Acts 1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

Acts 1

Introduction

 ¹The first account I composed, ^(A)Theophilus, about all that Jesus ^(B)began to do and teach,

 ²until the day when He ^(C)was taken up to heaven, after He ^(D)had by the Holy Spirit given orders to ^(E)the apostles whom He had ^(F)chosen.

 ³To these ^(G)He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of ^(H)the things concerning the kingdom of God.

 ⁴Gathering them together, He commanded them ^(I)not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for ^(J)what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me;

 ⁵for ^(K)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit ^(L)not many days from now."

 ⁶So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, ^(M)is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"

 ⁷He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which ^(N)the Father has fixed by His own authority;

 ⁸but you will receive power ^(O)when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be ^(P)My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and ^(Q)Samaria, and even to ^(R)the remotest part of the earth."

The Ascension

 ⁹And after He had said these things, ^(S)He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

 ¹⁰And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, ^(T)two men in white clothing stood beside them.

 ¹¹They also said, "^(U)Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who ^(V)has been taken up from you into heaven, will ^(W)come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

The Upper Room

 ¹²Then they ^(X)returned to Jerusalem from the ^(Y)mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.

 ¹³When they had entered the city, they went up to ^(Z)the upper room where they were staying; ^(AA)that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and ^(AB)Judas the son of James.

 ¹⁴These all with one mind ^(AC)were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with ^(AD)the women, and Mary the ^(AE)mother of Jesus, and with His ^(AF)brothers.

 ¹⁵At this time Peter stood up in the midst of ^(AG)the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,

 ¹⁶"Brethren, ^(AH)the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, ^(AI)who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

 ¹⁷"For he was ^(AJ)counted among us and received his share in ^(AK)this ministry."

 ¹⁸(Now this man ^(AL)acquired a field with ^(AM)the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.

 ¹⁹And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in ^(AN)their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

 ²⁰"For it is written in the book of Psalms,
         '^(AO)LET HIS HOMESTEAD BE MADE DESOLATE,
         AND LET NO ONE DWELL IN IT';
         and,
         '^(AP)LET ANOTHER MAN TAKE HIS OFFICE.'

 ²¹"Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that ^(AQ)the Lord Jesus went in and out among us--

 ^22(AR)beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He ^(AS)was taken up from us--one of these must become a ^(AT)witness with us of His resurrection."

 ²³So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and ^(AU)Matthias.

 ²⁴And they ^(AV)prayed and said, "You, Lord, ^(AW)who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen

 ²⁵to occupy ^(AX)this ministry and ^(AY)apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place."

 ²⁶And they ^(AZ)drew lots for them, and the lot fell to ^(BA)Matthias; and he was added to ^(BB)the eleven apostles.

Acts 2

The Day of Pentecost

 ¹When ^(BC)the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

 ²And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled ^(BD)the whole house where they were sitting.

 ³And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.

 ⁴And they were all ^(BE)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to ^(BF)speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

 ⁵Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, ^(BG)devout men from every nation under heaven.

 ⁶And when ^(BH)this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.

 ^7(BI)They were amazed and astonished, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking ^(BJ)Galileans?

 ⁸"And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?

 ⁹"Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and ^(BK)Cappadocia, ^(BL)Pontus and ^(BM)Asia,

 ^10(BN)Phrygia and ^(BO)Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around ^(BP)Cyrene, and ^(BQ)visitors from Rome, both Jews and ^[a](BR)proselytes,

 ¹¹Cretans and Arabs--we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God."

 ¹²And ^(BS)they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"

 ¹³But others were mocking and saying, "^(BT)They are full of sweet wine."

Peter's Sermon

 ¹⁴But Peter, taking his stand with ^(BU)the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: "Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.

 ¹⁵"For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, ^(BV)for it is only the ^[b]third hour of the day;

 ¹⁶but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
    ¹⁷'^(BW)AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says,
         'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
         AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
         AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
         AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;
    ¹⁸EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,
         I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT
         And they shall prophesy.
    ¹⁹'AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE
         AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW,
         BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.
    ²⁰'THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS
         AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD,
         BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.
    ²¹'AND IT SHALL BE THAT ^(BX)EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'

 ²²"Men of Israel, listen to these words: ^(BY)Jesus the Nazarene, ^(BZ)a man attested to you by God with miracles and ^(CA)wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know--

 ²³this Man, delivered over by the ^(CB)predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, ^(CC)you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

 ²⁴"But ^(CD)God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it ^(CE)was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

 ²⁵"For David says of Him,
         '^(CF)I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE;
         FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.
    ²⁶'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED;
         MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE;
    ²⁷BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO ^(CG)HADES,
         ^(CH)NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.
    ²⁸'YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE;
         YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.'

