to city,

³⁵ Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their officers, saying, “Release those men.” ³⁶ And ^(A)the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent word that you be released. So come out now and go ^(B)in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul said to them, “After beating us in public without due process—^(C)men who are Romans—they threw us into prison; and now they are releasing us secretly? No indeed! On the contrary, let them come ^[a]in person and lead us out.” ³⁸ The officers reported these words to the chief magistrates. ^(D)And they became fearful when they heard that they were Romans, ³⁹ and they came and pleaded with them, and when they had led them out, they repeatedly asked them ^(E)to leave the city. ⁴⁰ They left the prison and entered the house of ^(F)Lydia, and when they saw ^(G)the brothers and sisters, they ^[b]encouraged them and departed.

Discipline and Prayer

¹⁵ “Now ^(A)if your brother sins^[a], go and ^[b]show him his fault ^[c]in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that ^(B)on the ^[d]testimony of two or three witnesses every ^[e]matter may be confirmed. ¹⁷ And if he refuses to listen to them, ^(C)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(D)he is to be to you as ^[f]a Gentile and ^[g]a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly I say to you, ^(E)whatever you ^[h]bind on earth ^[i]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you ^[j]loose on earth ^[k]shall have been loosed in heaven.

^13 (A)bearing with one another, and ^(B)forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; ^(C)just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.

Choosing of the Seven

6 Now ^[a]at this time, as the ^(A)disciples were ^(B)increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the ^[b](C)Hellenistic Jews against the native ^(D)Hebrews, because their ^(E)widows were being overlooked in ^(F)the daily serving of food. ² So the twelve summoned the ^[c]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. ³ Instead, ^(G)brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, ^(H)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.