使徒行傳 1
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
應許聖靈降臨
1 提阿非羅啊，在前一封信中，我從耶穌的生平和教導開始， 2 一直談到祂藉著聖靈吩咐了自己選立的使徒，然後被接回天上。 3 祂受難後用許多確鑿的證據證實自己活著，在四十天之內屢次向使徒顯現，與他們談論上帝的國。 4 有一次，耶穌和他們在一起吃飯的時候，叮囑他們：「你們不要離開耶路撒冷，要在那裡等候我對你們說過的天父的應許。 5 因為從前約翰用水給你們施洗，但再過幾天，你們要受聖靈的洗。」
6 他們跟耶穌在一起的時候問祂：「主啊，你要在這時候復興以色列國嗎？」 7 耶穌回答說：「天父照祂的權柄定下的時間、日期不是你們可以知道的。 8 但聖靈降臨在你們身上後，你們必得到能力，在耶路撒冷、猶太全境和撒瑪利亞，直到地極，作我的見證人。」
9 耶穌說完這番話，就在他們眼前被提升天，被一朵雲彩接去，離開了他們的視線。 10 祂上升時，他們都定睛望著天空，忽然有兩個身穿白衣的人站在他們身旁， 11 說：「加利利人啊！你們為什麼站在這裡望著天空呢？這位離開你們被接到天上的耶穌，你們看見祂怎樣升天，將來祂還要怎樣回來。」
選立新使徒
12 於是，他們從橄欖山回到耶路撒冷。橄欖山距離耶路撒冷不遠，約是安息日允許走的路程[a]。 13 他們進城後，來到樓上自己住的房間。當時有彼得、約翰、雅各、安得烈、腓力、多馬、巴多羅買、馬太、亞勒腓的兒子雅各、激進黨人西門、雅各的兒子猶大。 14 他們和耶穌的母親瑪麗亞、耶穌的弟弟們及幾個婦女在一起同心合意地恆切禱告。
15 那時，約有一百二十人在聚會，彼得站起來說： 16 「弟兄們，關於帶人抓耶穌的猶大，聖靈藉著大衛的口早已預言，這經文必須要應驗。 17 這人原本是我們中間的一員，與我們同擔使徒的職分。」
18 猶大用作惡得來的錢買了一塊田，他頭朝下栽倒在那裡，肚破腸流。 19 這消息很快傳遍了耶路撒冷，當地人稱那塊田為「亞革大馬」，就是「血田」的意思。
20 彼得繼續說：「詩篇上寫道，『願他的家園一片荒涼，無人居住』，又說，『願別人取代他的職位。』 21-22 所以，我們必須另選一個人代替猶大，與我們一同為主耶穌的復活做見證。他必須是從主耶穌接受約翰的洗禮起一直到主升天，始終與我們在一起的人。」
23 被提名的有別號巴撒巴又叫猶士都的約瑟和馬提亞兩個人。 24-25 大家便禱告說：「主啊！你洞悉人的內心，求你指明這兩個人中你要揀選哪一個來擔負使徒的職分。猶大丟棄了這職分，去了他該去的地方。」 26 然後，他們抽籤，抽中了馬提亞，就把他列入十一使徒中。
Footnotes
- 1·12 按猶太人的傳統，在安息日只能走約一公里遠。
Acts 1
Good News Translation
1 (A)Dear Theophilus:
In my first book I wrote about all the things that Jesus did and taught from the time he began his work 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before he was taken up, he gave instructions by the power of the Holy Spirit to the men he had chosen as his apostles. 3 For forty days after his death he appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive. They saw him, and he talked with them about the Kingdom of God. 4 (B)And when they came together,[a] he gave them this order: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised. 5 (C)John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus Is Taken Up to Heaven
6 When the apostles met together with Jesus, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time give the Kingdom back to Israel?”
7 Jesus said to them, “The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be. 8 (D)But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 (E)After saying this, he was taken up to heaven as they watched him, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They still had their eyes fixed on the sky as he went away, when two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them 11 and said, “Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”
Judas' Successor
12 Then the apostles went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is about half a mile away from the city. 13 (F)They entered the city and went up to the room where they were staying: Peter, John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Patriot, and Judas son of James. 14 They gathered frequently to pray as a group, together with the women and with Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.
15 A few days later there was a meeting of the believers, about a hundred and twenty in all, and Peter stood up to speak. 16 “My friends,” he said, “the scripture had to come true in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, made a prediction about Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 Judas was a member of our group, for he had been chosen to have a part in our work.”
(18 (G)With the money that Judas got for his evil act he bought a field, where he fell to his death; he burst open and all his insides spilled out. 19 All the people living in Jerusalem heard about it, and so in their own language they call that field Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”)
20 (H)“For it is written in the book of Psalms,
‘May his house become empty;
may no one live in it.’
It is also written,
‘May someone else take his place of service.’
21-22 (I)“So then, someone must join us as a witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He must be one of the men who were in our group during the whole time that the Lord Jesus traveled about with us, beginning from the time John preached his message of baptism[b] until the day Jesus was taken up from us to heaven.”