 ²⁹"Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the ^(CI)patriarch David that he both ^(CJ)died and ^(CK)was buried, and ^(CL)his tomb is with us to this day.

 ³⁰"And so, because he was ^(CM)a prophet and knew that ^(CN)GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE,

 ³¹he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of ^[c]the Christ, that ^(CO)HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY.

 ³²"This Jesus ^(CP)God raised up again, to which we are all ^(CQ)witnesses.

 ³³"Therefore having been exalted ^(CR)to the right hand of God, and ^(CS)having received from the Father ^(CT)the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has ^(CU)poured forth this which you both see and hear.

 ³⁴"For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:
         '^(CV)THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,
         "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
    ³⁵UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."'

 ³⁶"Therefore let all the ^(CW)house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both ^(CX)Lord and Christ--this Jesus ^(CY)whom you crucified."

The Ingathering

 ³⁷Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, ^(CZ)what shall we do?"

 ³⁸Peter said to them, "^(DA)Repent, and each of you be ^(DB)baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 ³⁹"For ^(DC)the promise is for you and your children and for all who are ^(DD)far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself."

 ⁴⁰And with many other words he solemnly ^(DE)testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this ^(DF)perverse generation!"

 ⁴¹So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand ^[d](DG)souls.

 ⁴²They were ^(DH)continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to ^(DI)the breaking of bread and ^(DJ)to prayer.

 ⁴³Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many ^(DK)wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

 ⁴⁴And all those who had believed ^[e]were together and ^(DL)had all things in common;

 ⁴⁵and they ^(DM)began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

 ^46(DN)Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and ^(DO)breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,

 ⁴⁷praising God and ^(DP)having favor with all the people And the Lord ^(DQ)was adding to their number day by day ^(DR)those who were being saved.

Acts 3

Healing the Lame Beggar

 ¹Now ^(DS)Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ^[f]ninth hour, ^(DT)the hour of prayer.

 ²And ^(DU)a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they ^(DV)used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, ^(DW)in order to beg ^[g]alms of those who were entering the temple.

 ³When he saw ^(DX)Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.

 ⁴But Peter, along with John, ^(DY)fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!"

 ⁵And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

 ⁶But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: ^(DZ)In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!"

 ⁷And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.

 ^8(EA)With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

 ⁹And ^(EB)all the people saw him walking and praising God;

 ¹⁰and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to ^(EC)sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter's Second Sermon

 ¹¹While he was clinging to ^(ED)Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called ^(EE)portico of Solomon, full of amazement.

 ¹²But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, "Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?

 ¹³"^(EF)The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, ^(EG)the God of our fathers, has glorified His ^(EH)servant Jesus, the one whom ^(EI)you delivered and disowned in the presence of ^(EJ)Pilate, when he had ^(EK)decided to release Him.

 ¹⁴"But you disowned ^(EL)the Holy and Righteous One and ^(EM)asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

 ¹⁵but put to death the ^(EN)Prince of life, the one whom ^(EO)God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are ^(EP)witnesses.

 ¹⁶"And on the basis of faith ^(EQ)in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

 ¹⁷"And now, brethren, I know that you acted ^(ER)in ignorance, just as your ^(ES)rulers did also.

 ¹⁸"But the things which ^(ET)God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, ^(EU)that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.

 ¹⁹"Therefore ^(EV)repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that ^(EW)times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

 ²⁰and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,

 ^21(EX)whom heaven must receive until the period of ^(EY)restoration of all things about which ^(EZ)God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

 ²²"Moses said, '^(FA)THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you.

 ²³'^(FB)And it will be that every ^(FC)soul that does not heed that prophet ^(FD)shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.'

 ²⁴"And likewise, ^(FE)all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days.

 ²⁵"It is you who are ^(FF)the sons of the prophets and of the ^(FG)covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, '^(FH)AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.'

 ²⁶"For you ^(FI)first, God ^(FJ)raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways."