¹¹ Then Peter came to himself^(A) and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me^(B) from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

¹² When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark,^(C) where many people had gathered and were praying.^{(D) 13} Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.^{(E) 14} When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed^(F) she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”^(G)

¹⁶ But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira^(A) named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart^(B) to respond to Paul’s message. ¹⁵ When she and the members of her household^(C) were baptized,^(D) she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

¹² As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.^(A)

³⁴ Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus,^(A) also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

²⁴ Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos,^(A) a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus.^(B) He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor^[a](C) and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.^{(D) 26} He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila^(E) heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

²⁷ When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia,^(F) the brothers and sisters^(G) encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. ²⁸ For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures^(H) that Jesus was the Messiah.^(I)

Personal Greetings

16 I commend^(A) to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon^[a][b] of the church in Cenchreae.^{(B) 2} I ask you to receive her in the Lord^(C) in a way worthy of his people^(D) and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

¹⁵ Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea,^(A) and to Nympha and the church in her house.^(B)