23 So they proposed two men: Joseph, who was called Barsabbas (also known as Justus), and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know the thoughts of everyone, so show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to serve as an apostle in the place of Judas, who left to go to the place where he belongs.” 26 Then they drew lots to choose between the two men, and the one chosen was Matthias, who was added to the group of eleven apostles.
Acts 1
EasyEnglish Bible
Jesus speaks to his apostles and he goes up to heaven
1 Jesus did many things when he was living on earth. He also taught people many things. I told you about all these things in the first book that I wrote for you, Theophilus.[a] 2 Those are the things that Jesus did before God took him up into heaven. Jesus had chosen some men to be his apostles. With the power of the Holy Spirit he told them what they must do. 3 After Jesus died on the cross, he became alive again. During the 40 days after that, he showed himself many times to his apostles. He showed himself in different ways. Then they could be really sure that he was alive again. During this time, Jesus spoke to his apostles about the kingdom of God.[b]
4 One time, when Jesus and his apostles were together, he said to them, ‘Do not leave Jerusalem yet. You must wait there until you receive my Father's gift. My Father promised to give it to you. I have already told you about it. 5 John baptized people with water, but after a few days God will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
6 While Jesus' apostles were together with him, they asked him, ‘Lord, at this time will you now give the kingdom back to us, the people of Israel?’
7 Jesus replied, ‘My Father decides when things will happen in the world. You do not need to know the day or the time when this will happen. 8 But the Holy Spirit will come to you, and he will give you power. The Holy Spirit will make your spirit strong. Then you will tell other people everywhere in the world about me. You will do that in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and in places far away.’
9 When Jesus had finished speaking to his apostles, God took him up to heaven. The apostles watched Jesus while he went up. Then a cloud hid him and they could not see him any more.
10 The apostles were still looking carefully up into the sky when suddenly two men appeared.[c] They were wearing white clothes and they stood near the apostles.
11 The men said to the apostles, ‘You men from Galilee, you should not still be standing here and looking up into the sky. God has taken Jesus into heaven. You saw the way that Jesus went up to heaven. One day, he himself will return in the same way.’
The apostles choose Matthias
12 Then the apostles left the Mount of Olives.[d] They returned to Jerusalem. This was a walk of about 1 kilometre. 13 When the apostles arrived back in Jerusalem, they went to their room. The room where they were staying was upstairs. Those apostles were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; also James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas, the son of James.[e]
14 All these apostles often met together to pray. Mary who was Jesus' mother, other women and Jesus' brothers also met with them. 15 One day, about 120 people who believed in Jesus were meeting together. Peter stood up and he said to them, 16 ‘My friends, long ago, the Holy Spirit gave King David a message to speak from God.[f] He spoke about the things that Judas would do. Judas was the one who showed the soldiers how to catch Jesus. These things had to happen in the way that David wrote in the Bible long ago.[g] 17 Judas belonged to our group of disciples. Jesus chose him to work together with us.’
18 Judas received some money for the bad thing that he did. He bought a field with that money. But he fell down in that field and he died. His body broke open and the inside parts of his body poured out. 19 All the people who lived in Jerusalem heard about his death. So they called that field ‘Akeldama’ in their own language. ‘Akeldama’ means ‘The Field of Blood’.[h]
20 Peter then said, ‘This is what King David wrote in the book of Psalms:
“Let the house that he lived in become empty,
so that nobody lives in it.”[i]
David also wrote:
“Let somebody else do the job which he did.” ’[j]
21 Peter then said, ‘Because of this, we must choose another man instead of Judas. That man must have been one of our group all the time that the Lord Jesus was with us. 22 That is, from the time when John was baptizing people until the time when Jesus went up to heaven. He must be someone who saw Jesus become alive again after he died, as we did.’
23 So the apostles agreed the names of two men. One of them was Joseph. People also called him Barsabbas and sometimes people called him Justus. The other man was called Matthias. 24 Then the whole group prayed, ‘Lord, you know what everybody is really like. Please show us which man you have chosen. 25 Which of these two men do you want to be an apostle instead of Judas? Judas left his work as an apostle. He has now gone to the place where he belongs.’
26 Then the group used lots to choose the name of one man. It happened that they chose Matthias. So Matthias now became the 12th apostle, together with the other 11 men.
Footnotes
- 1:1 That first book is called ‘Luke’.
- 1:3 We can read about this in Luke 24.
- 1:10 We think that these men were angels.
- 1:12 All this happened on the east side of the Mount of Olives. This hill is between Jerusalem and the town of Bethany. Olive trees grow there.
- 1:13 A Zealot was someone who fought for his government or against the Roman government.
- 1:16 David was a great king of Israel's people, about 1,000 years before Christ came to this earth. See 1 Samuel 16:1-13; 2 Samuel 7:8-9; 8:15.
- 1:16 We can read more about what Judas did in Luke 22.
- 1:19 We can read about Judas and the money in Matthew 27:3-7.
- 1:20 See Psalms 69:25.
- 1:20 See Psalms 109:8.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
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