The Covenant Renewed in Moab

29 ^[a] These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel ^(A)in the land of Moab, besides ^(B)the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.

^2 [b] And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: ^(C)“You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, ³ the great ^(D)trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. ⁴ But to this day ^(E)the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. ^5 (F)I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. ^6 (G)You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. ⁷ And when you came to this place, ^(H)Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, but we defeated them. ⁸ We took their land and ^(I)gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. ^9 (J)Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper^[c] in all that you do.

¹⁰ “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes,^[d] your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, ¹¹ your little ones, your wives, and the ^(K)sojourner who is in your camp, from ^(L)the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, ¹² so that you may enter into the ^(M)sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, ¹³ that he may ^(N)establish you today as his people, and that ^(O)he may be your God, as he promised you, and ^(P)as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. ¹⁴ It is not with you alone ^(Q)that I am making this sworn covenant, ¹⁵ but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, ^(R)and with whoever is not here with us today.

¹⁶ “You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. ¹⁷ And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. ¹⁸ Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you ^(S)a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, ¹⁹ one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. ²⁰ The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather ^(T)the anger of the Lord and ^(U)his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord ^(V)will blot out his name from under heaven. ²¹ And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law. ²² And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, ^(W)will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick— ²³ the whole land burned out with brimstone and ^(X)salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, ^(Y)an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, ^(Z)Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath— ²⁴ all the nations ^(AA)will say, ^(AB)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ ²⁵ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, ²⁶ and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. ²⁷ Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, ^(AC)bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, ²⁸ and the Lord ^(AD)uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and ^(AE)cast them into another land, as they are this day.’

²⁹ “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Your Name, O Lord, Endures Forever

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 And when ^(A)we had parted from them and set sail, we ^(B)came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.^{[a] 2} And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And ^(C)through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, ^(D)accompanied us until we were outside the city. And ^(E)kneeling down on the beach, we prayed ⁶ and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

⁷ When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted ^(F)the brothers^[b] and stayed with them for one day. ⁸ On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of ^(G)Philip ^(H)the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters, ^(I)who prophesied. ¹⁰ While we were staying for many days, a prophet named ^(J)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ And coming to us, he ^(K)took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ^(L)“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(M)‘This is how the Jews^[c] at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and ^(N)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” ¹² When we heard this, we and the people there ^(O)urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, ^(P)“What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For ^(Q)I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem ^(R)for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, ^(S)we ceased and said, ^(T)“Let the will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵ After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ When we had come to Jerusalem, ^(U)the brothers received us gladly. ¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to ^(V)James, and all ^(W)the elders were present. ¹⁹ After greeting them, ^(X)he related one by one ^(Y)the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ^(Z)ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it, they ^(AA)glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all ^(AB)zealous for the law, ²¹ and they have been told about you that you teach all ^(AC)the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, ^(AD)telling them ^(AE)not to circumcise their children or ^(AF)walk according to ^(AG)our customs. ²² What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men ^(AH)who are under a vow; ²⁴ take these men and ^(AI)purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ^(AJ)so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. ²⁵ But as for the Gentiles who have believed, ^(AK)we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,^[d] and from sexual immorality.” ²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day ^(AL)he purified himself along with them and ^(AM)went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and ^(AN)the offering presented for each one of them.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

²⁷ When ^(AO)the seven days were almost completed, ^(AP)the Jews from Asia, ^(AQ)seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who ^(AR)is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and ^(AS)the law and ^(AT)this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and ^(AU)has defiled ^(AV)this holy place.” ²⁹ For they had previously seen ^(AW)Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and ^(AX)dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. ^31 (AY)And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of ^(AZ)the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ^32 (BA)He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him ^(BB)to be bound ^(BC)with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. ^34 (BD)Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ^(BE)the barracks. ³⁵ And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, ³⁶ for the mob of the people followed, crying out, ^(BF)“Away with him!”

Paul Speaks to the People

³⁷ As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Are you not ^(BG)the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^(BH)into the wilderness?” ³⁹ Paul replied, ^(BI)“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, ^(BJ)motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in ^(BK)the Hebrew language,^[e] saying:

22 ^(A)“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”

² And when they heard that he was addressing them in ^(B)the Hebrew language,^[a] they became even more quiet. And he said:

^3 (C)“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^(D)at the feet of ^(E)Gamaliel^{[b] (F)}according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, ^(G)being zealous for God ^(H)as all of you are this day. ^4 (I)I persecuted ^(J)this Way ^(K)to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, ⁵ as ^(L)the high priest and ^(M)the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to ^(N)the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

^6 (O)“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone 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 ^(P)Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ ^9 (Q)Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand^[c] the voice of the one who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ^(R)‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

¹² “And ^(S)one Ananias, a devout man ^(T)according to the law, ^(U)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ^13 (V)came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And ^(W)at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ And he said, ^(X)‘The God of our fathers ^(Y)appointed you to know his will, ^(Z)to see ^(AA)the Righteous One and ^(AB)to hear a voice from his mouth; ¹⁵ for ^(AC)you will be a witness for him to everyone of what ^(AD)you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why do you wait? ^(AE)Rise and be baptized and ^(AF)wash away your sins, ^(AG)calling on his name.’

^17 (AH)“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ^(AI)was praying in the temple, I fell into ^(AJ)a trance ¹⁸ and saw him saying to me, ^(AK)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another ^(AL)I imprisoned and ^(AM)beat those who believed in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of Stephen ^(AN)your witness was being shed, ^(AO)I myself was standing by and ^(AP)approving and ^(AQ)watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ ²¹ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you ^(AR)far away to the Gentiles.’”

Paul and the Roman Tribune

²² Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, ^(AS)“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For ^(AT)he should not be allowed to live.” ²³ And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, ²⁴ the tribune ordered him to be brought into ^(AU)the barracks, saying that he should be ^(AV)examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. ²⁵ But when they had stretched him out for the whips,^[d] Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog ^(AW)a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” ²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” ²⁷ So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” ²⁸ The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” ²⁹ So those who were about ^(AX)to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also ^(AY)was afraid, ^(AZ)for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that ^(BA)he had bound him.

Paul Before the Council

³⁰ But on the next day, ^(BB)desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.